>> HI. I'M LYNN GRAY, CHAIR OF THE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD. I WANT TO WELCOME YOU TO HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS. WE SERVE MORE THAN 200,000 STUDENTS. THAT INCLUDES CHILDREN IN PRESCHOOL THROUGH OUR ADULTS IN OUR WORKFORCE PROGRAM.
>> HI. I'M DR. STACY HAHN, THE BOARD VICE-CHAIR. OUR DISTRICT IS THE 7th LARGEST IN AMERICA, AND OUR TEAM IS MADE UP OF MORE THAN 24,000 PEOPLE WORKING AT NEARLY 250 SITES ACROSS THE COUNTY.
>> WE ARE DIVERSE AND DEDICATED. OUR BOARD MEETINGS ARE HELD IN OUR BOARD AUDITORIUM ON SELECT TUESDAYS AT 4 P.M. THE BEST WAY TO SERVE OUR STUDENTS AND OUR COMMUNITY IS TO INVOLVE YOU, THE PUBLIC, IN WHAT WE DO.
>> YOU ARE WELCOME TO E-MAIL OR MEET WITH ANY OF OUR BOARD MEMBERS AND FOLLOW OUR DISTRICT ON SOCIAL MEDIA. BOARD MEETINGS ARE COVERED LIVE BY HILLSBOROUGH SCHOOLS TV, ON SPECTRUM CABLE CHANNEL 635 AND FRONTIER CABLE CHANNEL 32.
>> MEETINGS ARE STREAMED ON OUR WEBSITE AT HillsboroughSchools.org. CLOSED CAPTIONING IS PROVIDED ON ALL BROADCASTS AND PAST MEETINGS ARE AVAILABLE IN OUR ONLINE ARCHIVES.
>> WE ARE INTERESTED IN WHAT THE PUBLIC HAS TO SAY. WE'LL INCLUDE TIME FOR AUDIENCE COMMENTS BEFORE WE ADDRESS OUR BUSINESS ITEMS. OUR AGENDA AND ANY SUPPORTING MATERIALS CAN BE VIEWED ONLINE IN ADVANCE. THEY ARE POSTED SEVEN DAYS BEFORE EACH MEETING ON OUR WEBSITE AT HillsboroughSchools.org.
>> OUR VISION IS PREPARING STUDENTS FOR LIFE. AND THAT MEANS ALL STUDENTS EVERY DAY. TODOS LOS ESTUDIANTES, TODOS LOS DIAS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN EDUCATION. WITH YOUR HELP, WE'RE MAKING DECISIONS THAT SHAPE OUR COMMUNITY'S FUTURE. [ SOUNDING GAVEL ]
>>Lynn Gray: GOOD MORNING. THE SPECIAL-CALLED BOARD MEETING OF NOVEMBER 2nd, 2021, IS CALLED TO ORDER. MEMBER HAHN WILL NOW LEAD US IN A MOMENT OF SILENCE FOLLOWED BY THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
>>Stacy Hahn: GOOD MORNING. THANK YOU AND JOIN ME FOR THIS MEETING'S BLESSING. LORD, GRANT US THE WORDS AND WISDOM FOR THE TASKS IN FRONT OF US TODAY. AND WE ASK THAT WE ARE ABLE TO BUILD UNITY AND FOCUS ON WHAT THE BEST INTERESTS ARE FOR OUR SCHOOLS AND OUR COMMUNITY. AMEN. PLEASE STAND FOR THE PLEDGE. [PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE]
>>Lynn Gray: THANK YOU, MEMBER HAHN. I NEED A MOTION AND A SECOND TO ADOPT THE AGENDA. I HAVE A MOTION BY MEMBER VAUGHN AND A SECOND BY MEMBER WASHINGTON. ANY DISCUSSION? PLEASE VOTE WHEN YOUR LIGHTS ARE ON. IT'S UNANIMOUS. LET THE RECORD REFLECT THAT ALL BOARD MEMBERS ARE PRESENT, EITHER IN THE BOARDROOM OR BY REMOTE. AND NOW EVERY ONE OF US ARE PRESENT IN THE BOARDROOM. BOARD MEMBERS, I'D LIKE TO GO OVER THE FORMAT OF TODAY'S MEETING. FOR PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES, WE ARE LIMITING ATTENDANCE TO 50 AT THIS TIME, AND WE ARE PRACTICING SOCIAL DISTANCING AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. SO WE ASK THAT GUESTS IN THE BOARDROOM KEEP ONE CHAIR OPEN BETWEEN FAMILIES. AS A REMINDER, WE ARE A NONPARTISAN BOARD WHO BELIEVE ALL CHILDREN CAN BE EMPOWERED TO LEARN TO SUCCEED, AND OUR DECISIONS WILL BE MADE WITH THAT UNDERSTANDING. TO PAVE THE WAY FOR EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE AGENDA STATEMENTS AND/OR QUESTIONS, BOARD MEMBERS WILL HAVE THREE MINUTES TO SPEAK WITH 30 SECONDS FOR FINAL THOUGHTS. AFTERWARDS, THE SUPERINTENDENT CAN RESPOND. IF YOU HAVE FURTHER QUESTIONS, YOU'RE ASKED TO GET BACK IN THE QUEUE. THE SPECIAL-CALLED BOARD MEETING IS ABOUT REDISTRICTING, A PRACTICE WHICH MEANS PROCESSING OF DRAWING ELECTORAL DISTRICT BOUNDARIES EVERY TEN YEARS FOLLOWING THE U.S. CENSUS. THIS PROCESS ACCOUNTS FOR CHANGES IN POPULATION DURING THE PREVIOUS DECADE. FLORIDA LAW REQUIRES SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS TO REDRAW DISTRICT BOUNDARIES IF THERE IS A VARIANCE OF POPULATION ABOVE 10% OR GREATER DISPARITY. CURRENTLY, WE HAVE DISTRICTS WHICH ARE AS GREAT AS 20%, MAKING CERTAIN DISTRICTS HAVING HIGHER POPULATIONS THAN OTHER DISTRICTS. CONSEQUENTLY, REDISTRICTING IS CURRENTLY NECESSARY TO MAKE ALL OF OUR VOTING DISTRICTS HAVE AN EQUAL REPRESENTATION OF VOTERS. EACH SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER HAS BEEN ASKED TO SUBMIT THEIR MAP, IF THEY CHOSE TO, BASED ON THE SIX CRITERIA, WHICH IS ALSO SHARED BY THE BOCC AS WELL. FIRST CRITERIA, POPULATION VARIANCE AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE TO 10% OR LOWER. SECOND, DISTRICT FIVE POPULATION MUST REFLECT THE BLACK POPULATION, FEDERAL CIVIL RIGHTS LAW NEEDS TO BE MAINTAINED. THIRD, COMPACTNESS, DISTRICTS SHOULD NOT BE SPRAWLING. FOURTH, DISTRICT LINES SHOULD FOLLOW MAJOR CITY ROADS, CITY LINES, AND SHOULD NOT CUT THROUGH SUBURBS. FIVE, COMMUNITY UNITY. OPTIMALLY, COMMUNITIES HAVE SIMILAR NEEDS. AND LAST, SIX, DISTRICT LINES SHOULD BE CONTIGUOUS AND CONNECTED. NOW, THE PUBLIC WILL HAVE ACCESS TO THESE MAPS VIA ONLINE AND THROUGH OUR FIVE TOWN HALL MEETINGS WHICH OUR SUPERINTENDENT WILL SHARE SHORTLY. AT THIS TIME, LET'S HAVE PUBLIC COMMENT. 1.5 MINUTES. WE HAD A CLOSE SITUATION, BUT THERE HAS BEEN A CONUNDRUM OF TRAFFIC PROBLEMS TODAY, SO WE'RE THINKING WE'RE GOING TO HAVE MORE SPEAKERS COME. SO IF YOU WILL, JUST BEAR WITH US, AND WE WILL BE FLEXIBLE. WE'LL GO AHEAD AND START WITH MR. AND MRS. CASTAÑO, TERESA PORTER, JESSICA DUBOIS AND KATHERINE MOORING. GOOD MORNING, MR. CASTAÑO.
>> GOOD MORNING. JAMES CASTAÑO, HILLSBOROUGH PUBLIC SCHOOL ADVOCATES. THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP AND FOLLOWING FLORIDA STATUTE. AND LIKE CHAIRWOMAN GRAY SAID, IT'S REQUIRED. REDISTRICTING IS NOT ONLY MANDATED BY STATE STATUTE, BUT IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO GIVE A VOICE TO EACH AND EVERY CONSTITUENT AND TAXPAYER IN THE DISTRICT TO ENSURE THEY ARE ADEQUATELY REPRESENTED BY THE PEOPLE THEY ELECT. TAMPA IS A TOP DESTINATION IN THE COUNTRY TO MOVE TO. IT IS IMPORTANT MORE THAN EVER TO DRAW NEW DISTRICT LINES TO ENSURE EVERYONE HAS A VOICE AND A SAY IN OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS, WHICH IS CRUCIAL FOR THE YOUTH OF TOMORROW. I URGE YOU NOT TO HIRE AN OUTSIDE VENDOR TO REDISTRICT. THE DISTRICT ALREADY HAS THE RESOURCES AND STARTED THE PROCESS. HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS IS IN A FINANCIAL CRISIS DUE TO THE PANDEMIC, POOR TECHNOLOGY DECISIONS AND YEARS OF FISCAL MISMANAGEMENT. I'M A NAVY VETERAN AND RETIRED FROM THE FBI WITH OVER 31 YEARS OF GOVERNMENT EXPERIENCE. I UPHOLD THE U.S. CONSTITUTION AND FOLLOW THE LAW. ACCORDING TO FLORIDA STATUTE, YOU DO NOT NEED TO DEMONSTRATE THE NEW DISTRICT MAP UNTIL THE VOTE TO REDISTRICT. ADDITIONALLY, REDISTRICTING IS A PREREQUISITE BEFORE ADDING ADDITIONAL SCHOOL BOARD SEATS. I IMPLORE TO YOU FOLLOW THE LAW AND FAIRLY DRAW DISTRICT LINES BASED UPON POPULATION AND NOT PARTY. REDISTRICTING, AGAIN, LIKE CHAIRMAN GRAY SAID, IS NOT REZONING. THIS WILL NOT AFFECT YOUR TAXES. THIS WILL NOT AFFECT SCHOOL FUNDING OR RESOURCES. REDISTRICTING IS MERELY TO ENSURE ALL CITIZENS ARE FAIRLY REPRESENTED. THANK YOU.
>>Lynn Gray: THANK YOU. MS. CASTAÑO. GOOD MORNING.
>> GOOD MORNING. RECOGNIZE THE NEED TO REDISTRICT IN THIS ODD YEAR PER FLORIDA STATUTE 1,001.36 AND SUPREME COURT PRECEDENCE FOR EQUAL REPRESENTATION. PER LEGISLATION FOR SCHOOL BOARD REDISTRICTING, DIFFERENT FROM THE BOCC LEGISLATION, MAPS CAN BE PRESENTED AFTER THE PROCESS. AS A FORMER RESEARCHER, I LOOKED UP LEGISLATION. AS A FORMER FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT EMPLOYEE, I FOLLOW THE LAW AND I KNOW REDISTRICTING IS NECESSARY. SO NO ONE HAS THE REASON TO SUE YOU. AS A NO-PARTY AFFILIATE, I AM AGAINST GERRYMANDERED SEATS FROM EITHER PARTY. OUR CURRENT MAP IS GERRYMANDERED. REDRAW THE LINES TO CORRECT FOR THE 20.6% VARIANCE. PRESERVE SHAKE'S MINORITY DISTRICT. IT SHOULD BE 42%, NOT THE QUOTED 37%. AND AGREE ON A COMPETITIVE MAP. I AM TIRED OF THE DIVISIVENESS BETWEEN POLITICAL PARTIES, THUS WHY I AM NPA NOW. JUST GET THE JOB DONE AS PROFESSIONALS. MANAGED BY AN ATTORNEY. NO PERSONAL OFFENSE, BUT YOUR CURRENT LEGAL ADVICE IS TOO EXPENSIVE AND OFTEN TOO VAGUE TO WARRANT AN ALMOST 12K PER MONTH PRICE TAG. PLEASE CONSIDER AN IN-HOUSE ATTORNEY WHO IS VERSE IN EDUCATION LAW. AND I AM SAYING THAT BECAUSE I AM RUNNING A GROUP THAT IS FOCUSED ON FUNDING. THANK YOU.
>>Lynn Gray: THANK YOU. NEXT WE'LL HEAR FROM MS. POTTER. THEN JESSICA DUBOIS AND KATHERINE MOORING. GOOD MORNING, MS. POTTER.
>> GOOD MORNING. I'M TERESA POTTER, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS. I HAD A SPEECH PREPARED TODAY, BUT MY HUSBAND AND I WERE READING SOCIAL MEDIA ABOUT THIS ISSUE LAST NIGHT AND HE SAID, NO, WHAT YOU NEED TO DO IS ASK THE BOARD TO REPEAT OVER AND OVER TODAY THE THINGS THAT ARE NOT TRUE ON SOCIAL MEDIA. SO WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO ASK YOU TO DO IS MAKE SURE EVERYBODY IS AWARE, NUMBER ONE, THAT YOUR CHILD WILL NOT BE MOVED TO A DIFFERENT SCHOOL BECAUSE OF THIS. NUMBER TWO, YOUR PROPERTY VALUES WILL NOT CHANGE BECAUSE OF THIS. NUMBER THREE, YOUR PROPERTY TAXES WILL NOT CHANGE BECAUSE OF THIS. IT WILL NOT DRAW LINES THROUGH NEIGHBORHOODS, BUSINESS DISTRICTS AND CHANGE YOUR PROPERTY TAXES. AND MY PERSONAL FAVORITE IS THAT THIS IS NOT A RUSHED PROCESS. IN 2011, THIS TOOK EIGHT WEEKS TO ACCOMPLISH. BUT I'M A LIBRARIAN, SO I LOOKED FURTHER. I COULD NOT FIND A SCHOOL BOARD REDISTRICTING TIMELINE OR A COUNTY COMMISSION REDISTRICTING TIMELINE THAT TOOK LONGER THAN EIGHT TO TEN WEEKS. IT WAS TEN WEEKS FROM OCTOBER 22 WHEN YOU ASKED STAFF TO MOVE FORWARD ON THIS AND IT'S 8 WEEKS FROM TODAY TO THE END OF THE YEAR. EVEN IF THE DELAY FROM LAST WEEK TO THIS WEEK AND TODAY'S MEETING REDUCES THE TIMELINE, THERE IS NO DOWNSIDE TO MOVING FORWARD WITH THIS PROCESS. IF YOU GET TO DECEMBER 31st AND THERE IS NOT A FAIR MAP AVAILABLE, AT LEAST YOU CAN SAY THAT YOU DID EVERYTHING YOU COULD TO PROTECT VOTING RIGHTS. THANK YOU.
>>Lynn Gray: THANK YOU. MS. DUBOIS. GOOD MORNING.
>> GOOD MORNING. MY NAME IS JESSICA DUBOIS. I'M THE CHAIR OF HILLSBOROUGH PUBLIC SCHOOL ADVOCATES. ARTICLE I, SECTION 2 OF THE U.S. CONSTITUTION IT STATES: REPRESENTATIVES SHALL BE APPORTIONED AMONG THE SEVERAL STATES ACCORDING TO THEIR RESPECTIVE NUMBERS. IN MANY WAYS, THE WHOLE AMERICAN REVOLUTION WAS ABOUT REPRESENTING THE VOICES OF PEOPLE EQUALLY. HPA DOES NOT SUPPORT GERRYMANDERED MAPS. WE SHOULD HAVE AN OBJECTIVE LENS AND FIND WAYS TO PUT PARTIES ASIDE AND REPRESENT PARENTS AND FAMILIES EQUALLY. WITH OVER 20% VARIANCE IN MANY OF THE DISTRICTS IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, REDISTRICTING IS DIRE AND REQUIRED BY STATUTE 1,001.36 TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE'S VOICES ARE HEARD EQUALLY. THERE'S A LOT OF NOISE AND FAKE NEWS OUT THERE THAT THIS IS BEING RUSHED. I'D LIKE THE BOARD TO EMPHASIZE HOW LONG THIS DISCUSSION HAS BEEN GOING ON, WHICH I THINK IS SINCE MAY, AND WITH FINAL CENSUS DATA JUST MADE IN SEPTEMBER, THIS IS A STEP TO FINALIZE THOSE MAPS. THERE ARE MANY EXPERTS HERE WITHIN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY AND THE BOCC, ALONG WITH SEVEN OTHER MAJOR DISTRICTS IN THE STATE GOING THROUGH THIS PROCESS AS WE SPEAK. AND FOR THOSE SAYING THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE A SAY, THERE ARE TOWN HALLS FOR EACH DISTRICT SO WE CAN ALL ASK QUESTIONS AND MAKE SURE ALL CONSTITUENTS KNOW WHAT THIS IS ABOUT. LET'S PLEASE MAKE SURE TO PUT ASIDE OUR PARTY AFFILIATIONS AND SEE THROUGH ALL THE FAKE NEWS OUT THERE. LET'S SHOW DUE PROCESS AS QUALITY PUBLIC EDUCATION SHOULD BE NONPARTISAN AND REDISTRICTING IS DIRE TO ENSURE ALL VOICES HAVE EQUAL IMPORTANCE. THANK YOU.
>>Lynn Gray: THANK YOU. NEXT, KATLYN MOORING. IT MIGHT BE KATHERINE, BUT YOU'LL CORRECT ME. GOOD MORNING. STATE YOUR NAME.
>> PRIVACY IS A HUMAN RIGHT AND ESSENTIAL TO FREEDOM. BIG TECH SNOOPS IN YOUR PERSONAL MATTERS IN WAYS YOU ARE UNAWARE. YOU ARE NOT HELPLESS. TELL THE SCHOOL DISTRICT TO STOP COLLECTING SO MUCH DATA ON YOUR KIDS. ASK TO SEE ALL THE DATA. FORCED DATA COLLECTION IS TECH TYRANNY. WE WERE ABLE TO OPT OUT. MY GIRLS WERE KICKED OUT OF PUBLIC SCHOOL BASKETBALL BECAUSE WE REFUSED TO DIGITIZE AND GIVE THEIR MEDICAL DATA TO A FOR-PROFIT PRIVATE COMPANY WITH A PRIVACY POLICY WE COULD NOT AGREE TO. WE DID PROVIDE ALL REQUIRED PAPERWORK ON PAPER. SCHOOL DISTRICT LAWYERS ADVISED OUR DISTRICT LEADERSHIP TO NOT ACCEPT PAPERWORK. ONE REASON, STUDENT SAFETY. CHILDREN ARE NOT SAFER WITH PRIVATE DATA STORED ONLINE. IT RISKS A CHILD'S DATA TO HACKING AND SELL ON THE DARK WEB. WE SAID NO. YOU SHOULD TOO. IT'S ED TECH TYRANNY. THEY ARE LOW HANGING FRUIT CYBER CRIMINALS GO AFTER. WELL-KNOWN PROGRAM. THE WHITE HOUSE DIRECTED A CYBERSECURITY AGENCY TO STUDY THE PROBLEM IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 2018, ED TECH ALERT HACKERS THAT EXTORTED STUDENTS AND PARENTS AND VIOLENCE TO RELEASE INFORMATION. CANADIAN COLLEGE STUDENT DISCOVERED CANVAS COLLECTED OVER 400 MILLION DATA POINTS ON HIM ALONE. EVERY MOUSE MOVEMENT OR CLICK ON ED TECH PLATFORMS. READ THE PRIVACY POLICIES, QUESTION AND RESEARCH WHAT THEY MEAN. WORDS LIKE LICENSING, PARTNERS, AND NOT 100% SECURE. HOW DO YOU KNOW IT ISN'T ZERO PERCENT SECURE? DATA ISN'T KIND OF BREACHED, IT IS OR IT ISN'T.
>>Lynn Gray: THANK YOU. NEXT, DONALD MORGAN, KELLY CARLING, SCOTT HOTTENSTEIN, DEBORAH KAUFMANN, AND THEN CARMEN EDWARDS. IF YOU'LL LINE UP. DONALD MORGAN, ARE YOU PRESENT? GOOD MORNING, MR. MORGAN.
>> THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME SPEAK. I JUST WANTED TO AS A CONCERNED CITIZEN LIVING HERE FOR 20 YEARS, FOUR OUT OF MY FIVE CHILDREN HAVE GONE THROUGH THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM, AND I WANTED TO, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU FOR CONTINUING THE PROCESS MANDATED BY LAW THAT WE MUST GO THROUGH THE PROCESS OF REDISTRICTING. I AGREE WITH FORMER SPEAKERS WHO SAID IT SHOULD BE AS NONPARTISAN AND AS OBJECTIVE AS POSSIBLE. AND MY ONLY CONCERN IS TO MAKE SURE THAT IT IS NOT DELAYED AND IT PROCEEDS ON THE PATH THAT YOU HAVE ALREADY SET IT ON AND ARE FOLLOWING PREVIOUS PRECEDENT. SO THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR EFFORTS, AND WE, THE COMMON CITIZENS APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT YOU ALL DO. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
>>Lynn Gray: THANK YOU. MS. CARLING FOLLOWED BY SCOTT HOTTENSTEIN. MS. CARLING. GOOD MORNING.
>> GOOD MORNING. MY NAME IS KELLY CARLING. I'M A GRADUATE OF HARVARD AND THE MOTHER OF FOUR CHILDREN ATTENDING PUBLIC SCHOOLS HERE. I AM DEEPLY DISTURBED BY WHAT JUST WENT ON OUTSIDE. I E-MAILED YOU YESTERDAY ABOUT BEING ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS MEETING TODAY, TO BE ABLE TO SIT INSIDE AND YOU SAID YOU WOULD WORK ON IT. BUT WHEN I CAME HERE THIS MORNING, I WAS TOLD WE WERE NOT ALLOWED IN. THE REASONS I GOT WERE VARIABLE. A FEW WEEKS AGO, IT WAS COVID. BUT I'VE SEEN ALL OF YOU GUYS ATTENDING GALAS TOGETHER UNMASKED IN CROWDED FACILITIES. THIS MORNING, THE REASON YOU TOLD ME THAT WE COULDN'T COME IN IS BECAUSE OF SECURITY, FOR THE SECURITY OF THE STUDENTS, WHICH I DON'T SEE ANY STUDENTS HERE, AND THE SECURITY OF THE BOARD MEMBERS. AM I A DOMESTIC TERRORIST? I'M JUST A MOM WHO CARES ABOUT HER KIDS. I LOVE MY CHILDREN. I LOVE THEM. I LOVE THEM MORE THAN YOU DO. AND I NEED TO BE PRESENT AT THESE MEETINGS. YOU'RE FORCING ME BETWEEN CHOOSING TO SPEAK AND TO LISTEN. AS I TOLD YOU YESTERDAY IN THE E-MAIL, I WANT TO DO BOTH. I WANT TO HEAR WHAT YOU ALL HAVE TO SAY, WHAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE SAYING AND I CAN'T DO THAT OUTSIDE BY 901 WEST -- EAST KENNEDY BOULEVARD. I CAN'T EVEN HEAR. YOU DON'T PROVIDE A TELEVISION, AND ONLY UNTIL I WENT ON Facebook LIVE SAYING WHY CAN'T WE COME INSIDE DID SECURITY LET US IN. THIS IS A LIE. I CAME HERE TO TALK ABOUT REDISTRICTING BUT HOW ARE WE GOING TO HAVE EQUITABLE REDISTRICTING WITH VOTER INPUT WHEN YOU WON'T -- I THINK I'M A REASONABLE PERSON, COME AND SPEAK. YOU IGNORE MY E-MAILS. IT'S JUST ABSURD. HOW ARE WE GOING TO HAVE FAIR MAPS? HAD THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS BEGAN THIS PROCESS IN FEBRUARY AND THEY STILL HAVEN'T COMPLETED IT. YOU HAD THE DATA, WHY ALL OF A SUDDEN THE RUSH? WHAT'S GOING ON? [ APPLAUSE ]
>>Lynn Gray: THANK YOU. NEXT, WE'LL HEAR FROM SCOTT HOTTENSTEIN AND THEN DEBORAH KAUFMANN.
>> GOOD MORNING. I'M SCOTT HOTTENSTEIN, THE PRESIDENT OF THE DEMOCRATIC PUBLIC EDUCATION CAUCUS OF FLORIDA AND A RESIDENT OF DISTRICT FOUR WHERE MY CURRENT VOTE FOR SCHOOL BOARD IS DILUTED BY 15% BECAUSE OF POPULATION INEQUALITIES BETWEEN THE DISTRICTS. IN ACCORDANCE WITH HOUSE BILL 1085, PASSED UNANIMOUSLY BY THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE IN 2006, AND THAT'S WHAT IS BEING HANDED OUT, HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD MUST CONSIST OF FIVE SINGLE MEMBER DISTRICTS AND TWO AT-LARGE DISTRICTS. REDISTRICTING MUST BE DONE IN ODD-NUMBERED YEARS IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE CENSUS RESULTS ARE RELEASED. ACCORDING TO FLORIDA STATUTE 1,001.36, SINGLE-MEMBER DISTRICTS SHALL BE AS EQUAL IN POPULATION AS PRACTICAL. AS THE TWO LARGEST DISTRICTS AND THE ONLY ONES OVER 300,000 PEOPLE, IT'S NATURAL FOR THE BOUNDARIES OF DISTRICT 2 AND DISTRICT 4 TO SHIFT, AND FOR THOSE DISTRICTS TO DECREASE IN POPULATION. THAT PROTECTS THOSE VOTERS IN THOSE DISTRICTS. IT DOESN'T HARM THEM. AS A CIVICS TEACHER, I WOULD TEACH MY STUDENTS ABOUT MALAPPORTIONMENT IN THE SUPREME COURT CASE BAKER VERSUS CARR FROM 1962. OUR CURRENT DISTRICTS ARE AN EXAMPLE OF MALAPPORTIONMENT. THE LAST TIME WE REDISTRICT IN 2011, PUBLIC INPUT TOOK ABOUT TWO MONTHS. THERE WERE PUBLIC WORKSHOPS IN EACH DISTRICT JUST AS WE'RE DOING THIS TIME. THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE Facebook GROUPS AND SO MANY PEOPLE COMING FOR PUBLIC COMMENT MEANS THAT THE PUBLIC IS AWARE OF REDISTRICTING. I URGE YOU TO FOLLOW THE LAW. THANK YOU.
>>Lynn Gray: THANK YOU. NEXT WE'LL HAVE DEBORAH KAUFMANN, CARMEN EDMONDS, THEN PAT HALL, MARY ELLEN TERRITO. GOOD MORNING.
>> GOOD MORNING. I THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE PUBLIC COMMENT. I'M HERE REPRESENTING THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY OF WHICH I AM THE PRESIDENT. THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS IS A MEMBER OF THE FAIR DISTRICTS COALITION OF FLORIDA. WE ARE TAKING A VERY ACTIVE ROLE ACROSS THE STATE TO ENSURE A FAIR AND OPEN PROCESS FOR FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL VOTING DISTRICTS. WE ARE COMMITTED TO THE PRINCIPLES ESPOUSED IN THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT THAT GOVERNS REDISTRICTING AND APPORTIONMENT FOR THE STATE. ALTHOUGH SCHOOL BOARDS ARE NOT BOUND BY THOSE PRINCIPLES, WE APPRECIATE THAT THE SUPERINTENDENT INCLUDED MANY OF THEM NOISE INITIAL COMMUNICATIONS ON REDISTRICTING. TODAY, THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS CALLS UPON YOU TO ENSURE THAT SCHOOL BOARD VOTING DISTRICTS BE CREATED IN THIS MANNER, A MANNER THAT DOES NOT FAVOR THE INCUMBENT, THAT ALLOWS RACIAL, ETHNIC, AND LANGUAGE MINORITIES TO ELECT REPRESENTATIVES OF THEIR CHOICE, THAT ENSURES THAT THEY ARE COMPACT AS POSSIBLE AND EQUAL IN POPULATION. THAT ENSURES THEY ARE CONTIGUOUS AND TRIES TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE TO KEEP NEIGHBORHOODS AND COMMUNITIES TOGETHER. WE UNDERSTAND THAT TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE, BUT WE SUPPORT COMPLETING THIS WORK THIS YEAR AS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY TO ENSURE THAT ALL HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY VOTERS HAVE AN EQUAL VOICE IN CHOOSING THE BOARD MEMBERS WHO REPRESENT THEM. WE EXPECT YOU WILL TAKE ALL MEASURES NECESSARY SO THAT THIS COMPRESSED TIME FRAME DOES NOT PREVENT AN OPEN AND TRANSPARENT PROCESS THAT ALLOWS FOR MAXIMUM PUBLIC INPUT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION.
>>Lynn Gray: THANK YOU. NEXT, WE'LL HEAR FROM CARMEN EDMONDS, FOLLOWED BY PAT HALL, MARYELLEN TERRITO AND ALLISON FERNANDEZ, IF YOU'LL LINE UP. GOOD MORNING.
>> GOOD MORNING. I'M SURE YOU ALL ARE AWARE THAT MANY SCHOOL BOARDS AROUND THE COUNTRY ARE BECOMING THE PARIAH OF THEIR COMMUNITIES. PARENTS ARE WAKING UP AND FULLY AWARE OF THE CORRUPTION AND LACK OF LEADERSHIP ON SCHOOL BOARDS. I'M HERE TODAY TO DISCUSS THE LACK OF LEADERSHIP, LACK OF PLANNING AND LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY WITHIN OUR SCHOOL BOARD. TO CALL FOR REDISTRICTING AT THE 11th HOUR IS A TOTAL FAILURE OF LEADERSHIP AND PLANNING. YOUR ATTORNEY, JIM PORTER, HAS BEEN REMINDING YOU ALL SINCE JULY ABOUT REDISTRICTING AND YOU FAILED TO ACT ON IT THEN. THIS DOES NOT GIVE US PROPER TIME TO DRAW PROPER DISTRICTS, HOLD TOWN HALLS AND HEAR PEOPLE'S CONCERNS. WE ARE OUT OF TIME NOW. REDISTRICTING DOES NOT AND SHOULD NOT BE RUSHED THROUGH. IT COMES ACROSS AS COMPLETE OVERREACH, WHICH THIS BOARD HAS BEEN GUILTY OF ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. IT'S NOT A GOOD LOOK. WE HAVE MUCH BIGGER ISSUES THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED RIGHT NOW, NOT REDISTRICTING. WE HAVE BUDGET ISSUES. WE HAVE THOUSANDS OF MISSING STUDENTS FROM OUR SCHOOL ROLLS. WE HAVE OVERCROWDING IN EVERY SCHOOL, AND WE HAVE A SHORTAGE OF BUS DRIVERS AND OTHER SCHOOL PERSONNEL. LET'S TACKLE THESE ISSUES BEFORE WE START REDISTRICTING. ARE THERE PLANS TO BUILD NEW SCHOOLS? ARE THERE PLANS TO FISCALLY AND RESPONSIBLY BALANCE THE BUDGET? ARE THERE PLANS TO FIND THESE KIDS THAT HAVE DROPPED OFF SCHOOL ROLLS? THESE ISSUES SHOULD TAKE TOP PRIORITY, NOT REDISTRICTING. AND ESPECIALLY NOT AT THE LAST MINUTE. THIS IS A COMPLETE VIOLATION OF OUR PUBLIC PROCESS AND PUBLIC ACCESS. IF REDISTRICTING IS TRULY MANDATED BY LAW, THEN WHY DID THIS BOARD WAIT SO LONG TO ACT ON SOMETHING OF SUCH GREAT IMPORTANCE?
>>Lynn Gray: THANK YOU. MS. HALL, FOLLOWED BY MARYELLEN TERRITO. ALLISON FERNANDEZ, AND AMBER LYNNE RHODES. GOOD MORNING, MS. HALL.
>> GOOD MORNING. AS WE ADDRESS SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER REDISTRICTING TODAY, THE VIEWING PUBLIC SHOULD NOT BE CONFUSED THAT SCHOOL BOUNDARIES OR CHILDREN ARE INVOLVED IN THIS GEOGRAPHIC BOUNDARY REDRAW OF WHERE ADULT VOTERS RESIDED IN 2020. THE CENSUS NUMBERS REQUIRE THAT REDISTRICTING BE DONE AFTER THE DATA RELEASE IN SEPTEMBER AND PRIOR TO DECEMBER 31st, 2021. 292,000 VOTERS SHOULD BE IN EACH OF THE FIVE SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER SINGLE DISTRICTS. CURRENTLY, THERE'S A 21% VARIANCE WITH 321,000 VOTERS IN DISTRICT 2, AND 261,000 IN DISTRICT 1. THAT'S A DIFFERENCE OF 60,000 VOTERS. THE LEGAL STANDARD, AS MS. GRAY SAID EARLIER, IS A VARIANCE IN POPULATION UNDER 10%. CURRENT BOUNDARIES DILUTE THE VOICES IN DISTRICT 2 AND 4 BECAUSE THOSE DISTRICTS HAVE TOO MANY VOTERS. CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS WILL SHRINK AS FLORIDA GAINS A NEW CONGRESSWOMAN. HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY'S POPULATION GREW 19% FROM 2010 TO 2020. WE HAVE TO REDISTRICT. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
>>Lynn Gray: THANK YOU, MS. HALL. MARYELLEN TERRITO FOLLOWED BY ALLISON FERNANDEZ, AMBER LYNNE RHODES, VERONICA McDONALD, CRAIG NEWMAN. GOOD MORNING.
>> GOOD MORNING. THANK YOU FOR MAKING REDISTRICTING A PRIORITY IN 2021. THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965 WAS MONUMENTAL LEGISLATION THAT PROHIBITED RACIAL DISCRIMINATION AND VOTING AND THE PUBLIC DOES NOT SUPPORT GERRYMANDERED MAPS. THE CURRENT MAP HAS A 60,000 VOTER DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DR. HAHN'S DISTRICT WITH 321,000 AND MS. COMBS' DISTRICT WITH 261,000. WE WOULD LIKE IT TO BE EQUAL. WE THINK IT SHOULD BE EQUAL. I THINK IT SHOULD BE EQUAL. ALSO, I BELIEVE THAT NO OUTSIDE PARTY SHOULD BE PAID TO DRAW NEW MAPS AS THE COUNTY HAS GIS EXPERTS THAT CAN HELP WITH THIS PROCESS. LET'S SAVE OUR DOLLARS. LET'S SAVE OUR DOLLARS FOR THE MOST CRUCIAL INTENT TO PROVIDE AN EQUITABLE, QUALITY PUBLIC EDUCATION FOR ALL OF THE CHILDREN IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
>>Lynn Gray: THANK YOU. MS. FERNANDEZ. AND THEN FOLLOWED BY AMBER LYNNE RHODES. GOOD MORNING, MS. FERNANDEZ.
>> GOOD MORNING. ALLISON FERNANDEZ. I AGREE, REDISTRICTING IS REQUIRED. YOU HAVE TO DO THIS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS DATA. HOWEVER, I AM ALSO -- I'M JUST IN A LOT OF DISMAY HERE THAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO THIS IN THIS TIME PERIOD. THIS BOARD ALREADY HAS SO MANY AREAS THAT YOU BLOCK PUBLIC COMMENT. I AGREE, YOU'RE PROBABLY FOLLOWING THE LETTER OF THE SUNSHINE LAW, BUT THIS BOARD DOES NOT FOLLOW AND THE DISTRICT AS WELL DOES NOT FOLLOW THE SPIRIT OF THE SUNSHINE LAW AND PUBLIC ACCESS. THAT IS MY BIGGEST CONCERN HERE. IF YOU LOOK AT THE CITY OF TEMPLE TERRACE, WE ARE 24,000 HOUSEHOLDS, 24,000 RESIDENTS, 10,000 HOUSEHOLDS, ABOUT FOUR TO SIX SQUARE MILES AND WE HAVE TWO SEPARATE SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER, SINGLE-MEMBER DISTRICTS. THERE IS NOT ONE SINGLE BOARD MEMBER UP HERE THAT NEEDS TEMPLE TERRACE TO BE ON THIS BOARD, WHICH MEANS WE HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO POLITICAL POWER AT ALL, AND IF YOU LOOK AT OUR SCHOOLS, YOU CAN SEE HOW WELL THEY ARE DOING. TEMPLE TERRACE ELEMENTARY, C, D, F, GRECO, BEEN IN THE NEWS QUITE A BIT. OUR RESIDENTS FORMERLY WENT TO RIVER HILLS, BUT THE WAY YOU ALL ADDRESSED THAT GRADING ISSUE WAS TO MAKE IT A MAGNET. I HAVE A LOT OF CONCERNS ABOUT PUBLIC INPUT IN THIS PROCESS, AND I AM 100% SKEPTICAL THAT THE PUBLIC WILL HAVE THE ABILITY, THE TIME, AND THE LISTENING TO BE PART OF THIS PROCESS. I NEED YOU ALL TO DO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE. THESE DISTRICTS WILL BE SET FOR THE NEXT TEN YEARS. I UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS. I KNOW WHAT IT IS. I KNOW MY KIDS AREN'T GOING TO A DIFFERENT SCHOOL. BUT, PLEASE, TAKE YOUR TIME.
>>Lynn Gray: THANK YOU. NEXT, MS. McDONALD. AMBER LYNNE RHODES. SORRY. GOOD MORNING, MS. RHODES.
>> HEY, GUYS. NICE TO SEE ALL OF YOU. I'M AMBER LYNNE RHODES. I'M WITH HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS ADVOCATES. I'M HERE TODAY TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT REDISTRICTING AS MANY OF MY COLLEAGUES HAVE DISCUSSED PRIOR TO ME. IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR OUR COMMUNITIES. IT HELPS NEIGHBORHOODS STAY TOGETHER. IT ALSO HELPS WITH EQUAL REPRESENTATION. AS YOU'RE AWARE, IT'S REQUIRED BY STATE STATUTE 1,001.36, AND ACCORDING TO THE LATEST CENSUS DATA THAT WAS AVAILABLE SINCE SEPTEMBER, OUR DISTRICT BOUNDARIES ARE NOT IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE STATUTE. IF WE DON'T MOVE FORWARD WITH REDISTRICTING AND GET THIS ACCOMPLISHED BY DECEMBER 31st, WE ARE LIKELY TO BE SUED FOR NOT HAVING EQUAL REPRESENTATION IN OUR DISTRICTS. MANY COUNTIES IN FLORIDA HAVE ALREADY STARTED MOVING FORWARD WITH THIS PROCESS. PASCO, PINELLAS, PALM BEACH TO NAME A FEW. WE ASK YOU TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE REDISTRICTING PROCESS. WE ADVOCATE THAT WE DO NOT PAY FOR OUTSIDE PARTIES TO ACCOMPLISH THIS. WE HAVE IN-HOUSE REPRESENTATIVES THAT CAN DO THIS WORK AS WELL AS THE BOCC. AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING. I APPRECIATE IT. TAKE CARE.
>>Lynn Gray: THANK YOU. MS. McDONALD FOLLOWED BY CRAIG NEWMAN, STEVEN GALINDO, JASON FERGER. GET YOURSELF IN THE QUEUE. THANK YOU. GOOD MORNING, MS. McDONALD.
>> GOOD MORNING. IN ORDER TO ARRIVE BY 9:00 MEETING START, I HAD TO BRING MY SON WITH ME BACK THERE BECAUSE HIS SCHOOL DOESN'T START UNTIL 8:30 AND I LIVE IN NORTH TAMPA. FINDING OUT DURING MY DRIVE THAT THE MEETING WAS PUSHED TO 9:30 WAS EXTREMELY INAPPROPRIATE ON SHORT NOTICE. NOT RESPECTFUL OF MY TIME. REDISTRICTING IS A NECESSARY PROCESS TO REFLECT CHANGES IN POPULATION AND RACIAL DIVERSITY AFTER EACH CENSUS. THE GOAL OF REDISTRICTING IS TO PROVIDE FAIR AND EFFECTIVE REPRESENTATION FOR ALL. ACCORDING TO THE 2020 CENSUS, NEARLY ALL OF THIS COUNTRY'S POPULATION GROWTH IN THE LAST DECADE WAS DUE TO GROWTH OF COMMUNITIES OF COLOR. SO REDISTRICTING IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO ENSURE THAT OUR MAPS REFLECT THAT GROWING DIVERSITY. AS COT HOTTENSTEIN INDICATED HOUSE BILL 1085 IN 2006 MADE INTO LAW THAT HILLSBOROUGH MUST HAVE EXACTLY A FIVE MEMBER DISTRICT WITH TWO COUNTY SEATS NO MORE. THE ARGUMENT FOR AN EXTRA MEMBER DISTRICT, LIKE I'VE SEEN ON SOCIAL MEDIA IS MISINFORMATION HAD AS PREVIOUSLY STATED BY MS. TERESA POTTER AS WELL. ADDITIONALLY, THE LAST TIME WE REDISTRICTED IN 2011, TOOK THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT NOW. SO I BELIEVE THAT THE ARGUMENT THAT WE'RE NOT ALLOWING ENOUGH TIME IS A STALLING TACTIC, PURELY TO DELAY THE PROCESS AND PROTECT INCUMBENTS' SEATS ON THE BOARD. SO, FINALLY, I ALSO WANT TO REITERATE THAT REDISTRICTING WILL NOT CHANGE YOUR SCHOOL ATTENDANCE BOUNDARIES. IT WILL NOT. I'D ALSO LIKE TO REMIND VIEWERS THAT WE LEGISLATE PEOPLE, NOT LAND, WHICH ACCOUNTS FOR WHY SOME DISTRICTS LOOK DIGITALLY LARGER ON A MAP THAN OTHERS. COMES DOWN TO POPULATION DENSITY. PLEASE DO NOT DELAY THIS PROCESS TO CREATE FAIR AND EQUITABLE MAPS FOR HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT THAT ARE NOT GERRYMANDERED. PLEASE DO NOT HIRE AN OUTSIDE FIRM TO DO THE PROCESS. WE ARE IN A FINANCIAL CRISIS AS WE ALL KNOW. THANK YOU.
>>Lynn Gray: THANK YOU. NEXT, MR. NEWMAN, FOLLOWED BY STEVEN GALINDO. GOOD MORNING.
>> GOOD MORNING. MY NAME IS CRAIG NEWMAN. I AM A PUBLIC SCHOOL, PART OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOL ADVOCATES. I ALSO WENT TO PUBLIC SCHOOL, DALE MABRY, COLEMAN AND PLANT. I'VE BEEN LIVING HERE SINCE 1961. I'VE SEEN A LOT OF CHANGES TAKE PLACE. I SUPPORT YOUR DECISION TO DO THE REDISTRICTING. IT'S NEEDED TO BE DONE. IF WE'RE GOING TO HAVE AN EQUITABLE AND FAIR SCHOOL BOARD, WE NEED TO HAVE THE REDISTRICTING DONE NOW. IN THE PAST TEN YEARS, THE POPULATION GROWTH IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY HAS BEEN TREMENDOUS. WE HAVE HAD OVER 300,000 PEOPLE IN THE LAST TEN YEARS LIVE HERE IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY. IF WE'RE TO BE FAIR WITH REPRESENTATION, WE MUST DO THIS NOW. JUST AS IMPORTANT AS WHAT WE MUST DO WITH DOING IT NOW, WE MUST ALSO DRAW THE MAPS USING THE COUNTY GIS EXPERTS. AS OPPOSED TO USING OUTSIDE AGENCIES. I THINK THIS IS MOST IMPORTANT BECAUSE THEY HAVE THE MOST EXPERIENCE AND NONPOLITICAL. THAT'S ALL I HAVE TO SAY. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.
>>Lynn Gray: THANK YOU. NEXT, WE WILL HAVE STEVEN GALINDO. ARE YOU PRESENT? OH, GOOD MORNING, STEVEN. THEN JASON FERGER, LAURA COLTER, AND THEN ANGIE SMITH. HERE WE GO.
>> GOOD MORNING. MY NAME IS STEVEN GALINDO. I'M A PARENT THAT LIVES IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT. I LIVE IN DISTRICT 4. I'D FIRST LIKE TO OPEN AND REMIND THE SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS AND THEIR CONSTITUENTS THAT MEMBERS ARE ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY RESIDENTS. YOU WERE ELECTED TO REPRESENT THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE AND EVERYBODY HERE SHOULD BE NODDING IN AGREEMENT WITH THAT. GREATEST CONCERN TO ME AND MY WIFE AND MY PARENTS WHO I REPRESENT RIGHT NOW IS A METHOD BY WHICH THIS MEETING IS BEING HELD. IF THIS PROCESS IS GOING SO SLOWLY AS THOSE HAVE PREVIOUSLY STATED, WHY IS THIS AN EMERGENCY MEETING BEING CALLED AT 9:00 IN THE MORNING WHEN MOST PEOPLE ARE AT WORK? IS IT BECAUSE IT DIRECTLY AFFECTS THE HEALTH AND WELFARE OF OUR CHILDREN? NO. IS IT BECAUSE THERE'S AN ELECTION COMING UP? NO. THAT'S 2022 AND 2024. I WALKED INTO THIS MEETING EXPECTING TO HEAR THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE AND THE OPENING OF A MEETING. INSTEAD, I CAME IN WITH JUST ENOUGH TIME TO MAKE MY STATEMENT HERE. I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE HALF THE PEOPLE STAND ON THIS. ALSO, IT WAS SCHEDULED AT 9. THEN RESCHEDULED FOR 9:30, HOWEVER THE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD WEBSITE SAYS IT WAS RESCHEDULED FOR 4 P.M. DUE TO LACK OF QUORUM. SO WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON? I SUBMIT TO THOSE LISTENING THAT IT WAS HELD ON SHORT NOTICE AT A TIME WHEN MOST PEOPLE, LIKE I SAID, ARE AT WORK TO AVOID PUBLIC INPUT AND THAT THIS ISN'T DONE BY THE GOVERNMENT. IT'S DONE BY THE PEOPLE THAT REPRESENT THE PEOPLE THAT MAKE UP THE GOVERNMENT. THIS IS DONE BY PEOPLE WHO MEET US IN OUR SCHOOL PICKUP LINES AND GO TO TARGET JUST LIKE THE REST OF US. NO, RIGHT NOW, IT'S OPEN FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, BUT THERE WILL BE PEOPLE WHO HAVE QUESTIONS. PEOPLE WHO WANT ANSWERS ON DEMAND. PLEASE BE PREPARED FOR THAT. THANK YOU.
>>Lynn Gray: THANK YOU. MR. FERGER FOLLOWED BY MS. COLTER. GOOD MORNING, MR. FERGER.
>> GOOD MORNING. MY NAME IS JASON FERGER. I'M A STAKEHOLDER. I WANTED TO COME HERE TODAY, I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE RUSHED ASPECT OF THIS. IT'S BECAUSE OF THE SYSTEMIC DYSFUNCTION THAT THIS BOARD HAS HAD OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, NOT JUST THIS BOARD AND PREVIOUS BOARDS LIKE THAT. BUT ORANGE COUNTY, FOR EXAMPLE, HAS ALREADY HAD FOUR MEETINGS. AND THEY'VE INVOLVED THE PUBLIC IN THE PROCESS, NOT JUST FOR A MINUTE AND 45 SECONDS. THEY ARE LITERALLY INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS. THEY ARE ON THE WEBSITE. LOOK AT THE INFORMATION THEY HAVE ON THEIR WEBSITE. LOOK AT THE INFORMATION THAT'S ON BROWARD'S WEBSITE, BECAUSE BROWARD HAS HAD SEVEN MEETINGS. LOOK AT THE INFORMATION ON HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY'S WEBSITE, PRETTY MUCH NONEXISTENT. I SENT YOU ALL A MAP THIS MORNING THAT LISTS AND SHOWS EXACTLY WHERE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS LIVES, EXACTLY WHERE EVERY SINGLE OF YOU LIVE, WITH THE EXCEPTION I DIDN'T KNOW THAT MS. GRAY MOVED, BUT THAT'S KIND OF NULL AND VOID BECAUSE SHE IS A COUNTYWIDE SEAT. SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE SPECIFIC FOUR VERSUS FIVE-YEAR. THERE'S FIVE-YEAR. FOUR AT THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, AND I'LL WRAP IT UP HERE. ONE-THIRD OF THE POPULATION LIVES WEST -- I'M SORRY -- EAST OF I-75. YET THERE'S ONLY STACY WHITE AND MELISSA SNIVELY THAT LIVE EAST OF I-75. I THINK WE ALL NEED TO KNOW THAT THIS HAS TO BE DONE. WE DON'T TRUST YOU TO DO IT IN A FAIR MANNER. LASTLY, THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, THE MAPS THEY ARE LOOKING AT RIGHT NOW ARE ONLY THE MAPS THAT THE THREE DEMOCRATIC BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS -- [AUDIO CUT OFF] -- THROUGHOUT ALL THE REST OF THE MAPS THAT THE COUNTY GIS PEOPLE MADE. THEY THREW THEM OUT. THEY ARE NOT EVEN --
>>Lynn Gray: THANKS, MR. FERGER. MS. COLTER.
>> GOOD MORNING. I JUST WANT TO MAKE A FEW POINTS. NUMBER ONE, THE SCHOOL BOARD HAS LEEWAY WHEN IT REDISTRICTS. IT CAN BE DONE IN 2023. IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE DONE IN 2021. THIS PROCESS ONE DEN PROPERLY SHOULD TAKE SIX TO 12 MONTHS, NOT 60 DAYS. YOUR BOARD ATTORNEY, JIM PORTER HAS REMINDED BUT REDISTRICTING AT EVERY MEETING SINCE JULY, AND YOU DIDN'T HAVE AN APPETITE FOR IT. WHY? WHY SUDDENLY IS THERE A RUSH TO DO IT NOW WITH TWO MONTHS LEFT IN THE YEAR? LET'S SLOW THIS WHOLE PROCESS DOWN, GET THE PUBLIC INVOLVED, AND DO THIS PROPERLY AND FAIRLY. IF WE PRESS PAUSE, YOU WILL HAVE TIME TO INCORPORATE THE MICROCENSUS DATA NECESSARY TO DRAW THE MAPS EQUITABLY. VOTERS WILL REMEMBER THIS. THEY WILL REMEMBER WHETHER YOU SOLICITED THEIR INPUT OR RUSHED THINGS THROUGH ON YOUR OWN TIMELINE. THANK YOU.
>>Lynn Gray: THANK YOU, MS. COLTER. THAT CONCLUDES OUR PUBLIC COMMENT, AND NOW WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THE BOARD GUIDELINES. WE'LL TRANSITION. MEMBER HAHN, WOULD YOU GO AHEAD AND READ THE BOARD GUIDELINES AND THEN I'LL GET INTO THE AGENDA. THANKS.
>>Stacy Hahn: CERTAINLY. THANK YOU. AS WE BEGIN THIS MORNING'S MEETING, LET ME QUICKLY REVIEW THE FORMAT OF OUR SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS. FIRST, PLEASE SILENCE ALL ELECTRONIC DEVICES. ALSO, THERE ARE SPEAKERS IN THE ROOM BEHIND ME THAT ALLOW BOARD MEMBERS TO HEAR THE MEETING UPON STEPPING AWAY FROM THE DAIS. AND LASTLY, THIS MEETING CAN BE VIEWED WITH CLOSED CAPTIONING ON THE LIVE WEBCAST, ON CABLE TV, AND ON VIDEO MONITORS HERE IN THE AUDITORIUM. IT CAN ALSO BE VIEWED WITH CLOSED CAPTIONING IN THE ONLINE VIDEO ARCHIVES. THANK YOU.
>>Lynn Gray: THANK YOU, MEMBER HAHN. NEXT, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THE REDISTRICTING PROCESS AND TIMELINE, WHICH IS A DISCUSSION ITEM, 11.01. I WILL SAY THAT SUPERINTENDENT DAVIS WILL INITIATE AND THEN MR. FARKAS AND THEN FOLLOWING MR. FARKAS WILL BE MR. PORTER FOR THE LEGALITIES. BOARD MEMBERS, I NEED A MOTION AND A SECOND REGARDING ITEM C 11.01. AND THIS IS JUST TO REMIND YOU A DISCUSSION ONLY OF THE TIMELINE TODAY WILL BE DISCUSSED AND THE REDISTRICTING PROCESS THAT IS CONSISTENT WITH THE TIMELINE. WE NEED A MOTION AND A SECOND. I HAVE A MOTION BY MEMBER COMBS. A SECOND BY MEMBER PEREZ. WILL THERE BE ANY DISCUSSION? MEMBER WASHINGTON. OH, OKAY. SEEING NONE, PLEASE VOTE --
>>Melissa Snively: ARE WE VOTING ON THE TIMELINE NOW?
>>Jim Porter: THE MOTION IS TO APPROVE THE TIMELINE --
>>Melissa Snively: THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT. THIS WOULD BE DISCUSSION ABOUT THE TIMELINE, RIGHT?
>>Jim Porter: THE TIMELINE INCLUDES THE PROCESS WHICH INCLUDES FIVE TOWN HALL MEETINGS IN EACH OF THE FIVE SINGLE MEMBER DISTRICTS AS WELL AS A SPECIAL-CALLED MEETING ON DECEMBER 10th TO GO THROUGH THE PROCESS OF ELIMINATING OR NARROWING DOWN THE NUMBER OF MAPS YOU'LL VOTE ON AND A FINAL VOTE ON DECEMBER 16th WHERE YOU WILL CHOOSE ONE OF THE MAPS. THAT'S WHAT THE MOTION IS TO APPROVE THAT TIMELINE.
>>Lynn Gray: LET'S LET SUPERINTENDENT DAVIS HIGHLIGHT THE ITEM FOR CLARIFICATION. I APOLOGIZE, MEMBER SNIVELY, WE SHOULD BE VERY CLEAR AS TO THE GOAL OF THE MEETING. THEN WE'RE GOING TO HAVE MR. FARKAS HIGHLIGHT A LITTLE BIT MORE OF THE INTRICACIES OF THIS TIMELINE, AND THEN, MR. PORTER, IF YOU WOULD RESTATE THE LEGALITIES, MAKE IT CRYSTAL CLEAR. FOLLOWING THAT, THERE WILL BE BOARD COMMENTS, OF COURSE, AND THAT'S YOUR DISCUSSION. SO, BOARD MEMBERS, IF YOU CAN JUST BE PATIENT. IT IS A NEW PROCESS. I KNOW IT'S NEW AT LEAST FOR ME, IT'S NEW TO ALL OF US. IF YOU WILL JUST HANG IN THERE. SUPERINTENDENT DAVIS, WOULD YOU GO AHEAD AND SHARE YOUR PowerPoint?
>>Addison Davis: YES, MA'AM. THANK YOU, CHAIR GRAY, AND THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE ABLE TO TALK ABOUT THE BOUNDARY REDISTRICTING PROCESS. I ALSO WANT TO BE ABLE TO THANK ALL OF OUR CONSTITUENTS FOR THEIR PATIENCE THIS MORNING. WE HAD SOME REALLY SIGNIFICANT BAD TRAFFIC TO ALLOW EVERYONE TO BE HERE AND HAVE THIS THOUGHTFUL CONVERSATION. AS WE TOOK PART WITH THE REDISTRICTING SUMMARY, AS CONSTITUENTS TALKED ABOUT TODAY, FLORIDA LAW ALLOWS SCHOOL BOARD BOUNDARIES TO BE REDRAWN IN ODD-NUMBERED YEARS. BEING AN ODD-NUMBER YEAR IN 2021, OUR OPTION IS TO DO IT THIS YEAR, TRANSITION TO 2023. AS IDENTIFIED AS BEST PRACTICES TO REDRAW BOUNDARIES, WHERE 10% OR GREATER DISPARITY IN POPULATION OR IDENTIFY WITHIN EACH PARTICULAR DISTRICT. AND THIS IS THE U.S. YOU KNOW, CONSTITUTION AMENDMENT 14 ALONG WITH FLORIDA STATUTORY AS WELL, WHICH IS 1,001.36. IN THIS PROCESS, WHAT WE HAVE ASKED AND PARTNERED WITH THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSION'S GIS, GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS TEAM, THEY HAVE 30 INDIVIDUALS ON THEIR PARTICULAR TEAM THROUGH A TECHNICAL AGREEMENT SERVICE IT DOES THE CONVERSATIONS -- TO BE ABLE TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS AND HELP. LOOKING AT THE OVERALL POPULATION AND PARTICULAR MAPS TO BE ABLE TO PRESENT TO THE BOARD. IN THIS PROCESS, WE ALSO ASKED BOARD MEMBERS THROUGH A RECOMMENDATION TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE ONE MAP AS WELL FOR CONSIDERATION AND THOUGHTFULNESS TO BE ABLE TO DETERMINE OUR OVERALL DIRECTION. THE DISTRICT WILL BE ABLE TO OFFER FIVE COMMUNITY INPUT TOWN HALLS. AND IN THAT PROCESS, WE'LL BE ABLE TO CAPTURE INFORMATION, NOT ONLY THROUGH THE TOWN HALLS, BUT ALSO THROUGH OUR WEBSITE. WE'RE ABLE TO POST MAPS, BE ABLE TO OBTAIN FEEDBACK, AND BE ABLE TO GIVE ANY TYPE OF BACKGROUND INFORMATION RELATED TO THIS ENTIRE PROCESS. THE BOARD WILL THEN TRANSITION TO ADOPT A NEW BOUNDARY MAP IN DECEMBER OF 2021, WHICH WILL IDENTIFY THE ACTUAL DATE AND THE TIMELINE AND SLIDES TO COME. THE QUESTION IS, WHY ARE WE CURRENTLY HERE? WE'RE CURRENTLY HERE AS WE SEE THIS SLIDE WHICH WAS PROVIDED THROUGH US TO THE BOCC WHICH IDENTIFIES CURRENT DISTRICTS, BOARD MEMBERS. WE HAVE FOUR -- WE HAVE FIVE SINGLE BOARD MEMBER DISTRICTS. AND WE HAVE TWO AT-LARGE, WHICH IDENTIFIES THE CURRENT CENSUS NUMBERS IN 2010, ALONG WITH THE CURRENT CENSUS NUMBERS IN 2020. AND THEN BEING ABLE TO LOOK AT THE PERCENTAGE GROWTH. AS YOU SEE WHERE THE NUMBERS HAVE GROWN SIGNIFICANTLY, WE ARE CURRENTLY IN A DISPARITY. WE HAVE GREATER THAN 10% AND FROM ONE DISTRICT TO THE NEXT, WHICH PUTS US IN THE CONVERSATION OF MOVING FORWARD, BEING ABLE TO IDENTIFY THE REDISTRICTING PROCESS. ONE OF THE THINGS WE TALK ABOUT IS HOW DOES THIS MAP REQUIREMENT BEEN IDENTIFIED. HOW HAVE WE GONE ABOUT AND ASKED BOARD MEMBERS TO BE ABLE TO INTERACT WITH MAPS? THE BIGGEST THING WE WANT TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT WE INCLUDE IN THE MAPPING CRITERIA IS TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT WE HAVE COMMUNITY CONTINUITY AND BEING ABLE TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT WE PROTECT COMMUNITY INTEGRITIES AND KEEPING NEIGHBORHOODS TOGETHER. I THINK THAT IS A VERY IMPORTANT ASPECT TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT COMMUNITIES CONTINUE TO FEEL HOLISTIC, AT THE SAME TIME BEING ABLE TO LOOK AT OVERALL POPULATION WITHIN EACH PARTICULAR DISTRICT AND THEN MAKING CERTAIN THAT WE MAINTAIN THE MINORITY DEMOGRAPHIC BALANCE. DISTRICT 5 CURRENTLY HAS 37% OF AFRICAN AMERICANS OR GREATER WITHIN THAT PARTICULAR DISTRICT AND BEING ABLE TO MAINTAIN THAT CURRENT BALANCE AS WE MOVE FORWARD. ALSO BEING ABLE TO LOOK AT ETHNIC AND RACIAL BACKGROUNDS. WE DO RECOGNIZE THAT MANY ADVOCACY GROUPS, MANY INDIVIDUALS MAY AND ORGANIZATIONS MAY WANT TO PRESENT MAPS. WE'RE ASKING THOSE -- THOSE MAPS TO BE PRESENTED AND ENGAGED THROUGH BOARD MEMBERS. MY RECOMMENDATION IS FOR BOARD MEMBERS TO BRING ONE MAP TO THE BOARD TO BE ABLE TO CONSIDER. ANY MAP THAT WILL BE PRESENTED, WE ARE GOING TO ASK TO BE PRESENTED TOMORROW TO MR. FARKAS BY NOON. THOSE MAPS WOULD BE TURNKEYED AND THEN TRANSITIONED TO THE GIS, BOCC, WHERE THEY WILL BE ABLE TO LOOK AT THE ENTIRE INTEGRITY OF THE MAPS. THEY WILL ANALYZE AND MAKE CERTAIN THAT ALL THE CRITERIA ARE MET AND THAT THOSE, AND THE MAP IS VALIDATED TO BE ABLE TO PRESENT AND MOVE FORWARD. FROM THAT PROCESS, WE'LL BE ABLE TO THEN POST THOSE MAPS AND MAYBE MONDAY OF NEXT WEEK. THEN THAT WAY WE CAN START THE ENGAGEMENT PROCESS OF COMMUNITY TO BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY ANY THOUGHTS OR ANY RECOMMENDATIONS. AS RELATES TO THE TIMELINE SIDE OF IT, AS WE KNOW, STARTED CONSENSUS ON OCTOBER 19 AND TRANSITION TO THE SPECIAL-CALLED BOARD MEETING TODAY TO BE ABLE TO HAVE GREATER CLARITY AND APPROVAL OR RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE BOARD TO BE ABLE TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO THE TIMELINE. THEN AS WE SEE TOMORROW WILL BE THE DATE THAT WE WOULD OBTAIN, MY RECOMMENDATION OF ONE MAP PER BOARD MEMBER TO OUR STAFF. AND THEN LOOKING AT NOVEMBER THE 8th TO BE ABLE TO TAKE ALL OF THE MAPS THAT ARE VALIDATED AND APPROVED TO BE ABLE TO UPLOAD AND START TO -- UPLOAD TO THE WEBSITE, SAME TOKEN WE START TO ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY IMMEDIATELY. WE'LL HAVE FIVE TOWN HALLS IN THE PROCESS. THE TOWN HALLS WILL RANGE STARTING ON NOVEMBER THE 9th, 15th, 17th, 19th, AND DECEMBER 9th AS WELL. WE'LL DO IT AT EACH DISTRICT, WHICH WILL BE -- WE'LL START AT SICKLES, GO TO WHARTON, LEONARD, DURANT AND TRANSITION TO MIDDLETON HIGH SCHOOL. IN THAT PROCESS, WE'LL OBTAIN FEEDBACK. WE'LL COUPLE THOSE -- COUPLE TOWN HALL MEETINGS IDENTIFIED, TALK ABOUT AN HOUR FOR STRATEGIC PLAN AND FEEDBACK AND VISION FOR THE DISTRICT AND THEN WE'LL COME IN STARTING AT 7:00 AND ALLOW MR. FARKAS AND HIS TEAM TO BE ABLE TO ADDRESS THE REDISTRICTING AND TO ALLOW IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK THROUGH POST-IT NOTES OR HAVING COMPUTERS AVAILABLE FOR FEEDBACK TO BE POSTED ONLINE TO BE ABLE TO GET ANY TYPE OF DIRECTION FROM THE COMMUNITY. AND THEN WE'LL COME BACK FOR DECEMBER 10 SPECIAL CALLED BOARD MEETING TO BE ABLE TO DISCUSS THE CURRENT MAPS THAT HAVE BEEN PRESENTED ALONG WITH THE FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY AND THEN COME BACK ON THE 16th FOR SPECIAL-CALLED BOARD MEETING TO BE ABLE TO ADOPT A NEW DISTRICT BOUNDARY THAT HAS EITHER BEEN RECOMMENDED BY BOARD MEMBER OR THE BOCC TO BE ABLE TO TRANSITION TO MOVE FORWARD FOR THE NEXT TEN YEARS. IN THIS PROCESS, WE'VE BEEN REALLY COLLABORATIVE AND WE STARTED THIS PROCESS REALLY EARLY WITH THE BOCC. AND MR. FARKAS AND HIS TEAM HAVE BEEN HITTING THE GROUND RUNNING. MR. FARKAS, AT THIS TIME, TALK ABOUT OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE BOCC, WHAT THEY HAVE DONE FOR US AND CONTINUE TO BE A PARTNER IN THIS WORK.
>>Christopher Farkas: THANK YOU SUPERINTENDENT DAVIS AND BOARD. DAVE HEARTY IS WITH GIS WITH THE COUNTY. HE'S BEEN WONDERFUL TRYING TO SUPPORT US. AS YOU KNOW, THEY ARE DOING THEIR OWN MAPS. THAT IS A CHALLENGE FOR HIM. HE'S BEEN VERY GIVING OF HIS TIME. A COUPLE OF THINGS I WANT TO POINT OUT THAT HAVE BEEN SAID AND WANT TO REITERATE, THE FIRST HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE NUMBER OF SCHOOLS IN THE AREA. IT IS BASED ON THE POPULATION IN YOUR AREA. IT IS THE NUMBER ONE FACTOR. A COUPLE OF OTHER THINGS, TALK ABOUT MAP SUBMISSIONS, THERE ARE A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT NAMES ON THERE. I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT. IF YOU'LL SUBMIT THE MAPS TO ME, CHRISTOPHER FARKAS AT -- THEY WILL COME THROUGH ONE PLACE AND MAKE SURE THEY ARE GET VERIFIED. 48 TO 72 HOURS TO VERIFY DEPENDING ON THE CONDITION OF THE MAP. IF A MAP IS IN CRAYON, IT MAY TAKE US LONGER THAN ONE IN THE PDF FORMAT, WHICH WE PREFER. WE'LL MAKE SURE THE MAPS ARE VERIFIED BEFORE WE PUT THEM ON THE DISTRICT WEBSITE. DISTRICT WEBSITE IS READY TO GO IF THE TIMELINE IS APPROVED AND WE GO FORWARD. MS. ARJA AND HER TEAM, KRISTIN DAVIS AND VAN AYRES HAVE BEEN MAKING SURE WE COMMUNICATE ONCE THE WILL OF THE BOARD IS KNOWN. WE'LL HAVE A COUPLE OF WAYS TO GET FEEDBACK FROM THE PUBLIC. THAT IS AN IMPORTANT PART. IN ADDITION TO TOWN HALL MEETINGS, WE'LL HAVE PIGEONHOLE, A WEB APP THAT ALLOWS PEOPLE TO GIVE FEEDBACK RIGHT AWAY. WE USED IT FOR -- TRY AGAIN, USED IT FOR SCHOOL DISTRICT REBOUNDING. WEBSITE AND E-MAIL ADDRESS TO DO THAT AS WELL. ALSO THE PUBLIC MEETINGS WHERE WE'LL TAKE THE HALF SHEETS OF PAPER AND DO THOSE. AFTER EACH MEETING, THE TEAM WILL SUMMARIZE THAT INFORMATION AND MAKE SURE THE BOARD GETS IT AND THEN HAVE THAT HOLISTIC VIEW, SO YOU'LL GET ALL THE FEEDBACK THAT YOU HAVE. EACH ONE OF THE MEETINGS, EACH BOARD MEMBER HAVE ACCESS TO THAT INFORMATION. AGAIN, I WANT TO THANK DAN HARDY AND THE GIS OVER IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY TO DO THAT. WE DO NOT HAVE INTERNAL GIS PEOPLE. THEY HAVE, AS MR. DAVIS SAID, BETWEEN 30 AND 40 PEOPLE OVER THERE TO HELP OUT. AGAIN, THEY ARE BUSY, BUT WE APPRECIATE THEIR HELP.
>>Lynn Gray: ALSO, SUPERINTENDENT DAVIS, YOU'RE COMPARING BOCC, SO LET'S COMPLETE THE COMPARISON WITH THE ADVERTISING, HOW YOU'RE GOING TO ADVERTISE THIS IN THE NEWSPAPER.
>>Addison Davis: YES, MA'AM, THROUGH THE CHAIR, WE HAVE A MARKETING PLAN READY TO GO, COMMUNICATION PLAN READY TO GO. WE WILL ADVERTISE ALL THIS INFORMATION WITH PROPER PROTOCOLS. WE'LL MAKE CERTAIN WE PUSH IT OUT TO PARENTS, TO OUR CONSTITUENTS. WE'LL PUT OUT RELEASES ON SOCIAL MEDIA, AND AT THE SAME TOKEN, WE HAVE IMAGES READY TO GO FOR OUR TOWN HALL MEETINGS THAT WE'LL PUT OUT AS WELL. EACH OF THOSE WILL BE INDIVIDUALIZED AND IDENTIFY THE DATES ALONG WITH THE LOCATIONS AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT IF THERE'S ANY RELEASES THAT NEED TO GO TO THE MEDIA, THEY WILL BE ACTIVELY AND IMMEDIATELY ENGAGED.
>>Lynn Gray: MR. PORTER, YOU WANT TO GO AHEAD AND CONDUCT THE BUSINESS AND RESTATE THE MOTION.
>>Jim Porter: I'LL RESTATE THE MOTION. FIRST, I WANT TO SORT OF GIVE LEGAL PARAMETERS. A LOT OF THIS HAS BEEN SAID BEFORE AND A LOT OF IT HAS BEEN SAID TODAY, BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO ENCAPSULATE IT IN ONE TIGHT COMMENT HERE. REDISTRICTING IS GOVERNED BY FLORIDA LAW AND FLORIDA STATUTES. AND THERE ARE CERTAIN LEGAL REQUIREMENTS THAT MUST BE MET. FOR MAPS THAT ARE GOING TO BE CONSIDERED BY YOU TO BE ADOPTED, THESE CONSIDERATIONS MUST BE ADDRESSED. SO EACH DISTRICT MUST HAVE EQUAL POPULATIONS. THEY DON'T HAVE TO BE EXACTLY THE SAME BUT NEED TO BE ROUGHLY EQUAL. RIGHT NOW, GIVEN THE 2020 CENSUS DATA, THEY ARE NOT EQUAL AT ALL. SO THERE NEEDS TO BE A CHANGE. EACH DISTRICT MUST BE CONTIGUOUS. YOU CAN'T HAVE DISTRICTS THAT HAVE POCKETS THAT ARE SEPARATED FROM OTHERS. DISTRICT FIVE, MR. WASHINGTON'S DISTRICT, MUST MAINTAIN ITS CURRENT BLACK POPULATION WHICH AT THE 2020 CENSUS IS APPROXIMATELY 37%. IT COULD GO HIGHER THAN THAT, BUT IT SHOULD NOT GO LOWER. THE OTHER PIECE -- THIS IS NOT LEGAL, BUT SOMETHING THAT IS AN IMPORTANT PRINCIPLE -- ESTABLISHED COMMUNITIES SHOULD BE KEPT TOGETHER INASMUCH AS POSSIBLE, COMMUNITIES SHOULD BE REPRESENTED BY THE SAME PERSON, IF THAT'S POSSIBLE. THE LAW REQUIRES THAT YOU MUST DO THIS IF YOU'RE GOING TO DO IT IN AN ODD-NUMBERED YEAR. AND THE LAW ALSO SUGGESTS THAT IF THE CENSUS DATA, IT CREATES A GREATER THAN 10% POPULATION DISPARITY, YOU SHOULD DO IT. THIS YEAR. LEGALLY, THAT'S THE MOST CONSERVATIVE ADVICE I CAN GIVE YOU TO FOLLOW FLORIDA LAW, THE BEST PRACTICE WOULD BE TO PURSUE REDISTRICTING AND HAVE IT DONE BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR. AS FAR AS NOTICE GOES AND A LOT OF COMMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE TODAY AND IN THE COMMUNITY ABOUT THE TIMELINE OF THE PROCESS. ALL THE STATUTE REQUIRES IS THAT THIS BE ADOPTED AT A REGULAR BOARD MEETING BY RESOLUTION. THAT MEANS IF YOU WANTED TO LEGALLY, YOU COULD PROVIDE SEVEN DAYS' NOTICE AND VOTE ON A MAP. THAT IS THE BARE MINIMUM. THE SUPERINTENDENT HAS PROVIDED A TIMELINE FOR YOU THAT CREATES MUCH MORE OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT THROUGH THE FIVE TOWN HALL MEETINGS, THROUGH THE DIGITAL ACCESS THAT MR. FARKAS OUTLINED, AND THROUGH THE TWO MEETINGS THAT YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE. AGAIN, I SAID THIS EARLIER, ON DECEMBER 10, THERE WILL BE A MEETING HELD SO THAT YOU CAN GO THROUGH THE PROCESS OF NARROWING DOWN THE NUMBER OF MAPS THAT YOU ULTIMATELY WANT TO CONSIDER. UNDER THE SCENARIO THAT THE SUPERINTENDENT OUTLINED, WE COULD HAVE A MAXIMUM OF 11 MAPS IF EACH OF YOU SUBMIT ONE AND THE COUNTY GIS GROUP SUBMITS FOUR, THREE OR FOUR. ON DECEMBER 10, YOU'RE GOING TO FOLLOW A PROCESS THAT MS. DAVIS MADE YOU FAMILIAR WITH WHEN YOU CAME UP WITH YOUR LEGISLATIVE PLATFORM AND THAT WILL ALLOW YOU TO NARROW DOWN THE NUMBER OF MAPS TO WHATEVER YOU WANT. I WOULD SUGGEST EITHER TWO OR THREE AT THE MOST SO YOU COULD HAVE A MEANINGFUL DISCUSSION ON THE 16th. ON THE 16th, WE'LL HAVE A RESOLUTION PREPARED AND WHICHEVER MAP YOU CHOOSE TO ADOPT WILL BE THE ONE THAT WILL BE ADOPTED. SO THAT'S THE PROCESS. THOSE ARE THE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS. THE MOTION THAT MS. COMBS MADE WAS TO SUPPORT THE SUPERINTENDENT'S RECOMMENDATION, AND IT'S REALLY THE TIMELINE THAT'S FOUND ON PAGE 5 OF THE SUPERINTENDENT'S PRESENTATION. AND THAT LISTS THE TOWN HALL MEETINGS AND THE SPECIAL CALLED BOARD MEETINGS. SO THAT'S THE MOTION ON THE FLOOR TO APPROVE THE TIMELINE. THAT'S NOT LEGALLY REQUIRED THAT YOU DO THAT, BUT IT'S IMPORTANT TO SORT OF SOLIDIFY AND MEMORIALIZE WHAT THE BOARD'S INTENT IS. THAT'S WHY THIS MEETING IS BEING HELD TODAY, AND THAT'S WHY THE MOTION IS ON THE FLOOR.
>>Lynn Gray: THANK YOU, MR. PORTER, FOR YOUR CLARIFICATION. I BELIEVE, BOARD MEMBERS WANT TO HAVE SOME DISCUSSION ON THIS MOTION, ON THIS TIMELINE, WHICH ALSO KNOWN AS THE SUPERINTENDENT'S RECOMMENDATION, NOTING ALSO THAT THE BOCC HAS ONLY -- I THINK THEY ONLY HAVE FOUR TOWN HALLS. WE'RE HAVING, IS IT FIVE? SO I KNOW THAT SUPERINTENDENT DAVIS IS WORKING VERY HARD TO MAKE SURE HIS COMMITMENT, OUR COMMITMENT TO THE PUBLIC IS VERY TRANSPARENT. OKAY. BOARD MEMBERS, MEMBER HAHN AND THEN MEMBER COMBS. AND PUT YOURSELF IN THE QUEUE SHOULD YOU WANT TO SHARE ANY OF YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE TIMELINE.
>>Stacy Hahn: THANK YOU. I'LL KEEP THIS ROUND OF QUESTIONS SPECIFIC TO THE TIMELINE AND ASK FURTHER QUESTIONS ON MAPS AT A LATER TIME TODAY. SO WITH THE TIMELINE, CAN YOU PLEASE -- YOU CALL THEM TOWN HALLS, WHICH TYPICALLY INCLUDES Q & A. I KNOW YOU ARE GOING OUT TO DO SPECIFIC TOWN HALLS THAT YOU HAD ON THE CALENDAR BEFORE THIS PROCESS WAS PUT INTO PLACE. I WOULD LIKE CLARIFICATION FOR THE COMMUNITY AROUND THESE, WHAT YOU'RE CALLING TOWN HALLS. COULD YOU DESCRIBE THE FORMAT OF THOSE FOR THIS PROCESS? WHAT THE WHOLE TOWN HALL IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE.
>>Addison Davis: YES, MA'AM. THROUGH THE CHAIR, FOR US WE ORIGINALLY, AS YOU SAID, GOING TO THE COMMUNITY TO ACTUALLY ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY. THE FIRST TIME WE HAVE A CHANCE TO GET OUT AND REALLY TALK ABOUT THE NEWLY APPROVED STRATEGIC PLAN, TO BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY THE VISION, HOW WE WILL HOLD OURSELVES ACCOUNTABLE AND HOW THE COMMUNITY WILL BE ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN THAT PROCESS AND THEN ALLOW FOR SOME Q & A ENGAGEMENT THROUGH STRATEGIC PLANNING AND TO ADDRESS ANY PARTICULAR OTHER CONCERNS THAT CONSTITUENTS MAY HAVE RELATED TO MOVING THE NEEDLE FORWARD IN OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT. THAT IS GOING TO BE FROM 6:00 TO 7:00 IN THAT TIME FRAME. AT 7:00, WE WILL START THE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT REDISTRICTING. MR. FARKAS AND HIS TEAM WILL LEAD THAT. MR. FARKAS WILL LEAD THAT IN THAT PROCESS. HE WILL GO OVER THE RATIONALE. SOME OF THE SAME PowerPoint THAT WE JUST PRESENTED TODAY, AND THEN RELEASE THROUGH SOME POSTING ALL THE MAPS THAT HAVE BEEN APPROVED BY THE BOARD AND THE LOCATION, WHETHER IT BE IN THE GYMNASIUM, WHETHER IT BE IN THE AUDITORIUM, WHETHER IT BE IN THE CAFETERIA FOR CONSTITUENTS TO INTERACT WITH THOSE PARTICULAR MAPS AND PROVIDE FEEDBACK. THOSE FEEDBACK CAN BE WHETHER THEY WANT TO PROVIDE IT ON A POST-IT NOTE AND ALSO COMPUTERS AVAILABLE, WHERE THEY CAN GO INTO PIGEONHOLE AND PROVIDE ANY FEEDBACK THEY WANT TO INCORPORATE WITHIN THAT PARTICULAR TIME FRAME. THE FRONT HOUR AND 45 MINUTES ALL ABOUT STRATEGIC PLANNING AND HOW WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THE VISION OF THE DISTRICT AND THEN AT 7:00, WE'LL START THE REDISTRICTING.
>>Stacy Hahn: SO WILL THERE BE A Q & A DURING THE REDISTRICTING PORTION OF THE TOWN HALLS?
>>Addison Davis: WE'LL HAVE SOME CONVERSATIONS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE WENT TO AND HOW THIS ORIGINALLY STARTED. BUT OPENLY, WE WILL TRANSITION ALL THAT, JUST RELEASE FOR THE CONSTITUENTS TO BE ABLE TO INTERACT WITH THE MAPS AND PROVIDE FEEDBACK.
>>Stacy Hahn: THERE WILL BE NO OPPORTUNITY, MICROPHONE FOR CONSTITUENTS TO ASK QUESTIONS.
>>Addison Davis: AT THIS PARTICULAR TIME, WE ARE RECOMMENDING THAT ANY FEEDBACK BE THROUGH INTERACTION AS THEY TAKE INDIRECTLY A GALLERY WALK THROUGH ALL OF THE MAPS.
>>Stacy Hahn: THE ANSWER IS NO.
>>Addison Davis: YES, MA'AM.
>>Stacy Hahn: THAT'S ALL YOU HAD TO SAY. NO. I JUST WANT THAT TO BE CLEAR BECAUSE I WANT PEOPLE -- LOOK, I WANT -- PEOPLE HAVE DIFFERENT EXPECTATIONS OF WHAT THAT EXPERIENCE WILL BE. AND I THINK IT'S REALLY UNCLEAR WHEN YOU PUT "TOWN HALL" STARTING AT 6:00 WHEN, YOU KNOW, TO ME, I WOULD THINK, WELL, I GUESS AT 6:00 WE'LL TALK ABOUT REDISTRICTING. I THINK THIS IS A LITTLE CONFUSING AND NOT EVERYBODY IS TUNED IN THIS MORNING TO LISTEN TO THIS CONVERSATION BECAUSE THEY ARE AT WORK WITH THEIR KIDS, WHATEVER THEY ARE DOING. SO THE ONLY THING THEY ARE GOING TO SEE IS THE COMMUNICATION YOU PUT OUT. AND IF IT JUST SAYS TOWN HALL 6 P.M. AND THESE DATES AND PLACES, I THINK IT NEEDS TO BE REALLY CLEAR THAT THE ACTUAL CONVERSATION AROUND REDISTRICTING DOES NOT START. IT STARTS AT 7. AND THAT IT IS GOING TO BE HEARING FROM OUR STAFF AND WALKING AROUND AND LOOKING AT MAPS AND THEN EITHER WRITING DOWN OR SUBMITTING SOME TYPE OF INPUT. I JUST THINK THAT NEEDS TO BE REALLY CLEAR. I WOULD PREFER TO SEE YOU GO OUT AND DO YOUR TOWN HALLS AND THEN HAVE A DIFFERENT SET OF MEETINGS FOR REDISTRICTING. I THINK THIS IS VERY CONFUSING FORMAT. I'M SURE WE'RE ALL GOING TO HEAR ABOUT IT. SO MY OTHER QUESTION IS AROUND THE WORK -- THE COMMUNITY INPUT. ONCE YOU GATHER THIS INPUT COULD YOU PLEASE DESCRIBE THE PROCESS ONCE YOU RECEIVE IT AND HOW THAT'S GOING TO INFORM THE MAP PROCESS.
>>Addison Davis: MR. FARKAS.
>>Stacy Hahn: WE JUST DON'T WANT IT TO BE, "OH, THANKS FOR YOUR INPUT, CHECK A BOX." HOW ARE YOU GOING TO USE THAT INFORMATION TO INFORM THE PROCESS?
>>Christopher Farkas: ULTIMATELY, IT'S A BOARD DECISION ON WHICH MAPS ARE VOTED. JUST LIKE WE DO WHEN SCHOOL NAMINGS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, GATHERING THE INFORMATION, CATALOGING WHERE IT CAME FROM AND MAKING SURE WE LIST IT FOR YOU ALL WILL BE THE IMPORTANT PART OF THE PROCESS. WE WILL BE GATHERING THAT INFORMATION AND GIVING IT TO YOU, IS THE EASIEST WAY TO DESCRIBE IT.
>>Stacy Hahn: CAN YOU PLEASE REPEAT THAT.
>>Christopher Farkas: WE WILL BE PROVIDING THE INFORMATION TO THE BOARD. WE WILL NOT BE REDRAWING THE MAPS BECAUSE WE DIDN'T DRAW THE MAPS TO START OUT WITH. THE COUNTY COMMISSION DID IT BASED ON POPULATION. ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, IT WILL BE FEEDBACK THAT THE BOARD RECEIVES. WE'LL MAKE SURE IT IS DIGESTIBLE, BUT IT WON'T IMPACT HOW WE'VE DONE THE MAPS BECAUSE THE MAPS WILL ALREADY BE DONE BEFORE THAT PROCESS STARTS. SO THE BOARD WILL HAVE TO DICTATE IF THEY WANT TO CHANGE A MAP OR NEW MAP TO BE SUBMITTED, TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION.
>>Stacy Hahn: I THINK THAT IF PEOPLE ARE COMING OUT AND PROVIDING INPUT, I DON'T KNOW, I WOULD THINK THAT -- SOME OF THAT IMPACT WOULD INFORM THE MAPS THAT THE COUNTY IS DRAWING FOR US. I CAN ONLY CONTROL MY MAP. SO TO HEAR THAT WE'RE NOT GOING TO USE THEIR INPUT TO MAYBE TAKE A SECOND LOOK AT THE MAPS THAT THE STAFF IS DRAWING IS CONCERNING TO ME. AND THE OTHER COMMENT I'D LIKE TO MAKE IS, I DO THINK THAT IN THIS TIMELINE WE NEED A WORKSHOP. MAYBE THAT IS THE WEEK OF THE TOWN HALLS SO WE CAN AT LEAST LOOK AT, DISCUSS, AND ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THE MAPS THAT WERE -- THAT ARE ON THE WEBSITE THAT HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED. AND KIND OF ASK AND GET SOME QUESTIONS ANSWERED BEFORE WE COME BACK FOR A SPECIAL-CALLED MEETING TO VOTE. WE HAVEN'T HAD A WORKSHOP ON THIS WHERE WE CAN REALLY DIG DEEP. I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE SEEN AN EXPERT BROUGHT IN TO MAYBE ANSWER SOME OF THE QUESTIONS. THERE'S A LOT OF NUANCE INVOLVED IN THIS WORK. A LOT OF EXPERTISE, AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR QUESTIONS ARE ANSWERED AND THAT WE'RE GIVEN GUIDANCE AND FEEDBACK. I WOULD LIKE TO PROPOSE A WORKSHOP THE WEEK OF THE 9th, AND THEN MOVE INTO THE OTHER BOARD MEETINGS. OR MAYBE EVEN -- I MEAN, I THINK ALSO AS WE'RE STARTING TO GET INPUT FROM THE COMMUNITY, GIVE US AN OPPORTUNITY TO TALK THROUGH ALL OF THAT AS IT'S COMING IN, GIVEN THE TIGHT TIMELINE, HONESTLY, I WISH WE COULD HAVE DONE THE WORKSHOP AFTER THE TOWN HALLS AND THEN HAVE THE SPECIAL CALLED MEETINGS FOLLOWING THAT. AGAIN, YOU KNOW, I UNDERSTAND THE COMMENTS AROUND THIS ISN'T RUSHED, BUT THERE ARE ALSO COMMENTS HOW IMPORTANT COMMUNITY INPUT IS. IF YOU'RE REALLY GOING TO GATHER COMMUNITY INPUT AND USE IT IN A MEANINGFUL WAY, YOU HAVE TO HAVE DISCUSSIONS TO BE ABLE TO UNPACK THAT. AND, AGAIN, IT SHOULDN'T JUST BE CHECKING A BOX, OH, YEAH, WE GOT -- NO, WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO DEMONSTRATE TO OUR CONSTITUENTS HOW WE'RE UTILIZING THEIR INPUT. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE A WORKSHOP BUILT INTO THIS TIMELINE. I'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM MY OTHER COLLEAGUES AROUND THAT. BUT THANK YOU.
>>Lynn Gray: THANK YOU, MEMBER HAHN. BOARD MEMBERS, WE'RE GOING TO GO TO MEMBER COMBS AND MEMBER PEREZ AND THEN MEMBER SNIVELY. MEMBER COMBS.
>>Nadia Combs: THANK YOU, CHAIR GRAY. JUST A COUPLE OF THINGS. I'VE DONE A LOT OF RESEARCH AND EVERY SURROUNDING DISTRICT AROUND HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY IS GOING TO BE REDISTRICTING. THERE IS NOT ANOTHER DISTRICT THAT'S NOT GOING TO DO THAT. AND SO OUR VARIANCE BY LAW IS 10%. WE'RE AT 20%. IF WE WAITED TWO MORE YEARS, WE WOULD PROBABLY BE AT 25%. MYSELF, I AM 60,000 VOTERS LESS THAN I SHOULD BE. I SHOULD BE REPRESENTING 60,000 MORE PEOPLE. TO WAIT TWO MORE YEARS, WHAT IS THAT, GOING TO BE 80,000 PEOPLE? WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE TIMELINE AND YOU LOOK AT WHAT OTHER DISTRICTS DID, WE HAD SOMEBODY COME IN AND DISCUSS TWO OTHER DISTRICTS, THEY DIDN'T MENTION THE FOUR, FIVE SURROUNDING DISTRICTS,ING WHICH IF YOU LOOK AT THEIR TIMELINE, THEY REALLY REPLICATE US. AS FAR AS THE TOWN HALLS, THREE MONTHS AGO, TWO MONTHS AGO, WE WOULD NOT EVEN HAVE HAD THE ABILITY TO HAVE THAT DUE TO COVID. AND WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S LYING AHEAD. THE IDEA THAT WE'LL HAVE OPEN TOWN HALL MEETINGS IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT OTHER DISTRICTS, SURROUNDING DISTRICTS ARE NOT NECESSARILY HAVING THOSE TOWN HALLS AND ARE STILL MOVING FORWARD WITH REDISTRICTING. I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR ME AS SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER DISTRICT ONE, I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT REPRESENT ENOUGH PEOPLE, ENOUGH STUDENTS, ENOUGH DISTRICTS. I HAVE THE BANDWIDTH. I HAVE THE ABILITY, AND I HAVE THE DESIRE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEIR VOICES ARE REALLY HEARD THROUGH ME. AND I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT EVERY VOTER COUNTS. IF TAMPA WITH ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING CITIES IN THE COUNTRY, THE IDEA THAT WE WOULD BE BREAKING THE LAW AT 10% AND WE'RE AT 20%, I CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE IN TWO YEARS. SO I OBVIOUSLY KNOW WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD. I DON'T THINK THIS IS RUSHED. IF YOU LOOK AT OTHER SURROUNDING DISTRICTS, IT'S NOT BEING RUSHED. WE WOULD BE THE ONLY DISTRICT NOT DOING THAT, AND THAT WE WOULD BE JEOPARDIZING HUGE LAWSUITS. BUT, MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE VOICES OF VOTERS WOULDN'T BE HEARD. THANK YOU.
>>Lynn Gray: THANK YOU, MEMBER COMBS. AND NOW WE'RE GOING TO GO TO MEMBER PEREZ.
>>Karen Perez: THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. SO WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR TOWN HALLS, AND WE'RE SPECIFICALLY TALKING ABOUT THE LATINO AND BLACK COMMUNITIES, I'M GOING TO BE ADDRESSING THAT. BECAUSE WHEN I LOOK AT SOME OF THE -- THE HOUSING ACROSS THE STREET FROM BLAKE HIGH SCHOOL, NUCCIO PARKWAY HOUSING, THAT THOSE RESIDENTS WERE DISPLACED IN THE MIDDLE OF A PANDEMIC. SEMINOLE HEIGHTS DISENFRANCHISEMENT OF OUR BLACK AND LATINO FAMILIES, WHICH INCLUDE STUDENTS. NOBODY HAS ASKED WHERE THOSE FAMILIES HAVE GONE. NOBODY HAS, YOU KNOW, DONE A SURVEY TO SEE WHERE IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY THOSE FAMILIES HAVE BEEN PUSHED TO BECAUSE IT WAS LIKE OVERNIGHT. THEY WERE ONLY GIVEN, I THINK IT WAS 30 DAYS OR 60 DAYS TO MOVE. SPECIFICALLY, AND I'M GOING TO GET BACK IN THE QUEUE AND MAKE A FEW MORE COMMENTS. BUT WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR TOWN HALL MEETINGS, KNOWING THAT OUR BLACK AND LATINO FAMILIES HAVE A DISPARITY WHEN IT COMES TO TECHNOLOGY, WIFI, INTERNET, HOW WILL THIS INFORMATION REGARDING THE REDISTRICTING BE PROVIDED TO THEM, TO THESE PARENTS WHO THIS WILL AFFECT AND SUPPORT ESPECIALLY WHEN THIS IS COMPLETED? HOW WILL THEY KNOW TO COME TO THE TOWN HALLS?
>>Addison Davis: YES, MA'AM, THROUGH THE CHAIR, OUR COMMUNICATION PLAN WILL BE THROUGH A MEDIA RELEASE. WE'LL SEND IT TO EVERY NEWS OUTLET TO SHARE. WE KNOW THE MAJORITY OF OUR FAMILIES HAVE SMART TECHNOLOGY, PHONE, TABLET, ACCESSIBILITY TO COMPUTER. WE CONTINUE TO HAVE LIAISON, PARENT LIAISON CENTERS WITHIN OUR SCHOOLS FOR ACCESSIBILITY. SO ANY PARENT THAT FEELS THE NEED, THEY NEED US TO COME AND LEAN ON TO US WILL COME INTO THE SCHOOLS. WE'LL HAVE A COMPUTER AVAILABLE WHERE THEY CAN COME ON AND LEVERAGE PIGEONHOLE OR GO ON TO THE WEBSITE, PROVIDE ANY INFORMATION RELATED TO THIS PROCESS AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO MAKE CERTAIN WE PUSH OUT ALL OF OUR ELEMENTS THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA AS WELL.
>>Karen Perez: JUST ONE MORE COMMENT. I REALLY NEED FOR HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY SCHOOLS TO GET OUT OF THE MINDSET THAT EVERY PERSON IN THIS DISTRICT HAS ACCESS TO AN iPhone. BECAUSE I'VE GONE TO FAMILIES' HOMES THAT HAVE FLIP PHONES. AND THAT'S THEIR ONLY ACCESSIBILITY TO A PHONE IS A FLIP PHONE. THEY STILL DO EXIST. YES, THEY DO, ESPECIALLY IN OUR LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS.
>>Lynn Gray: THANK YOU, MEMBER PEREZ. MEMBER SNIVELY.
>>Melissa Snively: THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. FIRST, I WANT TO ADDRESS THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF PUBLIC COMMENTS MADE TODAY THAT WEREN'T NECESSARILY ACCURATE. I WANTED TO ASK MR. PORTER, ARE WE BREAKING THE LAW IF WE DON'T REAPPORTION OUR VOTER DISTRICTS BY THE END OF THE YEAR?
>>Jim Porter: AS I HAVE ADVISED BEFORE, WHEN YOU HAVE A POPULATION DISPARITY OF GREATER THAN 10%, YOU RISK A LAWSUIT BY NOT REDISTRICTING. AND THAT'S A POSITION HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY FINDS ITSELF IN. SO THE BEST LEGAL ADVICE I CAN GIVE YOU IS THAT IT'S BETTER TO DO THIS THIS YEAR, GIVEN THE DATA THAT WE'VE RECEIVED LATE IN SEPTEMBER, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE EQUAL BOUNDARIES. I CAN'T PREDICT IF A LAWSUIT WILL HAPPEN, BUT I NEED TO ADVISE YOU THAT THERE IS A RISK THAT IT WILL, AND WE WOULD HAVE TO DEFEND THAT, AND IT WOULD BE HARDER TO DEFEND GIVEN THE DATA.
>>Melissa Snively: I'LL ASK A YES-OR-NO QUESTION, ARE WE BREAKING THE LAW --
>>Jim Porter: IT'S NOT A YES-OR-NO QUESTION.
>>Melissa Snively: ARE WE BREAKING FLORIDA STATUTE IF WE DON'T REAPPORTION?
>>Jim Porter: IT'S NOT A YES-OR-NO QUESTION. I WILL GIVE THE BEST ADVICE I CAN GIVE TO YOU. FLORIDA STATUTE ITSELF SAYS THE BOARD MAY REDISTRICT IN ANY ODD-NUMBER YEAR. THERE IS AN OLDER LOCAL LAW THAT SAYS THAT WE SHOULD DO IT AFTER THE CENSUS DATA. HOWEVER, THE STATUS OF THAT IS IN SOMEWHAT OF LIMBO GIVEN 2013 SUPREME COURT CASE THAT INVALIDATED PARTS OF WHAT MADE THAT LOCAL LAW IN EFFECT. SO IF YOU LOOKED AT THE PLAIN READING OF THE STATUTE, IT DOESN'T SAY YOU HAVE TO. HOWEVER, THAT'S NOT WHERE THE ANALYSIS BEGINS AND ENDS. YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT WHAT THE COURTS HAVE DONE AS WELL. WITH ALL DUE RESPECT IT'S NOT A YES-OR-NO QUESTION.
>>Melissa Snively: I UNDERSTAND. I APPRECIATE THE EXPLANATION.
>>Jim Porter: AGAIN, AS DR. HAHN SAID, A LOT OF THIS IS NUANCED. AND SO -- FOR INSTANCE, THE BOARD WOULD BE VIOLATING THE STATUTE IF YOU TRIED TO DO THIS IN 2022. THAT'S A CLEAR VIOLATION. THERE'S NO PROVISION FOR DOING THAT. IF YOU CHOOSE NOT TO DO IT IN 2021, THERE IS AN ARGUMENT TO BE MADE THAT YOU WOULD BE VIOLATING THE LOCAL LAW THAT WAS REFERENCED EARLIER AND ALSO YOU WOULD BE AT RISK BECAUSE OF COURT CASES THAT HAVE HAPPENED THAT SUGGEST WHEN THE POPULATION VARIANCE IS GREATER THAN 10%, YOU HAVE TO DO IT. AGAIN, IF YOU LOOK AT JUST THE PLAIN READING OF 1,001.36, THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION IS NO. BUT I WOULD NOT BE DOING MY JOB AS YOUR ATTORNEY IF I JUST ANSWERED YES OR NO TO THAT QUESTION BECAUSE THERE ARE LAYERS OF THE ANALYSIS THAT YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND. I WANT TO BE CLEAR. THE BEST ADVICE I CAN GIVE YOU IS TO GO FORWARD WITH REDISTRICTING THIS YEAR. IF YOU DON'T, THERE ARE RISKS OF LAWSUITS, AND I CAN'T PREDICT THE OUTCOME OF WHAT WOULD HAPPEN.
>>Melissa Snively: OKAY. WELL, I APPRECIATE YOUR LEGALESE [ LAUGHTER ] -- YES. OKAY. WELL, I DO HAVE SOME THOUGHTS AROUND THIS. I JUST WANT TO BE CLEAR THAT I'M NOT IN OPPOSITION TO REAPPROPRIATION OF THE VOTER DISTRICTS. IN MY OPINION, I DO THINK THAT IT'S BEING RUSHED. I DON'T THINK THAT IT'S NECESSARILY GOING TO BE AS EFFECTIVE AS IT COULD BE IF THE TIMELINE WERE NOT SO COMPACTED INTO A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. OTHER DISTRICTS ARE DOING IT AROUND THE STATE, LARGE DISTRICTS IN COMPARISON TO OURS, BUT THEY STARTED MUCH EARLIER THAN WE DID. THEY STARTED AS EARLY AS MAY, EVEN WHEN THEY DIDN'T HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION, THEY STARTED THE PROCESS. THEY STARTED TALKING ABOUT A TIMELINE. THEY STARTED TALKING ABOUT THE PLAN FOR DOING THIS BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR. IN MY OPINION, I BELIEVE THAT WE COULD, IF WE DID THIS IN 2022, WE COULD VOTE IN 2023. IF WE DREW UP THE TIMELINE, IT WOULD GIVE PEOPLE MORE TIME TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROCESS. I DO BELIEVE CONSTITUENTS ARE GOING TO WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROCESS. I DO THINK THAT IT IS A VERY COMPACTED TIMELINE OF TOWN HALLS. I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD CALL THEM TOWN HALLS BECAUSE THE DEFINITION OF A TOWN HALL IS WHEN MERRIAM-WEBSTER SAYS AN EVENT WHICH PUBLIC OFFICIAL OR POLITICAL CANDIDATE ADDRESSES AN AUDIENCE BY ANSWERING QUESTIONS POSED BY INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS. IF WE'RE SETTING PEOPLE UP TO THINK IT WILL BE A TOWN HALL THAT THEY WILL GET QUESTIONS ANSWERED, THAT'S WRONG BECAUSE THAT'S NOT WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN. OKAY? SO WE STILL HAVE VERY SERIOUS PANDEMIC ISSUES. WE HAVE FINANCIAL ISSUES. WE HAVE STUDENT DISCIPLINARY ISSUES, ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE ISSUES, TEACHER MORALE ISSUES, JOB VACANCY ISSUES, PUBLIC TRUST ISSUES, ALL OF THESE NEED IMMEDIATE ATTENTION AND THERE COULD NOT BE A WORSE TIME TO CRAM THIS IN RIGHT BEFORE THANKSGIVING AND THE CHRISTMAS AND KWANZAA AND HANUKKAH HOLIDAYS, I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY WE HAVE TO RUSH IT, IF WE COULD DO IT THE RIGHT WAY IN 2022 AND GIVE THE SUPERINTENDENT MORE OPPORTUNITY TO GET THE APPROPRIATE INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC, THERE'S NOTHING ON OUR WEBSITE. I DON'T KNOW ANY GIS PEOPLE. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO DO A MAP? REALLY? SO PEOPLE NEED TIME AND DUE TOMORROW. IT'S DUE BY BOARD MEMBERS TOMORROW. SO PEOPLE NEED TIME TO LOOK AT THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE. THERE'S NOTHING ON OUR WEBSITE. THE TIMELINE WASN'T EVEN PUBLISHED BEFORE THE MEETING UNTIL TODAY. THE PROPOSED TIMELINE, EXCUSE ME, WAS PUT OUT THERE. I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE BOARD MEMBERS MORE TIME TO HAVE VALUABLE DISCUSSIONS WITH THEIR CONSTITUENTS. AND THEN WE COULD VOTE ON IT IN JANUARY 2023. WHAT'S THE RUSH. I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A SUBSTITUTE MOTION TO MOVE THIS TIMELINE AND DRAW IT OUT INTO 2022. GIVE THE PUBLIC MORE TIME TO ENGAGE WITH US. WE HAVE A PUBLIC TRUST ISSUE. LET'S WORK THROUGH THAT. LET'S BE TRANSPARENT ABOUT IT. LET'S REALLY WRAP OUR ARMS AROUND OUR COMMUNITIES AND HAVE ROBUST DISCUSSIONS ABOUT IT AND THEN VOTE IN 2023. SO THAT WOULD BE MY SUBSTITUTE MOTION.
>>Jim Porter: MADAM CHAIR, THERE IS A MOTION ON THE -- THERE IS A MOTION PROPOSED. IF WE COULD CLEAR THE BOARD, PABLO.
>>Melissa Snively: I WOULD LIKE DR. HAHN TO COME BACK TO THE DAIS.
>>Jim Porter: THE MOTION -- BOARD MEMBERS, TO BE CLEAR, THIS IS A SUBSTITUTE MOTION. THE SUBSTITUTE MOTION WOULD NOT BRING REDISTRICTING FORWARD THIS YEAR. IT WOULD TAKE IT TO 2023.
>>Melissa Snively: WE'RE LOOKING FOR A SECOND TO THAT MOTION.
>>Jim Porter: THERE IS A SECOND. DR. HAHN SECONDED IT. THE CURRENT MOTION ON THE FLOOR, MADAM CHAIR AND BOARD MEMBERS, IS TO NOT GO FORWARD WITH REDISTRICTING THIS YEAR, BUT TO DO IT IN 2023. THAT'S A SUBSTITUTE MOTION. IT REQUIRES DEBATE AND THEN A VOTE.
>>Melissa Snively: MAY I RESTATE THE MOTION? I'D LIKE TO MAKE THE SUBSTITUTE MOTION TO MOVE THE TIMELINE INTO 2022 AND THEN VOTE ON THIS REDISTRICTING IN JANUARY OF 2023, JUST TO BE CLEAR.
>>Jim Porter: OKAY. YOU SHOULD ASK FOR BOARD DISCUSSION, OTHERWISE YOU SHOULD VOTE ON THE SUBSTITUTE. BEFORE YOU VOTE, I WILL EXPLAIN IT FURTHER.
>>Lynn Gray: BOARD MEMBERS, WILL THERE BE DISCUSSION ON CONTINUING THE PROCESS, EXTENDING IT -- THE REALITY IS 2023. IS THAT CORRECT?
>>Melissa Snively: YEAH.
>>Lynn Gray: ANY DISCUSSION, MEMBER PEREZ?
>>Karen Perez: BROWN VERSUS THOMPSON, SUPREME COURT RULING. IT WAS DECIDED IN JUNE 22, 1983. SO WITHIN THAT SUPREME COURT RULING, IT SPOKE ABOUT THE POPULATION EQUALITY. AND ALSO THE POPULATION DISPARITIES. I FEEL, AND IT SAYS BUT APPORTIONMENT PLAN WITH POPULATION DISPARITIES LARGER THAN 10% CREATES A PRIMA FACIE CASE OF DISCRIMINATION AND THEREFORE MUST BE JUSTIFIED. SO WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT RIGHT NOW AN OVER 20% AND THE FACT THAT THE 14th AMENDMENT AT THIS POINT WOULD BE ALSO TRAMPLED ON, I FEEL THAT HOLDING THIS VOTE UNTIL 2023 WOULD HURT THIS DISTRICT. IT WOULD HURT OUR FAMILIES AND MAINLY IT WOULD HURT OUR STUDENTS. SPECIFICALLY OUR BLACK AND LATINO STUDENTS WHO HAVE BEEN THE UNDERREPRESENTED POPULATIONS. AND ALSO, IT WOULD ALSO EXPOSE ALL OF US AS BOARD MEMBERS TO POTENTIAL LEGAL LIABILITY, AND I WANT TO ASK THE SUPERINTENDENT IF WE WERE PUT IN A POSITION OF HAVING A LEGAL FEE OF OVER 250,000, WHERE WOULD THIS -- FIRST OF ALL, WHERE WOULD IT COME OUT OF?
>>Addison Davis: YES, MA'AM, THROUGH THE CHAIR, ANYTHING FROM THAT SIDE WOULD HAVE TO COME OUT OF THE GENERAL FUND.
>>Karen Perez: HOW WOULD THAT IMPACT THIS DISTRICT?
>>Addison Davis: I MEAN, WE DON'T HAVE ANY DOLLAR, ANY CENT TO WASTE OPENLY. WE'VE BEEN VERY CLEAR ABOUT WHERE OUR FINANCIAL SITUATION IS.
>>Karen Perez: OKAY. WITH THAT SAID, I CANNOT SUPPORT THAT MOTION.
>>Lynn Gray: THANK YOU, MEMBER PEREZ. MEMBER HAHN.
>>Stacy Hahn: THANK YOU, MEMBER GRAY. SO, I MEAN, I WAS PRETTY CLEAR THE LAST TIME WE DISCUSSED THIS ON THE DAIS, ME BEING A LITTLE TAKEN ABACK BY THIS BEING BROUGHT FORWARD. GIVEN THAT NOBODY ON THIS BOARD HAS DISCUSSED IT FROM THE DAIS WITH THIS AMOUNT OF URGENCY AS THEY HAVE IN THE LAST TWO WEEKS, EVEN DURING PUBLIC COMMENT WE HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING FROM OUR CONSTITUENTS, EXCEPT IN THE LAST TWO WEEKS. NOW IT'S AN EMERGENCY. YOU KNOW, WE'VE ALREADY SEEN THE TIMELINE AFTER WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK WITH THE MEETING GO OFF TRACK. THAT'S PUSHED THIS TIMELINE A WEEK FURTHER. I'VE SPOKEN TODAY HOW UNCOMFORTABLE I AM WITH THE TIMELINE IN REGARD TO PUBLIC COMMENT AND HOW WE'RE GOING TO UTILIZE THE INPUT FROM THE PUBLIC. AND I APPRECIATE YOU BRINGING OUT SOME LEGAL POINTS IN ALL DUE RESPECT, I'M GOING TO DEFER TO THE LAWYER ON THE DAIS AND THE LAWYERS IN OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT. THERE'S NO GUARANTEE THAT WE WON'T GET SUED. THERE'S NO GUARANTEE THAT WE WILL. WHETHER WE GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS OR NOT. WE COULD END UP IN A LAWSUIT. IF I HAD A MAGIC BALL, I WOULD BE ABLE TO MAKE DIFFERENT DECISIONS ON ANY DAY OF THE WEEK, BUT I DON'T, AND I'M GOING BY THE INFORMATION I HAVE IN FRONT OF ME TO MAKE THE BEST DECISION. YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I AM A LITTLE SURPRISED HOW ALL OF A SUDDEN THE LAST TWO WEEKS THIS IS A BIG RUSH AND WE'RE GOING TO BREAK THE LAW AND END UP IN LAWSUITS, AND NOBODY TALKED ABOUT IT BACK IN MAY WHEN WE BROUGHT IT UP, BACK IN JUNE, OR BACK IN JULY. SO I'M GOING TO SUPPORT THE MOTION AS I DID TODAY. THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE IT.
>>Lynn Gray: THANK YOU, MEMBER HAHN. MEMBER PEREZ, IF YOU DON'T MIND ME SAYING A FEW THINGS. THE DOE IN THE LAWSUIT IS VERY REAL. I HAVE RECEIVED FIVE LETTERS ON OTHER MATTERS, BUT TO ME, THE ARGUMENT THAT IT MAY BE YES, MAY BE NO, TO ME IS VERY VIVIDLY CLEAR THAT WE'RE BEING LOOKED AT AS WE ARE SPEAKING RIGHT NOW FROM THE DOE. I CAN'T, SPEAKING AS AN INDIVIDUAL ELECTED OFFICIAL, I CAN'T PUT OUR DISTRICT IN THAT JEOPARDY. AND I JUST WOULD FEEL HORRIBLE IF WE DID GET THE LAWSUIT AND THEN OUR FUND BALANCE WOULD BE BELOW, IF IT CAN GET ANY LOWER, 3%, AND THEN BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A COLLISION COST WITH OUR FINANCIALS. AND WE ARE, OUR MAJOR JOB, BOARD MEMBERS, AS YOU WELL KNOW, WE ARE THE FINANCIAL STEWARDS OF THIS DISTRICT. WE HAVE TO BE CAREFUL WITH EVERY POSSIBLE DOLLAR AND CENT, AND IF THERE IS A SITUATION WHERE WE MIGHT BE MINUSSED, IT'S CRITICAL THAT WE START THINKING THE OTHER WAY. WHAT CAN WE DO TO MAKE SURE THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN? NOT -- AND WITH DEEPEST RESPECT TO MEMBER HAHN AND MEMBER SNIVELY, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A HARD SUBJECT BECAUSE IT IS THEIR CONSTITUENCY, WHICH MEMBER PEREZ IN MIND AS WELL, REALLY, IT'S HARD BECAUSE THEY ARE HEARING FROM THEIR POSSIBLE FRIENDS, BUT THEIR VOTERS AND THEN, YOU KNOW, THAT DEFINITELY WOULD SUBSTANTIATE A LOT OF DISCOURSE. I DO NOT DISAGREE, MEMBER HAHN AND MEMBER SNIVELY, WE SHOULD HAVE HAD MORE TRANSPARENCY EARLIER. I GUESS WE COULD BLAME THE OPERATIONS BECAUSE THE DATA WAS AVAILABLE TO BOCC AS IT WAS WITH OUR DISTRICT IN AUGUST FROM THE CENSUS. WHY WE DIDN'T MAKE THIS REAL IN FRONT OF US SOONER IS A GOOD QUESTION, AND I'M NOT HAPPY WITH THAT EITHER. HOWEVER, THAT'S THE REALITY WE'RE LOOKING AT. A POSSIBLE LAWSUIT. ALSO, THE VARIABLE OF TOWN HALLS, IT IS CRITICAL THAT WE DO HAVE A Q & A. I THINK, SUPERINTENDENT DAVIS, CAN YOU GO AHEAD AND SHARE YOUR ADAPTATION AS YOU'RE HEARING FROM BOARD MEMBERS WHAT YOU PLAN ON DOING WITH THE TOWN HALLS?
>>Addison Davis: YES, MA'AM, THROUGH THAT PROCESS WE WERE JUST REALLY GOING TO PROVIDE JUST AN UPDATE OF WHERE WE ARE AND WHY WE HAD TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION AND THEN BEING ABLE TO ADDRESS ANY INDIVIDUALS THEY HAD IN THE GALLERY WALK WITH STAFF. WE CAN TAKE Q & A IF THAT'S THE WILL OF THE BOARD. AT THE SAME TOKEN, I WANT TO MAKE SURE IT'S CLEAR THAT WE DIDN'T GET THIS INFORMATION UNTIL SEPTEMBER. THE CENSUS DATA IN SEPTEMBER FROM OPERATIONS. AS SOON AS THEY DID, THEY STARTED TO CONTINUE TO WORK ON THIS PROCESS WITH STAFF. I WANT TO CLEAR THAT UP AS WELL.
>>Lynn Gray: OKAY. WELL, THANK YOU, SUPERINTENDENT DAVIS. LAST, I HAVE TO SAY MY HEART AND SOUL GOES OUT TO THOSE FAMILIES, THE HISPANIC AND BLACK FAMILIES WHO DO NOT GET REPRESENTED AND THEIR REPRESENTATION IS TO ME IS JUST HORRIBLE. SORRY ABOUT THE VOCABULARY WORD. BUT IF WE LET ANOTHER YEAR GO BY AND THEY DON'T HAVE THE PROPER REPRESENTATION, I FEEL LIKE THEY, AGAIN, WILL BE WITHOUT A VOICE, AND THAT TO ME IS VERY SERIOUS. WE ARE LOOKING AT IN FIVE YEARS A 50% HISPANIC POPULATION AND ALSO A 20% BLACK POPULATION. WE HAVE GOT TO PAY ATTENTION TO THAT VERY, VERY PRECISELY, AND THAT TO ME IS A LITTLE SENSE OF URGENCY AS WELL. THAT'S ALL OF MY COMMENTS. MEMBER PEREZ.
>>Karen Perez: THANK YOU. TO KIND OF DIP ON WHAT YOU WERE SAYING REGARDING THE POPULATION, THE LATINO POPULATION IN 2010 WAS 25%. IN 2018 IT WAS 28%. AND IN 2020 IT WAS 29.27%. AND THEN FOR THE BLACK POPULATION, IN 2010, IT WAS 18.1%. IN 2018 IT WAS 18.7%. AND IN 2020 IT WAS 19%. AND ALSO, JUST FOR THE INFORMATION OF THE BOARD, MIAMI-DADE HAD ITS FIRST PUBLIC MEETING REGARDING THEIR REDISTRICTING ON OCTOBER 1st. BREVARD COUNTY HAD IT ON OCTOBER 9th WITH A WORKSHOP ON NOVEMBER 3rd. AND PALM BEACH COUNTY HELD A WORKSHOP ON OCTOBER 6th.
>>Lynn Gray: THANK YOU, MEMBER PEREZ. MEMBER SNIVELY.
>>Melissa Snively: THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. FIRST, I WANTED TO ADDRESS A COMMENT YOU MADE AND PLEASE NO OFFENSE, BUT IT WAS -- YOU KIND OF POINTED THE FINGER AT OPERATIONS, AND I TAKE A LITTLE OFFENSE TO THAT BECAUSE MR. PORTER HAS BEEN TALKING TO THE BOARD SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR ITEM FOR SEVERAL MONTHS AT EVERY BOARD MEETING SINCE I THINK JULY. AND IT'S REALLY AT OUR DISCRETION TO MAKE THAT DECISION WHETHER WE WANT TO MOVE FORWARD OR NOT. UP UNTIL OCTOBER 19, THERE WAS NO APPETITE ACCORDING TO MR. PORTER WHEN HE WAS SPEAKING WITH BOARD MEMBERS OR TRYING TO GET A CONSENSUS AROUND WHETHER THIS WAS GOING TO BE SOMETHING THE BOARD EVEN WANTED TO MOVE FORWARD ON. THERE WAS NO APPETITE. UP UNTIL THAT POINT. THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN ON OCTOBER 20th, BOOM, WE'RE HERE. AND MIAMI-DADE'S FIRST MEETING WAS IN SEPTEMBER, NOT OCTOBER. AND THERE ARE OTHER COUNTIES THAT HAVE BEEN MEETING SINCE MAY. SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK WHAT I WANTED TO REALLY ADDRESS, AND, MS. GRAY, THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT UP SO WE COULD KIND OF CLARIFY THAT POINT, BUT MEMBER PEREZ, YOU TALK ABOUT HOW WE COMMUNICATE WITH OUR AFRICAN AMERICAN AND HISPANIC COMMUNITIES AND HOW THEY ARE LIMITED IN ACCESS TO INFORMATION. IT'S GOING TO TAKE LONGER. THAT JUST MEANS IT'S GOING TO TAKE LONGER TO GET INFORMATION OUT TO THE PUBLIC. IT'S GOING TO TAKE LONGER TO REACH THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY AND HISPANIC COMMUNITY IF THEY ARE LIMITED IN SOME OF THE TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES THAT WE HAVE. SO TO ME, RATIONALLY THINKING, WE SHOULD TAKE OUR TIME TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN REACH THOSE POPULATIONS SO THEREFORE THEY CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE PROCESS. IF WE RUSH THROUGH THIS, THERE WILL BE PEOPLE WHO DON'T GET THE MEMO, WHO DON'T GET THE COMMUNICATION BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO IT, AND WILL BE BI-PASSED. THIS IS GOING TO BE A TEN-YEAR COMMITMENT. THIS IS A TEN-YEAR COMMITMENT BY OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT. IF THEY DON'T HAVE A SEAT AT THE TABLE, THEY WON'T GET ANOTHER CHANCE FOR TEN MORE YEARS. THAT I'M CONCERNED ABOUT AS WELL. THANK YOU.
>>Lynn Gray: THANK YOU, MEMBER SNIVELY. MEMBER HAHN.
>>Stacy Hahn: THANK YOU. I, TOO, WANTED TO ADDRESS THE COMMENTS MADE ABOUT OPERATIONS SO I WOULD AGREE WITH MEMBER SNIVELY'S COMMENTS AROUND IT'S NOT THE STAFF'S FAULT THAT WE'RE IN THIS POSITION. THEY WORK FOR THE SUPERINTENDENT. AS MS. -- RIGHT, AND WHO WORKS WITH THE BOARD. AS MEMBER SNIVELY HAS SAID, WE'VE ALL BEEN IN CONVERSATIONS. WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT FROM THIS DAIS. IT IS NOT THE STAFF'S FAULT THAT WE'RE IN THIS POSITION. SO I JUST WANT TO GO ON THE RECORD TO SAY THAT BECAUSE THAT'S UNCALLED FOR. WE HAVE ENOUGH MORALE ISSUES IN THIS DISTRICT. SO I JUST WANTED THAT ON THE RECORD. THEY HAVE WORKED VERY HARD. THEY WORK HARD TO KEEP US -- THEY ARE WORKING HARD AS BEST THEY CAN IN REGARD TO THE TIMELINE THAT WE PUT FORWARD AND IT'S VERY STRESSFUL FOR THEM, I'M SURE. THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO HELP US THROUGH THIS PROCESS, MR. FARKAS, AND, PLEASE, THANK YOUR TEAM.
>>Lynn Gray: THANK YOU, MEMBER HAHN. MEMBER VAUGHN.
>>Jessica Vaughn: THANK YOU. MR. FARKAS, MAYBE YOU CAN ANSWER THIS OR SUPERINTENDENT DAVIS. MEMBER HAHN TALKED ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THE INPUT FROM THE COMMUNITY MEETINGS OR THE TOWN HALLS ARE GOING TO INFLUENCE THE OUTCOME OF THE MAPS. IN OTHER DISTRICTS, IN OTHER COUNTIES, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT COUNTY COMMISSION OR ANYWHERE THAT WE REDISTRICT, HAS THAT EVER BEEN THE PROCESS? THAT DURING THE COMMUNITY MEETINGS THE FEEDBACK CHANGES THE MAPS THAT ARE BEING PRESENTED?
>>Christopher Farkas: I CAN SPEAK TO THAT A LITTLE BIT AND MR. PORTER CAN ALSO ADDRESS IT. IT'S BEEN ALL OVER THE PLACE IS THE SHORT ANSWER. YOU HAVE SCHOOL DISTRICTS THAT VOTED ON A MAP THAT LITERALLY NO ONE HAD SEEN. THEY HAD FOUR MAPS THAT WENT TO THE PUBLIC AND THEY CHOSE A FIFTH ONE JUST INTRODUCED AT THE SCHOOL BOARD MEETING, A LOCAL DISTRICT. YOU HAVE OTHER AREAS WHERE THE MAPS ARE CHANGED BY BOARD MEMBERS OR BY COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OR BY CITY CITY COUNCILMEN THAT DONATE THAT. I'M NOT AWARE OF A COUNTY OR A SCHOOL DISTRICT THAT HAS A GIS THAT HASN'T OUTSOURCED THAT. A LOT OF THEM HAVE MIRRORED THE COUNTY COMMISSION WHICH WE'D LOVE TO DO. IT'S FOUR MEMBER VERSUS FIVE MEMBER SO WE CAN'T MIRROR THAT PART OF. TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, I'M NOT AWARE OF ANY BUT THERE ARE LOTS OF WAYS OF FEEDBACK TO THE MAP PROCESS.
>>Jim Porter: I THINK STAFF'S ROLE WOULD BE TO MAKE SURE THE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS ARE MET. POPULATIONS ARE FAIRLY EQUAL, CONTIGUOUS, BLACK DISTRICT IS HELD INTACT. I THINK THEY WOULD PROVIDE FEEDBACK TO THE BOARD. IF YOU FELT, FOR INSTANCE, THAT A COMMUNITY WAS BEING SPLIT UP, OR A NEIGHBORHOOD WAS BEING SPLIT UP OR THAT THERE WAS SOME SORT OF DISPARITY WITH THE TYPES OF PEOPLE THAT WERE BEING REPRESENTED BY A BOARD MEMBER, I THINK BOARD MEMBERS THEN COULD MAKE A MOTION TO HAVE THAT DONE. BUT I DON'T THINK THAT WOULD BE STAFF'S ROLE. I THINK THAT REALLY IS THE BOARD'S ROLE. AND SHORT OF MAKING SURE THAT EACH MAP COMPLIES WITH THE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS, I THINK THAT'S WHERE STAFF'S JOB BEGINS AND ENDS. I THINK PRE-SUMP EWOUS ON STAFF TO MAKE DECISIONS THAT ARE RIGHTFULLY YOURS. JUST AS YOU TAKE THE FEEDBACK OF THE NAMING OF SCHOOLS AND YOU CAN CHANGE THAT, THEY WILL BE PROVIDING THE FEEDBACK YOU GET. IF IT MAKES SENSE, YOU MIGHT WANT TO DO THAT, OTHERWISE IT WOULD BE YOUR DECISION.
>>Jessica Vaughn: SUPERINTENDENT DAVIS, HOW ACCESSIBLE WILL THAT FEEDBACK BE, THOSE COMMENTS, WHAT WILL THAT LOOK LIKE? HOW WILL THAT BE SHARED TO THE BOARD? WHAT'S THE PROCESS FOR US GETTING THAT FEEDBACK?
>>Addison Davis: AS SOON AS WE GET THAT FEEDBACK DURING THE TOWN HALL OR COMMUNITY MEETING THAT WE ENGAGE, WE'LL CAPTURE THAT THROUGH OUR STAFF. WE'LL HAVE COMPUTERS AVAILABLE SO SOME OF THAT COULD BE IMMEDIATELY. THEN WE'LL TAKE THAT AND SEND THAT TO THE BOARD AS SOON AS, 24-48 HOURS FOR THE BOARD TO HAVE IT TO MAKE ANY ADJUSTMENTS AND GAIN FROM THE COMMUNITY INPUT.
>>Jessica Vaughn: OKAY. THANK YOU. I SHARE -- I UNDERSTAND THE FRUSTRATION AND THE CONCERN. I HAVE DISAGREED THAT I DON'T THINK THAT THERE WAS AN APPETITE TO GO FORWARD AND DISCUSS THIS SOONER. I'VE SHARED MY OWN APPETITE. I DO THINK THIS GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO BUILD MORE INFRASTRUCTURE INTO THESE PROCEDURES. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE TO HAVE A WORKSHOP EARLIER. I THINK THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE, AND I THINK THAT IN GENERAL BOARD MEMBERS NEED TO BE A LITTLE MORE PREPARED FOR BIG THINGS COMING UP. BUT I THINK THIS GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO GO FORWARD TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE BUILDING THAT IN. I HAD SIMILAR CONCERNS WHEN WE FIRST STARTED TALKING ABOUT THIS ABOUT THE TIME FRAME, BUT I THINK YOU DID A REALLY GOOD JOB IN BUILDING IT AND BUILDING IN THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND MAKING SURE EVERY DISTRICT HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE INPUT. SO I JUST REALLY APPRECIATE THAT I WAS CONCERNED THAT WE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO MEET THE TIMELINE. I KNOW YOUR STAFF AND EVERYBODY WORKED REALLY HARD TO BE ACCOMMODATING AND TO MAKE THIS A FAIR PROCESS, SO I APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU FOR ANSWERING MY QUESTIONS.
>>Addison Davis: YES, MA'AM. THANK YOU.
>>Lynn Gray: THANK YOU, MEMBER VAUGHN. MEMBER WASHINGTON.
>>Henry "Shake" Washington: THTHANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. I HAVE A COUPLE OF COMMENTS TO MAKE FROM OBSERVATION. FIRST OF ALL, WE UNDERSTAND THAT THE DEMOGRAPHICS HAVE CHANGED FOR BLACKS IN THE CITY. WHEN YOU LOOK AT W BLAKE HIGH SCHOOL, THAT AREA, PREDOMINANTLY BLACK IN THAT HOUSING AREA. SO THEY MOVED THOSE PEOPLE OUT TO DIFFERENT AREAS IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY. AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN MOVED OUT ARE WELL REPRESENTED IN THEIR DISTRICTS BECAUSE IT'S SO IMPORTANT. IN DISTRICT 5, WE'RE GOING TO KEEP OUR PERCENTAGE WE HAVE AND POSSIBLY HAVE MORE BLACKS IN DISTRICT FIVE. BUT WHAT I WANT EVERYBODY TO UNDERSTAND, WE WANT A FAIR ASSESSMENT OF ALL THE DISTRICTS. AND FAIR ASSESSMENT IS NOT FAIR NOW BECAUSE YOU'VE GOT SOME DISTRICTS THAT HAVE MORE PEOPLE THAN YOU DO OTHERS. SO WE HAVE TO WORK ON THAT WHERE WE CAN BRING IT BACK INTO PERSPECTIVE WHAT IT SHOULD BE. SOMETHING ELSE I WANT TO TALK ABOUT HERE QUICKLY, TOO. WHEN WE HAVE THOSE TOWN HALLS MEETINGS, I DON'T LIKE THE WORD "TOWN HALL" FOR SOME REASON. I DON'T LIKE THAT. LIKE, WITH PEOPLE PERCEPTION, YOU'RE GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT EVERYTHING. WE WANT TO TALK ABOUT REDISTRICTING. AND MAYBE, SUPERINTENDENT, YOU CAN COME UP AND WE CAN SAY, LOOK, AT 7:00, HAVE SOME KIND OF COMMUNICATIONS GOING OUT. WE'RE HAVING REDISTRICTING SO PEOPLE UNDERSTAND. AND WHILE YOU'RE DOING THAT, AND I THINK IT SHOULD BE ON THERE YOU SHOULD HAVE ON THERE SOME INFORMATION, THIS IS NOT ABOUT BOUNDARY CHANGES BECAUSE PEOPLE GET CONFUSED MANY TIMES WHEN YOU SAY REDISTRICTING, THEY THINK YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT BOUNDARY CHANGES. WE ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT SCHOOL. WE ARE TALKING ABOUT POPULATIONS. AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY UNDERSTAND. MR. FARKAS, ON YOUR COMMITTEE, YOU HAVE QUITE A FEW PEOPLE ON YOUR COMMITTEE WHEN YOU MAKE THE PRESENTATION.
>>Christopher Farkas: THE PRESENTATION WAS JUST BEEN TOLD TO ME IN THE LAST FEW MINUTES. I THINK THE COMMITTEE WILL BE CHRIS FARKAS AS OF RIGHT NOW. BUT WE WILL -- THAT'S THE ISSUE. THE INFORMATION, THE DATA, THE CENSUS, THE MAPS ARE COMING FROM THE COUNTY GIS. NOT FROM THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. OUR PLANNING STAFF DOES NOT HAVE A GIS MEMBER. WE WILL PRESENT THE DATA. AS MR. DAVIS SAID, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE PowerPoint AND WHAT THE CRITERIA WERE -- WAS FOR CREATING THOSE MAPS. BUT THE PRESENTATION IS JUST LITERALLY, HERE'S YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT THE MAPS. IT SHOULD BE THE SAME INFORMATION THAT WE'LL HAVE ONLINE ON THE WEBSITE TO DO THAT, TO DO THAT INFORMATION BECAUSE IT IS JUST TELLING, HEY, HERE'S HOW WE CAME UP WITH THE MAPS. THESE ARE THE GUIDELINES WE GAVE THE COUNTY AND THESE ARE THE MAPS THEY GAVE US IN RETURN.
>>Henry "Shake" Washington: OKAY. THAT'S MY COMMENTS BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT DISTRICT FIVE STAYS THE MAJORITY OF DISTRICT FIVE WILL BE BLACK.
>>Addison Davis: YES, SIR. AND THROUGH THE CHAIR, --
>>Henry "Shake" Washington: I WANT THAT TO BE KNOWN BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE ARE WORKING FOR, BECAUSE WE CAN'T HAVE -- WE CAN'T HAVE ALL WHITE ADMINISTRATORS UP HERE ON THE BOARD. WE HAVE TO HAVE THAT DIVERSE -- THAT DIVERSITY HERE. I THINK WE HAVE A PRETTY DECENT DIVERSITY BOARD NOW, AND I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT REMAIN LIKE THAT. OKAY? THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE IT.
>>Lynn Gray: OKEYDOKEY. THANK YOU, MEMBER WASHINGTON. WE'RE REMINDED THE MEETING ENDS AT 11:30 ALSO. BOARD MEMBERS, WHEN WE FINISH, I BELIEVE WE'RE GOING TO TAKE A VOTE --
>>Jim Porter: I WANT TO REMIND THE BOARD, DISCUSSION HAS GONE ON FOR SOME TIME. THIS IS ON THE SUBSTITUTE MOTION. YOU'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT THE MAIN MOTION RIGHT NOW. YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT MS. SNIVELY'S SUBSTITUTE MOTION. AT SOME POINT YOU HAVE TO VOTE ON THAT AND THEN GO BACK TO THE MAIN MOTION IF IT DOESN'T PASS.
>>Lynn Gray: BOARD MEMBERS, MEMBER PEREZ, ARE YOU READY TO VOTE ON THIS? GO AHEAD. SAY SOMETHING.
>>Karen Perez: SO, SUPERINTENDENT, WITH REGARD TO THE COMMENT ON COMMUNICATION WITH OUR OUR UNDERSERVED POPULATION, BY THIS TIME, AFTER WE'VE GONE THROUGH A WORLDWIDE PANDEMIC, THIS BOARD AND HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY SHOULD NOT BE TALKING ABOUT AN ISSUE ABOUT COMMUNICATION WITH ANYONE IN THIS DISTRICT, BE IT BLACK, LATINO, OR OTHERWISE. AND IF WE ARE, IT CRIES OF THE DISPARITY IN OUR BLACK AND LATINO POPULATION AND UNDERSCORES -- AND I'LL SAY IT, IT UNDERSCORES THE REASON THAT WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD AND NOT WAIT ANOTHER TWO YEARS.
>>Lynn Gray: THANK YOU, MEMBER PEREZ. MR. PORTER WOULD YOU RESTATE THE MOTION, THE SUBSEQUENT MOTION, BOARD MEMBERS, THEN WE WILL VOTE ON THAT AND GO TO THE ORIGINAL ONE.
>>Jim Porter: THE SUBSTITUTE MOTION FOR CONSIDERATION THAT'S ON THE FLOOR NOW IS TO DELAY THE REDISTRICTING AND NOT VOTE UNTIL 2023. SO TO BREAK IT DOWN. IF YOU WANT TO GO FORWARD WITH REDISTRICTING THIS YEAR, VOTE NO FOR THIS AMENDMENT. IF YOU GRA HE WITH MS. SNIVELY THAT THIS SHOULD WAIT UNTIL 2023, VOTE YES. IF YOU ARE IN FAVOR OF GOING FORWARD THIS YEAR, VOTE NO. IF YOU ARE IN FAVOR OF DELAYING VOTE YES.
>>Lynn Gray: BOARD MEMBERS, PLEASE VOTE WHEN YOUR LIGHTS ARE ON. THANK YOU, MR. PORTER.
>>Jim Porter: THE MOTION FAILS 5-2, WHICH MEANS PROCEDURALLY THE MAIN MOTION THAT NADIA COMBS MADE IS ON THE FLOOR, WHICH IS TO APPROVE THE TIMELINE FOUND ON PAGE 5 OF THE SUPERINTENDENT'S PRESENTATION. THAT'S THE MOTION ON THE FLOOR THAT IS READY FOR A VOTE ANYTIME YOU WANT TO VOTE. I THINK THERE ARE PROBABLY BOARD MEMBER QUESTIONS STILL.
>>Lynn Gray: THERE MIGHT BE A FEW MORE QUESTIONS BUT THERE ARE DEFINITELY TWO CAVEATS. SUPERINTENDENT DAVIS, THE WILL OF THE BOARD IS TO HAVE THESE TOWN HALL MEETINGS MORE DIRECT WITH THE REDISTRICTING VERSUS -- YOU KNOW, SO I'M HEARING FROM THE BOARD MEMBERS THAT THEIR CONCERN IS THAT WE HAVE MORE INTERACTION AMONG THE VOTERS AND DURING THIS PROCESS.
>>Addison Davis: YES, MA'AM, THROUGH THE CHAIR, WE'LL MAKE CERTAIN IT IS CLEAR WHAT 6 TO 7 AND WHAT 7:00 TO 7:30 WILL BE TO BE ABLE TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT THE COMMUNITY UNDERSTANDS THE TIME FRAME AND THE PROPER ENGAGEMENT AND WE'LL HAVE Q & A IN THE FIRST PART OF IT AND RELATED TO CURRENT ISSUES, DIRECTION OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT AND JUST FOR ME GETTING FEEDBACK OF HOW WE IMPROVE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY TO ACCELERATE THE WORK, AND THEN WE'LL DO THAT SAME MENTALITY AS WE START AT 7:00 WHEN MR. FARKAS AND HIS TEAM LAUNCHES IT AND TALK ABOUT THE REDISTRICTING PURPOSES AND ALLOW THEM TO INTERACT WITH THE GALLERY WALK.
>>Lynn Gray: VERY GOOD. BOARD MEMBERS, I HAVEN'T DISCOUNTED THE THOUGHT OF THE WORKSHOP. I AM A VERY BIG PROPONENT OF WORKSHOPS FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES. SO LET'S KEEP THAT IN OUR MINDS AS WELL. AT THIS TIME, WE HAVE BOARD MEMBERS WHO ARE GOING TO SPEAK. I JUST WANTED TO SAY SOMETHING, MR. FARKAS, I DON'T AIM COMMENTS ABOUT STAFF THAT ARE DEROGATORY EVER. I ONLY MENTION THAT BECAUSE THERE WERE SOME NEW BOARD MEMBERS THAT SHARED WITH ME THE LACK OF COMMUNICATION ABOUT WHEN THE DATA ARRIVED, WHAT WAS THE NEXT STEP. SO THERE WAS A -- THERE WAS EVEN A BOARD MEMBER THAT MENTIONED, DO WE MEAN BOUNDARIES IN TERMS OF REDISTRICTING. SO THERE WAS NOT TO ME A FULFILLMENT OF THE EDUCATIONAL VALUE OF THE DATA RESULTS FROM THE CENSUS. AND THAT'S WHAT I JUST WORRY, TOO. BECAUSE I THINK IF WE HAD MORE CLARITY, MAYBE THIS RUSHEDNESS AMONG US RIGHT NOW WOULD NOT FEEL LIKE A RUSH. AND, BY THE WAY, TWO MONTHS FOR THE BOCC AND ONE AND A HALF MONTHS FOR THE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, THAT'S THE TOTALITY, THE DIFFERENCE IS ABOUT TWO WEEKS. WHAT MAKES IT REALLY SQUEEZED TIGHT IS THE HOLIDAYS COMING. SO APPRECIATING THAT AS WELL. MEMBER HAHN AND THEN MEMBER SNIVELY.
>>Stacy Hahn: THANK YOU. IF WE'RE GOING TO DIRECT THAT LACK OF COMMUNICATION, LACK OF INFORMATION TO ANYBODY, IT'S NOT MR. FARKAS' TEAM. IT'S THE SUPERINTENDENT. IT'S OUR SCHOOL BOARD ATTORNEY. BUT WE'RE ALSO, IT'S OUR IN-HOUSE ATTORNEYS. A LOT OF PEOPLE HAD ACCESS TO THAT INFORMATION, AND, YOU KNOW, WE ALL WELL KNOW THIS WAS THE YEAR TO REDISTRICT. WE DIDN'T NEED ANYBODY IN THIS ROOM TO COME TELL US THAT. AGAIN, IT JUST SEEMED AGAIN A LITTLE BACKHANDED WHAT YOU SAID TO MR. FARKAS. I DON'T HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE, MR. FARKAS, FOR THIS AT ALL. WHAT I DO WANT TO READDRESS IS THE WORKSHOP. I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A WORKSHOP. WE HAVE ONE SCHEDULED FOR THE 16th. IT'S IN YELLOW, THOUGH, SO IT'S TENTATIVE. IF WE COULD PERHAPS USE THAT WORKSHOP TO LOOK AT THE MAPS. THEY WILL HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED AND ON THE WEBSITE AND MAYBE WE COULD CONSIDER A WORKSHOP FOR THAT. I DON'T KNOW HOW MY COLLEAGUES FEEL ABOUT THAT, BUT THAT WOULD GIVE US ANOTHER TOUCH POINT WITH EACH OTHER TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS. IT WOULD GIVE US ACCESS TO STAFF. IF WE HAVE QUESTIONS. I WOULD JUST LIKE TO PUT THAT ON THE RECORD. I WOULD LIKE TO REQUEST THAT THE 16th BE A WORKSHOP TO DISCUSS REDISTRICTING AND REVIEW THE MAPS IN PUBLIC WITH THE CONVERSATION DONE IN THE PUBLIC BEFORE WE ACTUALLY HAVE TO COME FOR A VOTE. IT'S, AGAIN, ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR THE PUBLIC TO PROVIDE US WITH MORE INPUT. I KNOW THAT TRANSPARENCY IS A BIG FOCUS FOR ALL OF US. THAT'S MY REQUEST. THANK YOU.
>>Lynn Gray: MEMBER HAHN, IF I CAN JUST GET SOME CLARITY. ARE YOU SAYING THE WORKSHOP ON THE 16th BEFORE A VOTE IS TAKEN AT THIS TIME?
>>Stacy Hahn: NO, NO. NO, MA'AM. I'M SORRY. WE HAVE A SPECIAL CALLED BOARD MEETING ON THE 10th TO DISCUSS MAPS. I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ANY VOTE THAT WILL BE TAKEN THERE -- MENTION THAT WE WERE VOTING ON THE 10th TO PARE DOWN THE MAPS. WHAT I'M SAYING IS IF WE COULD HAVE THE WORKSHOP ON THE 16th TO HAVE AN OPEN DISCUSSION ABOUT THE MAPS BEFORE WE HAVE THE SPECIAL-CALLED BOARD MEETING ON THE 10th WHERE WE'RE VOTING.
>>Jim Porter: THANK YOU FOR THE CLARIFICATION. I THINK IF THE BOARD IS IN FAVOR OF HAVING A WORKSHOP, I THINK WE CAN FIND A TIME TO DO THAT. I WANT TO REITERATE WHAT WILL HAPPEN ON THE 10th AND WHAT WILL HAPPEN ON THE 16th. I THINK THERE IS TIME FOR A WORKSHOP BETWEEN THOSE TIMES OR BEFORE THOSE TIMES. ON THE 10th, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU HOWEVER MANY MAPS ARE ULTIMATELY SUBMITTED. YOU'LL GO THROUGH A PROCESS OF NARROWING THOSE DOWN. THAT WILL BE A SPECIAL CALLED BOARD MEETING WITH PUBLIC COMMENT AND A VOTE. YOU'RE GOING TO ACTUALLY VOTE USING THE PROCESS THAT MS. DAVIS USED WITH YOU FOR THE LEGISLATIVE PLATFORM. THAT'S ON THE 10th. GOING FORWARD ON THE 16th, YOU'LL BE DOWN TO HOPEFULLY NO MORE THAN THREE. IT'S UP TO YOU. TWO WOULD BE IDEAL, AND THEN YOU'LL VOTE -- THAT WILL BE A SPECIAL CALLED BOARD MEETING WITH PUBLIC COMMENT AND A VOTE AS WELL. TO YOUR POINT OF HAVING A WORKSHOP, I THINK IF YOU WANT TO HAVE ONE, IT SHOULD HAPPEN WELL BEFORE DECEMBER 16th.
>>Stacy Hahn: I SAID NOVEMBER 16.
>>Jim Porter: THAT'S WHY I'M GLAD YOU'RE CLARIFYING. THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT ORIGINALLY. I THINK THERE'S TIME BETWEEN NOW AND DECEMBER 16, INCLUDING NOVEMBER 16, FOR A WORKSHOP. IF THAT'S THE CONSENSUS OF THE BOARD, WE'LL WORK WITH STAFF TO GET THAT SCHEDULED AT A TIME THAT MAKES SENSE GIVE --
>>Stacy Hahn: WE HAVE ONE ON THE BOOKS THAT DAY.
>>Jim Porter: PROBABLY IS THE TIME. INSTEAD OF SPENDING TIME DEBATING WHEN, WE'LL HAVE --
>>Stacy Hahn: I FIGURED WITH ALL THE EXTRA MEETINGS WE'RE HAVING ON OUR SCHEDULE, WRAPPING SOME THINGS UP BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS, THE 16th WOULD NOT REALLY INTERRUPT ANYBODY'S CALENDAR BECAUSE IT'S ALREADY ON THERE. AND THAT'S JUST MY -- I'D LIKE SOME FEEDBACK FROM MY COLLEAGUES ON THAT, TOO. THANK YOU.
>>Lynn Gray: I THINK YOU HAVE IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK FROM OUR SUPERINTENDENT.
>>Addison Davis: YES, MA'AM. WE'LL BE PREPARED TO BE ABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. I WOULD LIKE IF THERE ARE QUESTIONS THAT THE BOARD WOULD LIKE FOR OUR STAFF TO ADDRESS, IF THEY CAN JUST PRE-SEND QUESTIONS SO THAT WE CAN MAKE CERTAIN THAT OUR TIME IS MEANINGFUL. WE WILL ALSO SEE IF THE BOCC WILL BRING THE GIS STAFF AS WELL TO BE ABLE TO ARTICULATE THEIR DEVELOPMENT OF THE MAPS THAT THEY WILL PRESENT TO THE DISTRICT. AT THE SAME TOKEN, WE'LL BE ABLE TO HAVE TWO COMMUNITY MEMBER MEETINGS BY THEN AND ENGAGE ANY PARTICULAR FEEDBACK IN THAT TIME KNOWING WE'LL STILL HAVE THREE. I ALSO WANT TO THANK STAFF, BECAUSE YOU DO REPORT TO ME. YOU'VE DONE A REALLY GOOD JOB. WE'VE DONE THIS THROUGH THE ENTIRE SUMMER. WE'VE BEEN PREPARED UNTIL IT GOT INDIRECTLY DELAYED AND PICKED BACK UP. MR. PORTER, YOU'VE DONE A GOOD JOB AS WELL. I WANT TO GO ON THE RECORD SAYING THAT AS WELL. SO THANK YOU.
>>Lynn Gray: THANK YOU, SUPERINTENDENT DAVIS. WE'RE ON OUR WAY TO DO THE FINAL VOTE, BUT WE HAVE A FEW MORE BOARD COMMENTS. MEMBER SNIVELY.
>>Melissa Snively: THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. I WILL RESPECTFULLY CORRECT YOU. IT WAS NOT INDIRECTLY DELAYED. IT WAS DELAYED. IT'S VERY KIND OF YOU, THOUGH. I AM DISAPPOINTED THAT WE ARE NOT TAKING MORE TIME FOR THIS BECAUSE I DO BELIEVE THIS IS STILL AN UNREALISTIC TIMELINE. AND PUBLIC TRUST IS FURTHER AT STAKE BECAUSE WE'VE ALREADY -- WE'RE ALREADY WORKING ON DEVELOPING AND CULTIVATING TRUST WITH OUR PUBLIC. IT'S JUST DISAPPOINTING BECAUSE I KNOW THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A REALLY GREAT WAY OF GAINING FURTHER CONFIDENCE IN OUR PUBLIC, IN OUR COMMUNITY BY TAKING OUR TIME TO BE A LITTLE MORE TRANSPARENT. I THINK WE'RE MISSING THAT OPPORTUNITY HERE. I JUST WANTED TO STATE THAT FOR THE RECORD. MY QUESTION IS, BECAUSE THIS IS SUCH AN UNREALISTIC TIMELINE, WHAT IF WE DON'T GET WHAT WE NEED TO GET COMPLETED BEFORE DECEMBER 31st? WHAT IF WE CAN'T GET CONSENSUS, ALL OF THIS INFORMATION IN SUCH A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. WE GET TO THE END OF THE YEAR, WHAT ARE OUR OPTIONS AT THAT POINT IF WE DON'T VOTE?
>>Jim Porter: IF YOU DON'T VOTE, IT WOULD GO BACK TO THE SCENARIO DESCRIBED BEFORE, IF IT'S NOT DONE, THERE WILL BE THE RISK OF A LAWSUIT AND WE WOULD BE AT RISK OF HAVING TO DEFEND THAT. SO THAT'S THE SCENARIO THAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THE BOARD CAN'T GET FOUR PEOPLE TO VOTE ON A MAP BY DECEMBER 31st.
>>Melissa Snively: I'LL INTERINVESTIGATE THERE. THERE'S A RISK OF LAWSUIT -- INTERJECT THERE. THERE IS A RISK OF LAWSUIT EITHER WAY, IN MY OPINION, AS A RISK ADVISOR, BEEN FOR 27 YEARS, THERE'S A RISK OF A LAWSUIT EITHER WAY. WHEN WE WERE VOTING ON MASK MANDATES, THERE WAS A RISK OF A LAWSUIT THERE, AND WE WERE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT -- WELL, WE WEREN'T AS CONCERNED APPARENTLY ABOUT NECESSARILY FOLLOWING THE LAW -- MY OPINION THERE -- BUT NOW WE'RE CONCERNED ABOUT FOLLOWING THE LAW. AGAIN, MY OPINION. BUT I'M PUTTING THAT OUT THERE BECAUSE I FIND IT VERY IRONIC AND HYPOCRITICAL BY THIS BOARD. I WILL END WITH THAT. I WILL DO WHATEVER THE BOARD WISHES BECAUSE WHATEVER THE CONSENSUS IS IN THE VOTE TODAY IS HOW WE MOVE FORWARD. WE'LL DO THE BEST THAT WE CAN DO IT. AND IF WE FOR WHATEVER REASON CAN'T GET IT DONE BY THE END OF THE YEAR IN THE MOST APPROPRIATE WAY THAT THE BOARD FEELS IS FAIR AND JUST AND TRANSPARENT TO THE PUBLIC, THEN MAYBE WE HAVE TO DEFER TO THE FUTURE. THANK YOU.
>>Lynn Gray: THANK YOU, MEMBER SNIVELY. APPRECIATE THE GENEROUS STATEMENTS THAT YOU HAVE MADE. MEMBER COMBS.
>>Nadia Combs: JUST A COUPLE OF THINGS. I THINK WHEN WE KEEP THROWING OUT THE TERM TRUST, TRUST AND DISTRUST, THAT CREATES DISTRUST. WHEN I AM 60,000 PEOPLE UNDERREPRESENTED, THAT'S A HUGE ISSUE. I HAVE 60,000 LESS INDIVIDUALS THAN I'M GOING TO REPRESENT. AND EVERY DAY, TWO YEARS FROM NOW, WHAT IS IT GOING TO BE, 80,000 PEOPLE? A COUPLE OF RECOMMENDATIONS, I WOULD THINK THAT MAYBE PARENT LINK, MAYBE WE CAN SEND A VOICE MAIL TO EVERY PARENT IN THE DISTRICT AS WE ALSO DO, REALLY LOOKING AT THOSE TOWN HALL MEETINGS. AND I WANT TO SAY I DID A LOT OF RESEARCH, AND I CAN GO THROUGH EVERY DISTRICT. THERE ARE MANY DISTRICTS THAT HAVE A LOT LESS OF AN OUTREACH, ARE NOT HAVING TOWN HALLS MEETINGS, ARE NOT HAVING INPUT, NOT MEETING AS FREQUENTLY, NOT DOING WORKSHOPS. SO THE IDEA THAT THIS -- THE SUGGESTION THAT IT'S DONE QUICKLY IS INCORRECT. THAT IS NOT TRUE. WHEN YOU KEEP SAYING THINGS LIKE THAT, WHEN MEMBERS KEEP SAYING THAT, PERCEPTION BECOMES REALITY AND THAT'S NOT TRUE. THAT IS A GREAT TIMELINE, AND I ALSO WANT TO SAY I THINK SUPERINTENDENT DAVIS, YOU'VE DONE A GREAT JOB AT LISTENING TO US AND CREATING THAT TIMELINE AND WORKING AND SENDING THAT OUT IMMEDIATELY, AND YOU AND YOUR CABINET ARE RECEIVING THAT RECOGNITION. I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THAT. WE'RE DOING THE RIGHT THING BY LAW. I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE VOICE OF MY CONSTITUENTS ARE HEARD, AND I NEED TO EXPAND. SO THAT'S WHAT IS REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT. SO I WOULD LIKE TO AT THIS POINT JUST CALL THE QUESTION SO WE CAN JUST MOVE ON WITH THE VOTE. I WOULD LIKE TO CALL THE QUESTION.
>>Jim Porter: SO CALLING THE QUESTION REQUIRES A SECOND AND THEN THERE IS AN IMMEDIATE VOTE. DR. HAHN, I ASSUME YOU'RE NOT SECONDING THE MOTION.
>>Stacy Hahn: NO, SORRY.
>>Jim Porter: WE HAVE A MOTION TO CALL THE QUESTION MADE BY MEMBER COMBS. SECONDED BY MEMBER VAUGHN. THERE'S NO DEBATE ON THIS. YOU VOTE IMMEDIATELY. IF YOU WANT TO END THE CONVERSATION AND VOTE ON THE MAIN MOTION VOTE YES. IF YOU WANT TO CONTINUE DISCUSSING, VOTE NO. IF YOU WANT TO QUIT TALKING ABOUT THIS AND VOTE ON THE MAIN MOTION VOTE YES. IF YOU WANT TO KEEP HAVING BOARD DISCUSSION, VOTE NO.
>>Lynn Gray: BOARD MEMBERS, PLEASE VOTE WHEN YOUR LIGHTS ARE ON.
>>Jim Porter: THE MOTION PASSED 5-2. THAT MEANS DEBATE IS OVER AND YOU'RE VOTING ON THE MAIN MOTION WHICH I'LL REMIND THE BOARD IS ALL YOU'RE VOTING ON TODAY IS THE TIMELINE PROPOSED BY THE SUPERINTENDENT FOUND ON PAGE 5 OF THE COMMENTS. IF YOU'RE IN FAVOR OF THE TIMELINE WITH GOING FORWARD WITH REDISTRICTING THIS YEAR, VOTE YES. MEMBER SNIVELY AND MEMBER HAHN VOTE NO IF YOU'RE NOT IN -- IF YOU'RE NOT IN FAVOR OF GOING FORWARD VOTE NO. THAT MOTION PASSES 5-2. THE TIMELINE IS APPROVED. WITH THE CAVEAT THAT THE WORKSHOP RECOMMENDED BY MEMBER HAHN WILL BE INCORPORATED INTO THE TIMELINE AND THAT SUPERINTENDENT DAVIS WILL ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF FEEDBACK AT THE TOWN HALL MEETINGS OR WHATEVER THEY WILL SUBSEQUENTLY BE CALLED.
>>Lynn Gray: ALSO, I DO WANT TO THANK SUPERINTENDENT DAVIS, BECAUSE AS WE HAVE THIS MEETING, WE CAN SEE THAT YOUR ADAPTATION OF FULFILLING THE NEEDS OF THE BOARD, THE WILL OF THE BOARD IS VERY OBVIOUS, AND WE ALL APPRECIATE THAT FLEXIBILITY AND THE STAFF AS WELL. SO THANK YOU. BOARD MEMBERS -- WELL, MEMBER HAHN --
>>Stacy Hahn: I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT THE MAP REAL QUICK SINCE WE HAVE TO TURN IT IN TOMORROW, IF THAT'S OKAY.
>>Lynn Gray: IS IT TOMORROW OR FRIDAY?
>>Stacy Hahn: IT'S TOMORROW. AND FIRST, SUPERINTENDENT, ARE YOU SAYING FOR THE RE-- STAYING FOR THE REDISTRICTING PORTION OF THOSE MEETINGS?
>>Addison Davis: THROUGH THE CHAIR, NO, MA'AM. I WILL BE TRANSITIONING OUT AND OUR TEAM WILL BE TAKING OVER THAT.
>>Stacy Hahn: I WOULD LIKE TO SUGGEST THAT MAYBE YOU STAY. I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO YOUR LEADERSHIP TO BE SEEN AT THOSE MEETINGS SINCE THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS THAT WE'LL BE DOING AS A BOARD. MR. PORTER, FOR THE MAPS, IF YOU WANT EQUAL -- DO YOU WANT EQUAL POPULATION AS IN A PLUS ONE OR NEGATIVE ONE PERSON JUST LIKE CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS OR CAN WE DO IT LIKE LEGISLATIVE DISTRICTS WHICH CAN HAVE A PLUS THREE OR MINUS THREE DEVIATION?
>>Jim Porter: YOU WANT TO AVOID A LESS THAN 10%. I THINK EITHER ONE OF THOSE IS FINE AS LONG AS IT'S RELATIVELY EQUAL.
>>Stacy Hahn: OKAY. I JUST WANT TO BE CLEAR. YOU'RE DIRECTING US TO NOT REDUCE THE SHARE OF THE BLACK POPULATION IN DISTRICT FIVE, YES OR NO.
>>Jim Porter: THAT IS THE BEST PRACTICE, YES.
>>Stacy Hahn: THAT'S BEST PRACTICE. IS THAT WHAT YOU REFER TO WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT.
>>Jim Porter: YES. LET'S BE CLEAR ABOUT THAT. AGAIN, THIS IS NUANCED. VOTING RIGHTS ACT PREVIOUSLY REQUIRED THAT A BLACK DISTRICT OR MINORITY DISTRICT COULD NOT HAVE RETROGRESSION, WHICH MEANS THAT YOU LEAVE THE DISTRICT WORSE OFF THAN IT WAS BEFORE. SUPREME COURT CASE IN 2013 WEAKENED THAT LAW. AND SO IT'S NOT AS STRONG AS IT WAS WHEN THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT WAS FIRST PASSED. BUT, AGAIN, THE BEST LEGAL POSITION WOULD BE TO NOT TAKE BACK THE BLACK POPULATION IN THAT DISTRICT. IT'S NOT AS STRONG AS IT WAS BEFORE 2013. THERE ARE ARGUMENTS THAT YOU STILL NEED TO DO THAT. AGAIN, THIS IS ABOUT RISK MANAGEMENT, AND I WILL ADVISE YOU THAT IF WE ADOPT A MAP THAT SHOWED RETROGRESSION, I WOULD ANTICIPATE A LAWSUIT, AND THAT -- WE COULD BE DEFENDED BUT IT WOULD BE CHALLENGE -- IT WOULD BE EASIER TO DEFEND NOW THAN IT WOULD HAVE BEEN PRIOR TO 2013. AGAIN, I'M SORRY FOR THE LEGALESE AS MS. SNIVELY SAID, BUT THESE ARE NOT STRAIGHTFORWARD QUESTIONS OR ANSWERS.
>>Stacy Hahn: I APPRECIATE IT. I'M THINKING ABOUT A LOT OF THE COMMENTS THAT MEMBER PEREZ MADE ABOUT THE INCREASE IN THE HISPANIC COMMUNITY IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY. AND THAT GOT ME THINKING TO THE COMMENTS ABOUT SHAKE'S MAP -- SORRY, MEMBER WASHINGTON'S MAP. AND SO WHEN YOU HAVE THE HISPANIC COMMUNITY THAT IS NOW THE MAJORITY MINORITY AND YOU REFERRED TO THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT AS MINORITY, IN THAT MAKEUP OF PARTICULARLY SHAKE'S DISTRICT, HOW ARE WE REPRESENTING THE HISPANIC VOTER? IF THEY ARE NOW THE LARGEST MINORITY -- MAJORITY MINORITY, ISN'T IT -- WHERE WERE THEY CONSIDERED IN THAT DIRECTION YOU'RE TELLING US TO GO, SPECIFICALLY IN REGARD TO MEMBER WASHINGTON?
>>Jim Porter: SEPARATE THE ISSUE OUT. DISTRICT FIVE HAS BEEN HISTORICALLY AND TRADITIONALLY A BLACK MAJORITY -- NOT MAJORITY, BUT A BLACK DISTRICT.
>>Stacy Hahn: DO WE KNOW THE MAJORITY IN THAT COMMUNITY NOW? IS IT HISPANIC? IS IT AFRICAN AMERICAN? DO WE KNOW THE BREAKOUT.
>>Jim Porter: CURRENTLY IN DISTRICT FIVE I BELIEVE IT IS BLACK. AND I THINK THE ISSUE WOULD BE WHETHER MS. COMBS' DISTRICT WOULD BE CONSIDERED A PREDOMINANTLY LATIN DISTRICT. ALTHOUGH THAT HAS NOT BEEN ESTABLISHED IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY LEGALLY. SO HISTORICALLY AND LEGALLY DISTRICT FIVE WAS CONSIDERED A BLACK DISTRICT. HILLSBOROUGH HAS NEVER HAD A PREDOMINANTLY HISPANIC OR LATIN DISTRICT, ALTHOUGH THEY COULD GOING FORWARD IN THE FUTURE.
>>Stacy Hahn: IT'S NOT JUST KEEPING HIS DISTRICT AT 37% MINORITY. IT'S VERY SPECIFIC TO BLACK MINORITY.
>>Jim Porter: YES. I'M SORRY IF THAT WASN'T CLEAR. IT'S SPECIFICALLY ABOUT BLACK OR AFRICAN AMERICAN.
>>Lynn Gray: NO. I THINK ALSO, MEMBER HAHN, THE REST OF US WILL HAVE FURTHER QUESTIONS, AND THAT'S WHY THAT WORKSHOP WILL BE VERY, VERY HELPFUL. AND THE MORE WE STUDY THE MAPS AND THE NUANCES, THE MORE IMPORTANT OUR QUESTIONS WILL BE AND NEEDED TO BE ANSWERED.
>>Stacy Hahn: I AGREE. I JUST HAD TO ASK THOSE BECAUSE OUR MAPS ARE DUE TOMORROW AND THE WORKSHOP ISN'T ACTUALLY UNTIL THE 16th. I APPRECIATE THAT. THOSE MAPS ARE DUE AGAIN AT WHAT TIME TOMORROW, MR. FARKAS?
>>Lynn Gray: HIGH NOON.
>>Stacy Hahn: NOON. THANK YOU.
>>Lynn Gray: THANK YOU, MEMBER HAHN. BOARD MEMBERS, THIS SPECIAL-CALLED BOARD MEETING IS ADJOURNED. [ SOUNDING GAVEL ] THANK YOU.