School Board Workshop

Good morning. Welcome to today's school board workshop. This workshop at the School Board of Broward County, Florida, is now called to order. We are just opening up the meeting. Obviously, we have some folks running late. Due to the inclement weather. So we're going to open up the meeting and we'll we'll recess it in a minute. But I did want Doctor Hepburn to just give some remarks about the weather situation throughout the district. >> Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. You know, the weather is pretty nasty out there, especially the past few weeks here in South Florida. And so we're reminding everybody to take caution, especially our parents, our students, our our school staff. The roads are wet. We have some localized flooding in certain places as well. We're not at the point where we're going to shut down the entire district, but provide an opportunity for parents to keep their kids home if necessary and excuse their their absences at their at their school. So we're continuing to monitor. It is an El Nino year, which means it's going to be a very, very wet winter and also fall for for South Florida. So we're continuing to monitor it. Just make sure everybody is safe and secure. Don't take any chances. And we're monitored for the rest of the day. And if we need to call it for this week, we will and we'll keep our parents and staff up to date. >> Gott. Thaha youou Doctor Hepbn. S So I Il recess t the meetining untnt w we have e more boboard mbebers. We have a quor. And yeah. Thank you for your patience. Well this meeting is now recessed. [MUSIC] [MUSIC] All right. This workshop is now reconvened to ensure a safe and productive environment. Please note that clearly marked emergency exits do not block exit doors, and all attendees must be seated except for media. Once the room reaches capacity, attendees will be directed to the overflow space, which is located in the area adjacent to the vending machines. If the fire alarm sounds, exit the room calmly continue outside the building and remain there until authorities give clearance to return. Thank you for your cooperation, Dr. Zeman will now introduce his school to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. Dr. Zeman. >> Thank you so much, chair. If we could do the pledge first, I'll talk a little bit about the Great Griffin Elementary School. Hold on. >> Good morning. Superintendent and school board members. This is the Griffin Choir, and we're going to be doing the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by Roar by Katy Perry. >> And. >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath. To rock the boat and make a mess. So I sat quietly. A politely. I guess that I forgot I had a choice. Election must be past the breaking point. I stood for nothing. So I fell for everything. You held me down. But I got up. Hey! Already pushing off the dust. You hear that voice? You hear that sound like thunder. Gonna shake the ground. It held me down. But I got up. Hey, already got the dust. You hear that voice? You hear that sound? I got the eye of the tiger. A fighter dancing through the fire. Cause I am the champion. And you're gonna hear me roar louder, louder than a lion. Cause I am the champion. And you're gonna hear me roar. 0000. Roar, 0000000. You're gonna hear me roar. >> Oh. >> Chair. I don't know what to say. After that, man. I'm ready to hear, hear them roar. I wanted to say thank you, though, to Mrs. Menendez, principal and all the staff out at Griffin for helping us today. Griffin has so much to celebrate. Prestigious School of Excellence recognition from the Florida State Board of Education. Maintaining an A rating for more than two decades. Thank you for representing your school with such pride, Miss Menendez. We wish all the students and staff there an amazing, successful and memorable school year. Thank you chair. >> Thank you for that. That was lovely. As we prepare to begin our school board workshop, we are reminded that our vision is 100% proficiency for all our students. As an A rated school district, our vital task is to sustain this achievement. We will continue educating all students to reach their highest potential. Now let's write the next chapter together. We will soon hear from our registered public speakers. We ask that decorum be maintained in civility and respect, be shown during public comment. Our General Counsel will assist the chair in maintaining decorum during this period. We also want to remind our public speakers of the rules and expectations regarding the agenda. Public comment portion of this school board workshop, as well as board policy attorney Dupree Bruno, please explain the rules of public comment. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. Good morning. Public comment is governed by school board policy 1020 A and is intended to provide input on the board's duties, decisions and the overall operation of the school district. The school board is viewpoint neutral during public comment per school board policy, public comment procedures are as follows. Speakers must state their name, city of residence and whether they are lobbyists. Before beginning their remarks. All remarks must be directed to the board as a whole. The board will not respond to or engage with speakers during public comment, and no action will be taken unless the item is on the agenda. During the agenda speaking time, speakers will have up to three minutes per item. A speaker's total speaking time may not exceed 12 minutes. Speakers must limit their comments to agenda items, and their remarks must be relevant to the specific item. Comments may not address matters that are pending litigation. Quasi judicial proceedings, active investigations or the administrative hearings, solicitation or lobbying activities must comply with applicable school board policies. Abusive language defined as profanity threatening or name calling is prohibited. In addition, clapping, hissing, booing, shouting, yelling or other disruptions from the audience are not allowed. Speakers who fail to follow proper decorum in the chambers will be ruled out of order by the board chair. Failure to comply may result in the microphone being turned off or recess being called. After a warning. The chair may also direct removal from the meeting by law enforcement or the Sergeant at Arms, safety and security personnel will remain present throughout the meeting to monitor compliance with the rules of decorum, and may intervene when those rules are not allowed or not followed. When law enforcement is in the process of removing an individual, all attendees must remain at least 25ft away a a must not interfere with law mpmplyitithawfull dirtitions to may rulult in arrests per board, per state statute. Madam chair. >> Thank you, Attorney Dupree. Bruno, the board wants to hear from the public, and we appreciate your cooperation in maintaining a respectful, orderly and productive meeting environment. When it is time for public speakers, I will call five speakers at a time. When you hear your name, please line up behind the podium with only one person at the mic at the time at a time. Please follow the staff's directions when lining up and approaching the podium. And when your time is up, please yield the mic and exit the podium and follow staff direction. And just as a reminder, the board does not go back and forth with public speakers per policy. Before proceeding with today's agenda, the superintendent would like to share some remarks. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. I lost my place here. Sorry. So we're going to talk about advancing innovation, celebrating our September Microsoft Challenge winners and the principles leading this amazing work. Our first school is led by Principal Lisa Spencer at Pompano Beach High. Yeah, give her a round of applause. [APPLAUSE] Followed by Principal Doctor Eric Miller at Peters Elementary, representing for Doctor Miller today is Carole King. Roberts. And last but certainly not least, Principal Amy Weiner, leading Indian Trace Elementary. [APPLAUSE] The promise of an AI of AI and education lies in how we use it to support educators and respond to students needs. Microsoft, BCC and Broward Education Foundation are partnering toward to award $4,000 to three schools who are integrating AI on the road to reaching their full potential every month. This month, I'm proud to recognize the first winners of the Microsoft AI Copilot Innovation Recognition Program, also known as the Microsoft Challenge, whose work offers practical examples that prompt that promise in action for North Pompano Beach High School staff are putting innovation into practice by integrating copilot into lesson planning, differentiated assignments, rubrics, family communication, meeting notes, and documentation. With more than 5300 copilot interactions since April, in a professional learning session titled the AI of the Tiger Taming the Beast. The school is making AI part of everyday work. Congratulations for Pompano Beach High, for Central Peters Elementary, the school is connecting AI to employee. More effective, consistent, multi-tiered system of support for our students. The MTS coordinator used copilot to consolidate teacher schedules, streamline data and meeting schedules, prior prioritizing tier three and third grade students. Coaches also develop small group reading plans for students, requiring additional support in grades two through five, and math lessons aligned to district standards. Congratulations. Peters Elementary. [APPLAUSE] In the South Indian Trace Elementary School. The school is building a foundation for responsible AI use, launching copilot in every pre pre-K through five classroom through a staff wide professional learning day, teachers learned a shared prompt prompting method known as goal, context, source expectation and privacy. First approach to small group planning using de-identified data. With more than three quarters of licensed staff remaining active after the training and congratulations, Peters Elementary. [APPLAUSE] Excuse me. So I want to thank all of the 14 schools that actually applied in September for helping us explore what intentional and strategic engagement AI can look like while still prioritizing student safety and privacy and education. As we look ahead, I encourage our schools to build on these examples and continue to explore responsible ways to support teaching and learning. Applications are now open for the next cycle, and I invite schools to who were not selected in September to update and resubmit the application. Additional details will be shared with our schools as we look to continue leading in this space at this. And I'll pass it back over to. >> The chair. At this time, we will take a brief recess for a board photo and to hold, and we'll be doing a press conference at 10:00. So we'll recess to do the photo, and we'll reconvene the workshop. Thank you. [MUSIC] [MUSIC] This school board workshop is now reconvened. We will now proceed with the agenda. Thank you for your patience, everyone. I know it's a kind of a wet late day. Today's workshop will operate in accordance with school board policy. 1020 A, and the board will review the items as advertised and presented by the superintendent. Our first item is the 2027 Legislative Platform. I now turn it over to staff for a brief presentation. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. Turn it over to Miss Andrea Knowles and Mr. Andre Hill. >> Thank you. Good morning. Good morning board. Good morning, Mr. Superintendent. So we have our 2027 legislative platform for state and federal. I do want to also let you know that we have our contract that lobbyists on the line, Miss Wendy Dodge, Miss Kim McDougall and Sharon James. In case there are any questions that are needed. And Miss Dodge has been asked by Mr. Sullivan to give a high level overview of last night as well. So we actually can start there. Wendy, if you like. >> Great. Thank you very much. First of all, I'd like to congratulate the district on the renewal of your referendum. That's great news for you. And our incumbent school board members. Dr. Zeman, Miss Bowman and Mr. Cervera, for your reelection and the primary and the general. Congratulations. We have, first of all, our national. Sorry, I'm switching screens. So our national update, first of all, the Democrats were able to take majorities in both the US Senate and the US House. 44 Republicans have are in the US Senate now with 54 Democrats. And there are two seats in Mississippi and Alaska that are not called yet. In the US House, we have 228 Democrats who have been elected, 139 Republicans and 68 seats that have not been called yet in Florida, the results were a little bit different. We have retained Republican control in the Florida House and Senate. However, neither chamber was able to retain their supermajority. So in the in the House, we have 70 Republicans and 50 Democrats now, and in the Senate, Florida Senate, we have 25 Republicans and 13 Democrats. And there are two seats that are open or uncalled. Yet at the highest level, Florida elected Byron Donalds as our new governor. And at the cabinet level, three of our Republican incumbents were reelected. Blazing Golia as CFO. James Upmeyer as the attorney general, and Wilton Simpson as our. Agriculture commissioner. Excuse me. And then in the US Senate, Ashley Moody retained her seat. So that's kind of a high level. What happened at both the national and Florida level. And if you have any questions about any other results, please let me know. And we have also sent out an election guide from the southern Group. If you see that in your email, that will cover everything that happened yesterday. >> Thank you so much. Thank you. Wendy. And if we can get the presentation up. So our discussion today in this workshop is to identify any requests, anything you want us to greatly emphasize throughout the 2027 legislative sessions, any language for clarification and any supporting information that you need. So we want to make sure that we get that information to you and get guidance from you on how to proceed forward. Next, please. Or do I have that access? Thank you. Thank you. Where do I point? Is it all? There we go. Okay, a little higher. Okay. Thank you. And that piece that I just stated is our introduction. So again, we want to gain guidance from you. We have a new legislature. We want to make sure that we work our lobbying team to make sure that we bring back funds and good policies for Broward schools. So at the state level, our draft that you receive, it emphasizes predictable, recurring and flexible funding that reflects the cost of required services. So we want to make sure that we are maintaining consistency and funding accountability. As far as resources and staffing, we want to make sure that we can remain competitive district to bring great teachers here to our school district, for our wonderful students, our funding. We want to make sure we have recurring, flexible FEF funding aligned with actual costs. And we also want to make sure for protections that we keep our schools safe and our students safe and have mental health professionals. We have AI and Esq classroom privacy guardrails as well. Continuing and funding. We show here the difference in our neighbors to the north and south, and the difference in the FEFP that is received per student. There you see Miami Dade, the difference is 336, roughly dollars, and Palm Beach County received. And that's more than the than Broward receives. And Palm Beach. 566 more than what Broward receives. Increase in the BSA and the. Per FTE support. We want to make sure that we're just representing Broward properly and as we rightsize our district, we also rightsize the state to take care of Broward County for mandates and services and flexibility and stability. And that's really for the state. We did not change that much. We removed anything that needed to come out that may have passed or that we were successful in last year at the federal level again, and this is for guidance from our board. We want to make sure we strengthen targeted investments and safeguards that complement our state school funding, our school funding. So again, in academics, funding protections and staffing, we want to make sure that our federal voice is there on the Hill for Broward County Public Schools. And that actually is our presentation. >> All right. We will now take public comment. So if you would like to speak, if you are a speaker, I think we're having some technical difficulties with the public speaking sign in sheet. So if you would like to speak on the state or federal legislative platform, please approach the podium. >> Hi. Good morning. Thank you. Jackie Luskin, chair of EOC advisory. There is current wording on the state legislative platform towards the bottom of the sheet that states that the district will support legislation that provides clear guidance on the use of audio visual recording in self-contained Esq classrooms, allowing for an annual parent notification while ensuring student privacy and aligning with increased safety measures. The problem is that this wording does not provide meaningful direction as to what BCC is actually seeking guidance on. The issue is not that we like guidance, nor the ability for annual parent notifications. We need legislation or action to remove the requirement that every parent of a student in a self-contained, Esq classroom must first sign consent before a camera can be activated. For student safety. The background to this is that when the state chose Broward to operate a three year pilot for audio visual cameras in Esq classrooms from 2021 to 2024, it was governed by a tailor made statute, which required BCC PS to activate a camera in an IRC classroom. If just one parent of a child in that classroom made such a request in writing when the pilot program lapsed, so did the statute. It wasn't renewed. There have been legislative attempts since then to to make various moves to do so, but this did not remove BCC s ability to still operate its own Esq camera program as it has done since fall 2025. But minus that special statute, the criteria for activating a camera is that all parents must first sign consent, where we're the only one of 67 districts in Florida that has this program, it should be a jewel in our crown. Instead, we have just ten out of 1000 potential classrooms with cameras activated. Because of this small legislative blockage. The the problem is actually due to wording in the parent Bill of rights, which gives parents the right to consent in writing before a child can be subject to audio visual recording in a school. The Bill of rights lists various exceptions to that requirement. If the recording is for a court proceeding or interview for a criminal investigation, a safety demonstration including maintenance of order and discipline in common areas of a school or on transport. A purposee r rateded t t a a l lie activity o or a purpose related to regular classroom instruction, security or surveillance of buildings or grounds. The existing legislative platform, as written, does not adequately identify the statutory obstacle. I would suggest that we consider, or that you consider making that wording to stay. Support legislation that authorizes school districts to provide audio visual recording in self-contained Esq classrooms for safety purposes purposes upon written request of one parent, subject to student privacy safeguards and parental notification that would bring things back in line with the state's own pilot. Thank you. >> Thank you. Next speaker. Good morning. Sorry, sorry. Good morning. I'm Melissa Wetherington, an Oakland Park resident and Lloyd Estates parent. As we discussed 2027 legislative priorities, I want to revisit a commitment already made. Enrollment growth and retention were priorities for 2026. Yet here we are discussing which schools to close while families are still waiting to see the enrollment recovery strategy. Lloyd Estates earns an A academically. But if we grade the district's enrollment recovery assignment at Lloyd, what grade would the evidence support? Did we attempt the assignment, measure our progress and adjust when something wasn't working? Or did we just decide that it couldn't be done? At Lloyd, approximately 146 boundary eligible students attend another school, while nearly 70 students from outside the boundary choose Lloyd. That tells us that families are making choices. But where is the analysis explaining those choices? Some families never enter BCC, some leave for alternatives. Others may leave because they cannot access the resources their children need. We're leaking like a sieve, and instead of understanding every leak, we keep discussing how to operate with less. According to the district's own figures, annual funding is approximately $9,060 per student. Retaining 100 students could represent roughly $906,000 in enrollment associated funding, not net savings, but a meaningful financial consideration. Broward voters have now approved another four years of the one mill school tax. What if we spent those next four years building a district that becomes less dependent on asking taxpayers for supplemental funding? And as we consider expanding title one support for 2027, how do we reconcile that priority with recommending the closure of schools serving those same communities? Today, I'm asking this board to schedule. Sorry, I'll slow down. I'm asking this board to schedule dedicated enrollment, growth and retention workshops in 2027, not another workshop devoted primarily to closures. I want public reporting on where families are leaving, why they're leaving, what interventions have been attempted, and what results they've produced. Established, measurable recovery targets, assign accountability, and intervene before schools reach the point of closure. Because I don't want to stand here next year watching another community fight the same battle before we ask taxpayers to keep filling the bucket. Shouldn't we help? Shouldn't we be fixing the leaks? Thank you, thank you. Next speaker. >> Okay. Board member discussion. Miss Hixon. There you go. Thank you. >> Good morning. I for the the state priorities, I want to sort of piggyback on what one of the public speakers said. So last year, Missus Leonardi and I both went to legislators to try to advocate for them changing the parental to add another. Well, you know, Miss Knowles knows because she went with us to not just change the wording that's on here, but the easiest thing to do would be to change the to add another waiver under the parental rights that specifically said that video cameras could be in self-contained classrooms, and that would take care of the opt in opt out, any of that piece. So I think this wording should I understand that this is just kind of like a summary, but I just want to be clear that I think that's what we should be advocating for when we go. I know I'll continue to do that. We were really close to getting them to be able to do that, but I think we need to continue that because it really solves the problem in the cleanest way. So I just want to I don't know where that if it gets written in here, if we change the wording based on what the public speaker said, but I, I think we need to be more specific on what we're looking for there. Thank you. >> Thank you. Anyone else? All right. I just two quick comments just echoing what Miss Hixon said. Just we I think it would be behoove us to have some clearer language around the Esq camera piece. I know that some of the legislators we spoke to were happy to entertain that. So what Miss Knowles Hill, what ended up happening with that? >> Thank you, Madam Chair. Wendy or Kim, would you like to chime in? Because they were working behind the scenes as well. I think Wendy's trying to come off mute. Is she okay? Thank you. >> So there was there's just a great deal of hesitation in going into the parental rights statute amongst the. Leadership, especially in the House. And so we do have new leaders coming in on both sides. We have Jim Boyd will be our new Senate president. Sam Garrison will be our new speaker of the House. We have a new governor who's very interested in education issues. And Erica Donalds, his wife, has been involved in education and is a former school Collier School board member. So I think that there will be opportunities to kind of up the conversation about this. And we'll and we'll just. We might have to go at it from a different angle, but we certainly understand the importance of getting the waiver into the parental rights statute. >> Got it. >> And Madam Chair, if I may add, those sponsors who sponsored the bill last year are all returning, so we will work with them again and gain support as we can. >> And to another public speakers point, I know that we also talked to legislators about like, I think it was like a declining enrollment supplement, something that the legislature could do to help districts out with their declining enrollment and the funding that that results in is, can we add that to our our state? If there is consensus from my colleagues, can we add something like that to the platform? >> If there's consensus? >> Okay. Is anyone object to that? Okay. All right. Thank you. All right. Those were my comments. Miss Thompson. >> Thank you. I just would like to request a follow up of how much we spend on lobbyist contracts versus the staffing we have in house, because I think that's something to consider is our approach to getting these things passed in Tallahassee. I don't think this is necessarily the conversation for it, but I also think in the future, when we do spend district funds to go up, it would be better to meet with the delegation. That's not Broward County that already supports what we're trying to do here and really prioritize the heads of education committees and people from outside of Broward. I understand that they might not want to meet with us, but if we are going to get anything passed to truly save public education in Florida, we can't just focus on Broward. So I would like a follow up on our lobbyist contracts, how much we're spending, and also our in-house lobbying costs and what their job parameters are, what they focused on. And then just also a well thought out lobbying plan for if we do decide to spend money to go to Tallahassee. >> Thank you. And just I wanted to clarify something. When I went up both times as chair, the vast majority of legislators that I met with were not. I can only. I think I maybe met with one person officially from Broward. So that was that was my experience as chair, I don't know. >> Same here. The two times that I went up, I very rarely talked to anybody from Broward. It was mostly legislators from other other areas of the state because that's we know that's the strategy we have to exercise to actually get some headway into some of the things that we're prioritizing. >> But definitely want to continue that. Yeah, been my experience that. >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> And I logged a follow up too, so we can get that info. >> Got it. Dr. Zeman. >> Thanks, chair. Question for our staff, possibly about the elimination of the supermajority, we obviously created the state legislative package, not knowing whether or not that was going to happen or not. The fact that the supermajority in the House and the Senate has gone away, does it change what we ask for, or does it change the probability of getting hearings in the committees, getting bills actually introduced because the what had been the super minority party is now just the minority party. And so there's shared authority in the whole legislative process is what's going to change. It's in a practical sense, as a result of the supermajority going away. >> Through the chair. I can start with my comments. And then definitely our team, who's in Tallahassee 24 hours, it seems every day I'm hopeful that we will have greater conversations since we now, since there is now a difference in the shift, as you stated. So our leader in the House on the Democratic side is from Broward, who has a great relationship. I'm Christine, so she has a great relationship across the aisle. So we're going to be hopeful to use every resource. I work with my counterparts throughout the state to get into rooms that maybe Broward was not always allowed into, to make sure we get our voice heard and our priorities brought home. So we're hopeful. >> Hi, Andrea, this is Kim McDougall with the arrow Group. Just want to say Dr. Zeman. The main thing that's going to change is that the committee makeups, right? You're going to have more minority party on the committees in the House. I don't think it changes your platform because the Republicans still have the majority in the House and the Senate. I think, obviously, when you have a more diverse committee and the numbers are a little bit equal, it's going to be talking to every single member. We're in the past. Maybe you don't have to talk to every member because the Republicans had such a high number on the committees. It's going to be more work, which I think is great for Florida. And I think you just you're going to work through the committees, but it wouldn't change your platform. >> Thank you. Appreciate that. Second question is, on a federal level, you know, we've had a president and a Department of Education that has decided to divest capabilities to other federal agencies. Does that change how we talk to folks in Tallahassee? We being the superintendent staff and our lobbyists that work at the federal level? You know, clearly, you know, you can't just go visit Secretary of Education to do education anymore. You're going to have to go to HHS. You're going to have to go to Department of Labor. Can you tell us a little bit about what you expect to be different in terms of the process and the results, as a result of the divestiture of the Department of Ed? >> Thank you. Through the chair Almost just what Kim stated there, leadership will shift and change with the 120th Congressional Congress. So we are hopeful that many of our leaders will be there in leadership that can help get us in those rooms. It all comes down to seeing who is in charge now as far as the committee leads, the subcommittee leads the appropriation leads, and we will definitely work every angle that we can for Broward. But again, like Kim stated, with the state, we have a better we have a better chance maybe to get some things done that we could not get done before. Hopeful. >> Thanks so much, chair. >> Thank you. Round two miss Hixon. >> Thank you. I just to kind of answer the chair's question about what happened at the end, I know a lot of the representatives, because the Senate was pretty strong on. Yes, that they were willing to do that. I think the biggest concern that I heard when I was up there was people didn't understand what the camera was. They thought that people could peek in and see what was happening and stuff. So it would just say, when lobbyists are are talking to them, or even when we go up there, it's really important to have the conversation that this isn't a camera where anybody could could look in and see what's happening with the students. It's only available if there's an incident and a parent asked for it, because once I said that, they kind of the defensiveness went away and we could have a real conversation. But as long as they were believing that it was just a camera open for everyone, they were very it was very hard to have a conversation at all. So I think that really needs to be the piece that when they go in to talk to them, to explain what the camera is and what it is, not because they have a preconceived notion and it's not factual. So I think that would also be helpful. Just setting up the conversations. >> Thank you, Mrs. Alhadeff. >> Thank you. And I don't have the information in front of me because I'm driving in right now. But I wanted to ask the question, is Alyssa's act on the federal platform? >> I believe I saw it there, yeah, yeah. >> Okay. Great. Because it's really important that we help to create minimum standards for emergency response. And then at the state level for that platform, do we have something to speak to the funding mechanism, like trying to get funded as much as, you know, our partners to the north and south with the FTE funding? >> Yes. >> Perfect. Okay. Thank you. See you soon. >> See you soon. >> Are we sorry? Are we on the federal also, were you just talking about. >> I think both, yeah. >> Okay. So I for on the federal one and the section where it talks about commitment to technology, school safety and wellness, I know it says in here safe learning environments, but I really think I would like to see us start to advocate for a national standard for safe schools. I know that we are starting to do things in our district where it's a requirement for a certain kind of glass or certain kind of locks and things of that nature. And, you know, there are requirements for fire safety, and there hasn't been a fire in a school in over 50 years. So I would really like to see us start to advocate for safe school buildings and what that looks like on a national level, just general standards, and then how people figure that out obviously would be state by state, district by district. But I would like to to add into that safe learning environment, to also advocate for national school building safety standards. >> Is there any objection to that? Not seeing none. Thank you. All right. Anyone else? All right. Do you have your direction, Doctor Hepburn? >> Yes. >> All right. We will now recess this workshop to do a press conference, and we will be back shortly. >> We are now reconvened. Never a dull moment, Doctor Hepburn. Do you want to just address what happened for the audience so they can know what's going on? Yes. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. So we had a alarm trigger from. Due to the neighboring credit union that's adjacent to the building connected to the building. Actually have a sensor that is, I guess, in layman's terms, bad. The fire department did warn us that it could possibly go off again. And our team will actually reset the fire alarm panel if that does. And so we won't have to evacuate if it does go off again. So just an FYI. >> And just the loud sound that we. >> Oh, the loud sound that you hear is actually the exhaust, the vents opening up to suck out all the air. If there was any smoke in the building, it would actually suck out all the air from the exhaust. Fans and events actually open it up. So it's like a pressurized system when you see the vents open up. So that's what you hear. That loud bang if you heard it. >> Thank you. I just wanted the audience to know in case that happens again. That's what's what's going on. All right. So the next item is school board workshop rule development redefining our schools. I now turn it over to staff for a brief presentation. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. Turn it over to Doctor Wanza and her amazing team. Go ahead, Doctor Watson team. >> Good morning, Doctor Hepburn. Good morning, school board members. To our general counsel, our Chief Auditor, our colleagues across the organization who are who are joined in today, as well as the members of our Broward County community who are here, both in the boardroom as well as watching online. I'm Valerie Wanza, I'm the chief strategy and operations officer for the school district. I'm joining me today. I do have four members of my team. I have the executive director of student Transportation and Fleet Services, Doctor Simone Clowers. My team is over in the alcove where they have affectionately named where they sit. We also have the Director of Demographics and Enrollment Planning, Mr. Joe Beck, the director of Charter schools management and Support, Miss Dante Dr Fulton Collins, and the Director of Strategic Initiatives and Performance Management. Mr. Willie would. In a few moments, I will also introduce someone that we've had the opportunity to work with in the latter stages of this process, and she is the representative that the School Boundary Advisory Committee selected to represent them. I will formally introduce Mr. Sam in a few minutes. Beacon, if you can load the presentation. Thank you very much. So I'm I'm now at slide two for everyone who's following along, this is the standard slide where we frame exactly how the the presentation is laid out, why we are here, our purpose and this is the rule development that is outlined in policy 8010. As we begin to formally set the rules for where students will go to school for next school year, as well as how certain facilities their designation for use may be changed. And basically, coming out of today's conversation, the superintendent will, depending on what happens here today, release a memo tomorrow with formal recommendations. As I said, that's predicated on what happens here today. So based on the agenda presentation, these are the items that we are going to go over. We're going to talk about the remaining community engagement that we received. Obviously, we will go through the process and what happened and give you some outcomes with the School Boundary Advisory Committee recommendations, we will look at the data and information for each proposal. We'll talk about next steps. And then we certainly want to hear from the board. And as we as the board deliberates and provides additional feedback, we have had this slide in every presentation. Obviously, we are at this place because we have been experiencing declining enrollment for several years, and over the past decade, the district has lost more than 48,000 students. We see that that translates to more than 430 million less in funding. Currently, we have approximately or just over 61,000 empty student stations. And for a number of reasons, the district obviously can no longer sustain the cost for operating schools that are not full. We do like to reiterate that no decision has been formally made. The we've completed the surveys. The board did ask us when we came in October to complete two additional surveys, and we have done that. We will hear in a few moments the recommendations in greater detail from the School Boundary Advisory Committee. And as I said, depending on what happens here today, this. According to the timeline, the superintendent would release his recommendations tomorrow. And then according to the timeline, if that if that does happen tomorrow, then final board decisions would occur in December. And this is just a reiteration. We were here last October 6th. And this is the the direction that we received on October 6th. And we certainly did do as the feedback that we received. And now we will start to get into some more conversation around how those elements played out, just for the board and the public to just a quick reminder, as staff develop the proposals that have been presented both in workshops and at community meetings, it was they were based on these elements that are here on slide seven. And so you will see that in the proceed in the proposals that we are going to discuss. But this is the data that staff use to develop the proposals. As we went through the process, beginning in in late July, early August, and definitely through the month of September and some in October. This again encapsulates what we have heard from the Broward County community as a whole. While the community understands and they respect that schools are under-enrolled, they still find value in maintaining their neighborhood schools and many communities still find value in maintaining that school, even if it does have a lower enrollment, because it does provide a more intimate approach to the learning styles and needs of their students. Our communities have told us, and we. And it's not that we disagree that these are more than brick and mortar buildings. These are actually the hubs of communities where generations have experienced academic excellence. They built rich community traditions. There's a lot of historical significance. And then there there are comprehensive services that are provided to families throughout the community. So again, I think what the community really is concerned about is the fact that they would like to see in all schools, a very aggressive marketing approach that can be continuously applied, employed so that we can better explain and advertise the great things that are going on in all of our schools. Now we're going to shift to the School Boundary Advisory Committee. The board did, by resolution, establish the committee on September 15th. The members of the committee were comprised of an appointee from each one of the school board members, the superintendent, as well as three district committees. And so there was a 13 member panel that participated in an orientation. They had their deliberation meeting, which was publicly noticed, and it took place on October 26th at Nova Middle School. We also have attached to today's presentation the actual resolution itself that the boarar didid appppve at the Seember 15ththeeeeng, a by resosoluti,, the boardsksked the committee to focus on these six considerations as they reviewed the proposals. So this is the work that the committee focused on in their deliberation meeting. And joining us, as I said today, the committee did select its representative to participate in today's workshop, Miss Sonia Azeem, and she's here. And I will now yield the mic to her to walk us through slide ten. >> Good morning superintendent. Good morning, board chair and board members as well as the community. My name is Sonia Azeem and I'm here to represent the School Boundary Advisory Committee. So before we begin, let me say that we deliberated, deliberated on each proposal intently and carefully, considering community wishes and desires. We fully understand that no one, no one, no one wants to have their school closed or repurposed. This is personal to everyone on the committee. We don't take these decisions lightly, and please remember that this is not one individual's decision or consideration. These are the recommendations that are reflective of the School Boundary Advisory Committee. So before we begin, I wanted to say that and get that out there. So as we deliberated and spoke at the committee meeting, there were some assurances that we wanted to make sure were across the board for every single school that was considered. So our recommendations were that we have careful consideration for students with disabilities to be factored into each transition, that students with disabilities will not be displaced by the consolidations. Every effort should be made to create a program match for the students with disabilities within the receiving schools. Concierge service or white glove service. The. The highest of customer service would be provided to all of the families throughout the transition, and all students wishing to exercise school choice options because of consolidation would receive priority priority options and that we include the municipalities and the communities and the planning for any repurposed sites. >> Okay. So slide 11 gives the summary of how the committee votes, how they voted for each proposal, and what their recommendation was, whether each proposal should be recommended or not recommended. You will see in proposals the two proposals where they have, well, three of them where they have not recommended they did based on the options that were discussed at the October 6th workshop. And those options are on on slide 68 and 69, we actually we, meaning staff actually explained to the committee that while this is the staff proposal, these were other options that were either discussed or brought up at the school board workshop on October 6th. And then based on that, where you see those three, I'm sorry for one, two, three not recommended. They then had something to recommend or that they figured was worthy of recommending based on the options that were discussed at the October 6th School Board workshop. The next slide just gives a snapshot of the student services support that will be in place at all schools. So the student services team is ready, they are prepared and they are eager to keep doing their work in all schools, depending on what decisions are made. So now we'll start to walk through the proposals and for for every proposal, you will see some consistent slides. The first one, this slide for every school that has the map. And then it has the actual data analysis that staff use to explain the map and why the proposal is there. That goes back to the slide where I mentioned the elements, the data elements that staff use to create proposals. So proposal one considers moving Banyan Elementary School into Discovery and Village elementary schools. So that is the map. It shows where the students how the dividing line would go and which students would go to discovery, and which students would go to village. And then these are the elements that the School Boundary Committee considered and miss. As you can see, it was recommended by the Boundary Committee Advisory Committee for the proposal to be considered. It was recommended. So I'll let Mr. Zoom give any more voice to that. >> Okay. Again, like I said, one of the first things we considered were the students that have special needs and how they would be impacted by the move. So we made sure that those considerations were in place, that they would be the least impacted or displaced as possible. So what we discussed with regards to the Banyan proposal was one of the questions was, can we keep Banyan open and offer other pre-K programs? We recommended against against keeping Banyan open. The Banyan has the smallest capacity in the area, and the lowest enrollment and discovery can absorb those students from Banyan and still have the opportunity to grow. There are a large number of schools in the area, and as we discussed, the early childhood department would determine which of those I mean, what schools would have the pre-K, Esq and Esq programs of the receiving schools. >> And then the next slide I, I do want to call out on this slide, and the board and the community may remember when we came on October 6th, I did explain that the initial estimates that there would be the potential of a minimum of at least $300,000 added to each slide, and that that is because in the support allocation, there were three areas that were not contemplated, and it was more so around custodial, around. Esq support, I'm sorry, Esq specialist positions and also multicultural Education and Training act, meta paraprofessionals that are already in place at schools. So there is there is for this one, an additional 300, almost $400,000 added around that whole support piece that I was talking about. And then we actually added to every slide. The maintenance costs were already there. The utility costs were already there. But then we now added the security costs as well. So you see the total estimated savings we did by adding everything in the table and then the three rows below. So for this proposal, it is estimated that the annual recurring cost savings would be just over $2 million. And this then this also explains the student services, how the students with disabilities would receive their services and where at each school there's a slide like this for every proposal. And so that concludes that proposal. The second proposal is Coral Springs Elementary to Parkside. If we will recall, when we came on October 6th, the original proposal was to have the students split between Eagle Ridge and Parkside, and the board had was really interested in if students could move as one unit so that we did not split up. I'm sorry we did not split up a school, that we could actually move them as one unit. And so that's how this proposal went from the students going from Coral Springs Elementary, going from Eagle Ridge and Parkside into just Parkside. And so that is why you see the information there for those two schools. And they would move as one unit into coral, I'm sorry, into Parkside Elementary School, but the board also. Okay. Go ahead. I'm sorry. That's your side. >> That's okay. Some of the considerations that we thought about were students within a two mile radius on the other side, or the north side of sample road would still get a bus so that they wouldn't have to cross a major thoroughfare and be safe. They wanted to keep the dual language and arts programs, the school community wanted to transition as one unit instead of being split up like Doctor Wanza just said. And if there were multiple options that we would ensure that the students would be given, the families would be given a choice as to where they were going. >> So this is the financial analysis for this school. It is just it is 1.6 million in estimated savings. You do see a cost there for transportation. If the students are to be bused, because we do know, and we had the example last school year when we transitioned the students from sunshine to fairway so that the students did not have to cross Miramar Parkway, even though they were less than two miles apart. But there was that safety concern. So that that was addressed in this proposal. And then you see the cost as it relates to maintenance and utilities and the security costs. This obviously, the entire they would transition into Parkside and receive the full continuum of Esq services. And then we did do a survey because the board did ask us, this is one of the schools that the board did ask us to survey. And so based on the survey results, we do see 150 people responded, 117 completed the survey. And of the respondents, you can see that 40%. So it is less than half were actually in favor of all transitioning to one school. And there are families that would, you know, consider going to multiple schools. So depending on, you know, the conversation today, it is do we will we go back to the original option of the students transitioning to Parkside and Eagle Ridge, or do they all go to Parkside? So we did do the survey as we were asked to do. So. Proposal three is Lloyd Estates, and originally the original proposal was for the students at Lloyd Estates to go into Cypress Elementary in Oakland and Oakland Park. The proposal was shifted a little bit because of the need and the desire for the students to remain within the city of Oakland Park. We do know that there was some concerns around aftercare opportunities and grants that the city had specifically. And so there is space for the students to remain in the city of Oakland Park at both North Andrews Gardens Elementary and Oakland Park Elementary. And you see the how the the boundary would be drawn for the students to go to North Andrews Gardens and to Oakland Park. >> So with this proposal, there was a lot of very spirited discussion about it, very, very spirited. The proposal, if the proposal goes through, as Doctor Wanza said, they wanted to make sure that their students in Oakland Park could stay in Oakland Park, but the request was made to keep Lloyd Estates open for at least a year to review the impact of the city, investing $1.5 million to address flooding concerns in the area. $627,000 from the Children's Services Council for aftercare programs and the services that are currently available at Lloyd Estates. Would they be transferable to other Oakland Park schools? And that they were requesting that BCC do a visibility study? There was some frustration from the City of Oakland Park to find out that Lloyd Estates was closing by a public forum, instead of being communicated with directly from Broward schools, the City of Oakland Park said they had requested for the superintendent to attend the City Council meeting to discuss the proposal, and he declined to attend and that we would consider a public private partnership to possibly have a community program similar to the one at Broward Estates so that it would maintain the educational outline as a school, but maybe not a general public school. Okay. >> Oops. Went too fast. Okay, so on slide 25, we see the financial impacts. If the school were to be repurposed. And so that's just under $2 million would be the annual estimated reoccurring cost savings. And then this is the student services with how the students would receive their services either at Oakland Park or. North Andrews Garden, depending on which school they would attend. Okay. The next proposal is Oak Ridge Elementary to Colbert. If you if we will recall, on October 6th, this proposal contemplated the students going to Colbert and Dana Elementary. But again, hearing the feedback and the ability for all of the students to transition as one unit into Colbert. And so there is space for that to occur so that the students could remain within the city of Hollywood. That is here. We do have the data here that staff used to analyze this proposal. So that's on the left hand side. And then the School Boundary Committee. >> Again, we discussed this one. It would be able to be absorbed into Colbert and still have the opportunity to grow. And that there are also a large number of schools in that area that need that needs to be taken into consideration so that with competition of schools, charter schools, other Broward County schools, is it necessary for that particular school to rein open? >> Here is for Oak Ridge Elementary. The estimated annual reoccurring financial cost. You see it there. The reason why we do not have a transportation impact, more so for this school is because Colbert Elementary School is already a regional, if you will, magnet that already has busses running. So that's why you do not see the financial impact that you that we did see for when we saw that we saw for Coral Springs where we would move all those kids and they would look at having to travel a certain distance. But because Colbert is already a regional magnet with transportation in a defined area, that you do not see an impact to transportation there, and then the students will receive their full continuum of Esq services at Colbert Elementary School. The next proposal is the is the proposal that contemplates transitioning dolphin Bay Elementary School, Silver Lakes Elementary School into Glades Middle School and create a K eight and then Sunset Lakes would be a K-8 school. In this proposal, there was a lot of discussion. Mrs. M will go into it. We did present the options again for this one as well. Around. There was one option for dolphin Bay to receive the students from Silver Lakes and Glades remain a middle school. There's the option around the other way, where Silver Lakes would receive the students from dolphin Bay, and they would stay open and. Glades remains a middle school. There's. There was also an option around Silver Lakes, dolphin Bay transitioning into Sunset Lakes Elementary School and then Glades remaining a K-8. So there were a lot of options that we talked about that we explained to the community, the committee that were discussed at the meeting on October 6th. We do know that we have received a proposal from the Silver Lakes community around doing a feasibility and enrollment study, and staff is answering those questions because we received that in a follow up around mid-morning on Monday, and we'll be done with that probably by the end of today. But there is a proposal that I'm certain that we may get questions around that as well. And so at the committee discussed this in great detail. And so this is the very first proposal to transition dolphin Bay and dolphin Bay and Silver Lakes and and then keep Sunset Lakes as a K-8. I'll let. >> Mrs. Ng. All right. So the first proposal was Sunset Lakes becoming a K-8 and dolphin Bay and Silver Lakes transitioning into Glades and that becoming a K-8. So they would be two K-8 schools. There again, are a large number of schools in the area. There are a large number of charter schools with the K-8 model, so that would give them an opportunity to compete with that. But there was some concern about not having a traditional K-5 school and only having K-8 schools in the area. And there was some question about how the campus would be prepared for elementary students, including K one student transitions and bathrooms and the Esq population, as well. >> So the committee did not vote to recommend making both schools, K-8 schools. What the what the committee did contemplate based on the recommendation, I'm sorry, based on the options that were discussed into at the October 6th meeting. But they did discuss. And this was their what they came up as a recommendation is for dolphin Bay and Silver Lakes to go into Glades as a K-8, but maintain Sunset Lakes as a K-5. >> Yeah. So this one again, a lot, a lot of discussion. So dolphin Bay and Silver Lakes can go into glades and they can become a K-8 and still have the opportunity for growth. What we found was that 23% of the families surveyed in the area, one a K-8 model, so that they can compete with the charter school that allows parents to drop their students off from kindergarten to eighth grade without having to go two spots. However, 72% of those people that were surveyed wanted to keep a traditional K-5. So that's why we considered Sunset Lakes as a traditional K-5. And there were some concerns about mixing the very young students, the pre-K or Esq students on the same campus, a traditional middle school option would be Silver Trail, and doing a little bit more digging of the students that are living in the Glades Middle School area. As it stands now, more than 56% of them, or approximately 935 of those students, attend charter schools. So that may give us the opportunity to bring some of those students back. And of the students that live in the Glades Middle School boundary area, over 100 of them already attend Silver Trail Middle School. So as Silver Trail may be a little bit further out as a traditional middle school, there are still students already in the area that are transitioning or doing school choice to Silver Trail. financial impmpac t tss was f fm eeririginal p prosasa w whe bothth schoolsouou b K-8 schools.ouou see the total estimated cost savings at just just over $2.2 million annually. And we did want to note, and we have it on both sides at the the transportation costs really depend on the time of the school day. So right now, the elementary schools are accustomed to an 8:00 start time. Glades Middle School has a has a much later school time. So the 1.1 million is really around maintaining that 8:00 start time. However, you do see if the if the time were to shift, which may not be popular with a number of parents, it would be cost neutral. But we did want to have that call out. So that's for the original and the actual proposal that the committee voted to recommend today puts it at over just over 2.8 million in a cost savings because you have Sunset Lakes would remain a K-5 with its current transportation configuration, and there would be no impact to for transportation at that school. So that's the difference in the cost impact for both proposals. And then slides 37 and 38 provide the Esq continuum of services depending on the proposal. So you see it there. And then we did want to keep this in around the project that is planned for and underway. And in, in the process, I'll say for restrooms to be added in the standalone building at Glades Middle to accommodate the elementary grades. And this we did put in here the survey results. As Mrs. M said, the parents did say overwhelmingly that they prefer a K-5 elementary school and a separate middle school option. However