Author Archives: Stephanie Busin
Weekly Recap 5/11 – 5/15
It was a great week as your District 4 school board member! This is such a busy time of year and there are so many good things going on in our district.
So, in case I haven’t told everyone at least 100 times already, I’m a member of the Hendry County Education Improvement Task Force. The Task Force is a volunteer think tank comprised of county-wide stakeholders representing various interests and businesses, who share the fundamental belief that high quality public education is the cornerstone of a qualified workforce and a prosperous local economy. We work with the school district and collaborate with school leaders to identify areas we have the capacity, as private citizens, to effectuate positive change.
I. Love. This. Group.
FAFSA Party on May 11 at Clewiston High School.
One of the areas we wanted to address was the county’s lagging FAFSA completion rates. FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The federal government awards over $150 billion each year in financial assistance to attend college and vocational school and close to 70% of this year’s graduating seniors in Hendry County have not completed one. 100% of the 70% of the students who didn’t complete a FAFSA will have limited future education and/or economic opportunities. Our job is to remove as many obstacles as we can for these students to get these applications completed.
We set out to change that number Monday during our FAFSA Party. We had approximately 21 students come out and create their FSA ID. This is the replacement for the Federal Student Aid PIN. (If you have already completed a FAFSA and received a PIN you can link it to your FSA ID. If you have forgotten your current PIN, you can still create a FSA ID.) You will need to go to www.fafsa.gov and click on the FSA ID link at the top of the page to create a new FSA ID.)
Here is the awesome part…we had 14 seniors complete their FAFSA for the first time! We also had Palm Beach State representatives and Florida South Western State representatives on hand to discuss future enrollment. Wait. It gets better! We had a mom of a graduating senior fill out a FAFSA and a young man who had dropped out of high school stopped in to find out about what he needed to do to get his GED and continue his education. (Good gravy! Just typing that makes my allergies flare up!) This was a strong beginning and the Task Force is already brainstorming ideas to increase this initiative to reach more students next year.
Tuesday was Workshop and Board Meeting night. The budget workshop was on overview of the capital outlay budget.
Me, Hector Placencia, WES Principal Tony Busin, and Superintendent Paul Puletti
I was a great honor to recognize one of my favorite people on campus at my children’s school. After 22 years of dedicated service to Westside Elementary, Hector Placencia will be retiring at the end of the school year. Hector was one of the best unwitting PTO members in the history of the organization. I would have never made it through three years as PTO President without him. I hope he has the most lovely retirement.
Representatives from Sodexo were on hand to give the Board an overview of the transition process for food services. Sodexo will officially take over management on July 1, and Sodexo and district staff have already begun meeting with the district’s food service employees to assist with their individual transitions.
Our district has submitted the Community Eligibility Application to determine if our district qualifies to provide FREE BREAKFAST AND LUNCH TO ALL STUDENTS as 82% of our district’s students currently qualify for free/reduced lunch. All students are eligible to receive free breakfast each morning. If that application is denied, the Florida Dept of Agriculture has set 2105/16 school lunch prices at $2.10 for elementary students which is the same price as last year, and a $0.05 increase to $2.40 for middle and high school students.
The Board unanimously approved $286,592.62 in new allocations for a Network Technician, Behavior Specialist, ESE Specialist, Parent Assist, and a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant. An additional Network Tech is needed to keep up with the increasing tech demands from digital classrooms and online testing. The other new positions were necessary to respond to the tremendous growth of Exceptional Student Education (ESE) populations within the district.
In an earlier post, I stated that we would be voting on a School Board Policy Review at this meeting but I was incorrect. We reviewed it.
When Chairman Brown asked if there was any board member business, I expressed my continued enthusiasm for developing a strategic plan, inquired about the development process for district wellness programs, and inquired about information being current on district and school websites.
I left the board meeting with a folder of applications for the Educators Affecting Autism Classroom Grant in Honor of John Mack. This year, I asked teachers to tell me how they would spend $250 in their classrooms to support the sensory and academic needs of students on the autism spectrum. Reading the essays and plans they have submitted has been an enlightening experience as it provides educator’s insight to what they need to help their ASD students be successful academically and socially. Many thanks to people who purchased shirts which funded these grants.
CES Patriotic Program
I was blown away on Thursday when I attend Central Elementary’s Annual Patriotic Program. Mrs. Denault orchestrated a powerful performance of students singing patriotic songs, and honoring veterans and current members of our country’s military. There is an awesome video by The Clewiston News on my facebook page if you want to check it out. www.facebook.com/StephanieSchneiderBusin
FPSA Officers
I ended the week with one of my favorite organizations at Clewiston High School. The FPSA / Criminal Justice Academy students held their end-of-the year banquet and I was delighted to be their guest. This club brings honor to our district and these students, and their remarkable leader, contribute so much to our communities within Hendry County. As each Senior was recognized tonight, I was confident each one will be great contributors to society. I am grateful for their teacher who invests so much in shaping these leaders of tomorrow.
Tomorrow’s a new week full of fun! I’ll kick it off at Central Elementary on Monday morning to serve as a judge for their school-wide Tropicana Speech Contest. Looking forward to it!
As always, I appreciate you taking the time to read my blog and the opportunity to serve you as your District 4 School Board Member. All opinions stated within are my own.
~ Stephanie
The $36K Answer
“Exactly what do you do, Stephanie?”
It was a question spawned from a moment of frustration felt by a constituent who perceived my role in the school district as one of a “Junior Superintendent” and was wanting me to exercise my “authority” in a matter which lies outside the scope of the board’s work.
“School board members have an extraordinary amount of responsibility and very little authority,” is what I was told at the very first Florida School Board Association conference I attended, and is the best summary I’ve heard thus far in my term to describe the job.
When explaining the roles within the district, I like to compare it to the federal government. The Superintendent is the President. The School Board is the House/Senate and, on rare occasion, may serve in a quasi-judiciary capacity.
The Superintendent is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the district, including appointing and dismissing personnel. The prerogatives of individual school board members are extremely limited in those administrative actions. The law indicates the Board must approve recommendations presented by the Superintendent unless the legality of the recommendation is being questioned.
The two major responsibilities of the Board are governing through policy (legislation) and creating a budget that aligns resources to support the district’s academic achievement and student service objectives. These are areas, in my humble opinion, that appear to have been neglected in the past and rank high on my list of goals in areas I hope to see our board focus on, as they are proven vehicles for the Board to effectuate positive change within the district.
Since taking my oath of office, I’m happy to report to my constituents that the School Board has began conducting monthly budget workshops before the regular business meetings on the first meeting of the month AND we’ll be voting on whether we want to a contract with a company that specializes in helping school districts update and maintain their district policies on Tuesday, May 12.
I hope this helps clarify a School Board Member’s roles and responsibilities within the district and has provided you with a brief update of what I’m doing, within the scope of my responsibility and authority, to serve you as your District 4 School Board Member. Thank you for the privilege.
~ Stephanie
Weekly Recap 5/4 – 5/8
Hi Everyone! Thank you to all the folks who’ve reached out and let me know you’re reading my blog. There’s been mixed feedback recently and I just want people to know I appreciate your candor and value your opinions even if we don’t ultimately agree at times. My goal in writing this blog is to provide information, as well as engage the community and create a platform to start conversations that matter.
I kicked off this week by visiting my favorite radio host at WAFC Classic Hits, Bianca Ross, to get the word out about the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) Party the Hendry County Education Improvement Task Force is hosting on Monday, May 11 beginning at 5:30 pm in the Clewiston High School media center. The Task Force has collaborated with financial aid experts from local colleges to provide Seniors who haven’t already completed their FAFSA with support to get it completed before they leave high school.
Having a completed FAFSA is an essential tool to increase opportunities for students to receive financial assistance to attend college or vocational school. Public colleges and universities won’t accept a student who hasn’t completed their FAFSA. As of April 10, nearly 70% of our graduating seniors across the county have NOT completed theirs. Knowing the realities associated with that statistic triggered “mom mode” in me so I took advantage of my position as a board member and spent Tuesday in the CHS cafeteria going table to table, asking seniors about their FAFSA status and inviting/begging those who indicated they haven’t completed theirs to please come to the FAFSA party on Monday.
I’d like to thank the Task Force for sponsoring this event and for providing meals for the students and families who will attend, as well as incentives for students to complete their applications. Not only will students who bring all their necessary paperwork receive a gift card to a local restaurant, but every senior who has completed their FAFSA will also be entered into a drawing for $500 cash.
Tuesday night was another amazing night for the Exceptional Equestrians. (Check us out on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HendryCountyExceptionalEquestrians) Two of our riders have just had an unbelievable explosion of development and progress. It fans the flames inside my heart to see these children and their families conquering challenges. I’m so very, very proud of them.
Westside PTO Members
Thursday was another fun day. The awesome PTO officers at my children’s school organized the annual walk-a-thon and teacher appreciation luncheon and invited me to breeze in the day of the event and volunteer. I’m grateful for parents who prioritize time in their personal and professional schedules to support their children’s schools.
Clewiston FFA Members with 3.5+ grade point averages.
I attend the annual FFA awards banquet Thursday night. The John Boy Auditorium was packed with proud families, teachers, administrators and program supporters celebrating the accomplishments of the students in the program. As a board member, I was extremely proud of the incredible number of members who were recognized for 3.0+ grade point averages.
Friday began with the Hendry County Investor’s Breakfast hosted by the Hendry County Economic Development Council. Superintendent Puletti and I represented the school board at this breakfast. Governor Rick Scott’s Secretary of Commerce, Bill Johnson, was the guest speaker. He spoke about the importance of Enterprise Florida having the funding to offer incentives to out-of-state businesses to relocate to Florida.
I’m already gearing up for another rewarding and busy week as your school board member. Thank you again for the privilege to serve my county and the best students in the state.
~ Stephanie
A Sample of Next Year’s Menu Selections
Over the past few days, I’ve had quite a few secondary students reach out to me and ask about the anticipated changes in their school’s cafeterias next year. They politely listened to my overview of services provided but what they really wanted to know was what is going to be on the menu next year?
Fair enough. Here are sample menu selections included in Sodexo’s proposal approved at the April 28 board meeting.
Sample Elementary Breakfast & Lunch Menu
Sample Secondary Lunch Menu (1 of 3)
Sample Secondary Lunch Menu (2 of 3)
Sample Secondary Lunch Menu (3 of 3)
Sample Gluten-Free Menu
Sample Summer Menu
Board Meeting Recap 4.28.15
After beginning a study in January to investigate whether outsourcing food service management services could be a viable option to improve the District’s dwindling participation rates and decrease food waste, the School Board voted 3-1 in favor of Superintendent Puletti’s recommendation to enter into a contract with Sodexo to provide food service management for the District for the 2015/16 school year before a standing-room-only crowd at tonight’s board meeting. Vice Chair Sally Berg, Member Jon Basquin, and I voted in favor. Rev. Dwayne Brown opposed.
Following is my official statement regarding my decision-making process and vote:
“I’d like to thank the food service employees for their invitation to board members to dine in the school cafeterias at our last meeting. I visited all ten cafeterias in the district. I stood in line with students. I ate what students on Free/Reduced lunch are served. I spoke with students about their favorite and least favorite aspects of dining in their school’s cafeteria. I sought out students who have attended school outside Hendry County and asked them to compare and contrast their dining experiences here and at former school districts.
Before dining in the cafeterias, I read through the four professional management proposals submitted to the board, in addition to speaking with people I consider to be experienced and independent experts in the areas of school and community wellness. That gave me a reference point for general expectations and a clear idea of the basic standards I needed to see in order to feel there was a fighting chance of providing comparable services through the district to students on the first day on school this coming fall.
I was served molded food in one cafeteria. I waited nine minutes for a tray in another cafeteria. I was 
met with empty trays on the serving line in another school. I saw the majority of cafeterias selling snacks that I know fall outside of the federally mandated school nutrition guidelines. These are all areas, that even with my less-than-expert knowledge of food service, are screaming for immediate improvement and change.
I believe the single most important factor in being able to avoid outsourcing would involve buy-in and cooperation from HESPA. The patterns exhibited by HESPA since the process this study began in January do not lead me to feel comfortable counting on any level of cooperation as the organization has chosen to defend status quo, disseminate misleading information, and publicly disparage district employees who are private citizens instead of being proactive in producing a plan for improvement.
I do not believe it’s a wise use of district resources and time to attempt to “recreate the wheel” over the course of the next couple of years when we have four qualified companies who have the resources to empower our current food service employees to achieve district objectives of significantly increasing student participation and improving the student dining experience beginning this fall. I feel comfortable with the District’s strategies for oversight and enforcement of a contract with a professional management company, as well as the language which provides the District with an exit strategy from outsourced management with or without cause.”
In other news, School Calendar #2 (Page 18 of the Board Packet) was unanimously approved by the Board. Calendar 2 received an overwhelming amount of votes from HCEA members. The first day of school for 2015/16 will be August 10. You can find the calendar on page 18 of the board packet. Here is a link: http://www.hendry-schools.org/education/components/docmgr/default.php?sectiondetailid=15274&fileitem=8615&catfilter=1177
Thank you again for the privilege of serving as your school board member!
~ Stephanie
Literacy Week in Hendry County
Mrs. Penuel leads her first grade class through one of the literacy stations at CHS.
Members of the School Board were invited to attend Literacy Week celebrations in many of our schools last week and I made sure to RSVP to as many as I could. Choosing which events to attend was my biggest challenge as every school had an event, activity, or theme for each day of the week!
I kicked of my Literacy Week tour at Central Elementary. I got to be a Community Reader and choose two books, “The Old Woman and Her Pig” and “Three Billy Goats Gruff” to read to fourth grade classes. I was delighted to see other people in the community participating as community readers while I was there. I ran into Bubba Ramer from the City Recreation Dept, County Commissioner Karson Turner, as well as Superintendent Paul Puletti.
Eastside’s Multi-Cultural Literacy Night offered an opportunity to dance to German music.
Clewiston High School’s students and staff rolled out the red carpet for first grade students from Eastside, Westside and Central Elementary. CHS students decked the halls with Dr. Seuss decorations and guided the first graders through different literacy stations located throughout the campus. It was heartwarming to see the look of admiration in the eyes of the first graders and inspiring to see the leaders of tomorrow honing their leadership skills and nurturing a sense of community responsibility for literacy.
Eastside Elementary hosted an outstanding Multi-Cultural Literacy Night. Teachers and staff transformed the lunchroom into a multi-cultural party complete snacks, games, music, and engaging literacy stations highlighting different cultures. Ava Barrett from the Clewiston Public Library was in attendance getting families signed up up library cards and providing information on ways the public library supports community literacy.
County Commissioner Karson Turner took time out his schedule to be a Community Reader at Central Elementary.
Seeing a principal take a whipped cream pie in the face was all the reason I needed to load up and head over to LaBelle to Country Oaks Elementary! Mr. Sealey issued a challenge to students if they doubled their AR (Accelerated Reader) points goal, he would let them throw a pie at him. If they quadrupled their goal, they got to throw two pies. I’ll just say he had quite a group of motivated students with excellent aim and, since he was such a good sport, I couldn’t deny his request to throw a pie at me when students went back to class.
I want to say a heartfelt THANK YOU to the schools that invited me to participate in their Literacy Week celebrations. I’d also like to extend a very special THANK YOU to those who undoubtedly spent many hours outside of your contractual obligations to provide these wonderful experiences for our students. I appreciate those who go above and beyond for our students and make great things happen within our District.
A pie in the face courtesy of Mr. Sealey.
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. All views and opinions expressed are my own.
~ Stephanie
1/27 Meeting Recap
Paul Samerdyke, Guidance Counselor at Central Elementary, was presented with a plaque of appreciation for his many years of service to the students of Hendry County in honor of his upcoming retirement. 
Stella Luckey, art teacher at Country Oaks Elementary, gave the Board an update on the Crayola Grant she procured on behalf of COES. Mrs. Luckey presented board members with a copy of Principal , a magazine published by Crayola, featuring an article that quotes Mr. Sealey and Mrs. Jones, principal and assistant principal, regarding the value of integrating art into academics. Fantastic photos of Mrs. Luckey’s 
students and their art were featured in the article as well. You can check out Mrs. Luckey’s blog http://washthedust.blogspot.com/ by clicking on the link.
The board voted unanimously to approve the tentative 2014-15 HCEA Collective Bargaining Agreement. You can see a copy of the tentative agreement at http://www.hendry-schools.org/education/components/docmgr/default.php?sectiondetailid=26340&fileitem=8535&catfilter=1064. Teachers will receive to a pay increase in accordance with the most recent salary schedules and can look forward to that increase being reflected in their next paycheck, in addition to retroactive pay dating back to July 1, 2014.
Board attorney Michael McKinley will receive an increase in compensation after the board voted unanimously in favor of a first amendment to his original contract dating back to February 2012. Mr. McKinley offered to conduct board member training sessions to assist board members with professional development. The board voted unanimously to attend a training facilitated by Mr. McKinley before the February 24 board meeting in LaBelle.
School board members were issued district email addresses to conduct all board related electronic correspondence. Below are a list of board members and our district email addresses.
Dwayne Brown: District1@hendry.k12.fl.us
Sally Berg: District2@hendry.k12.fl.us
Pat Langford: District3@hendry.k12.fl.us
Stephanie Busin: District4@hendry.k12.fl.us
Jon Basquin: District5@hendry.k12.fl.us
Again, thank you for taking time to read by blog and for the opportunity to serve Hendry County. All opinions expressed are my own.
~ Stephanie
Laurinda Barraza Selected as the 2015 School-Related Employee of the Year
Laurinda Barraza, Hendry County School District’s School-Related Employee of the Year.
The Hendry County School District gathered today to acknowledge and celebrate school-related employees of the year from each school in the district. Each honoree was presented with a plaque and gift of appreciation from Superintendent Paul Puletti.
Mr. Puletti shared personal stories about each honoree that reflected each of their high levels of dedication to the students of Hendry County. A key example being that a honoree, Silvia Pantoja from food service, made the decision today to miss the luncheon because her lunchroom would be short-staffed and she wanted to be there to make sure the students were fed.
After all honorees were acknowledged individually, Mr. Puletti announced that the selection committee had chosen Laurinda Barraza from Clewiston High School as Hendry County’s School-Related Employee of the Year for 2015.
Below is a list of all the honorees:
LaBelle area School-Related Employees of the Year Honorees.
LaBelle High – Diane Raulerson
LaBelle Middle – Belinda Herrera
Country Oaks Elementary – Reyna Garza
LaBelle Elementary – Anita Lozano
Upthegrove Elementary – Chrissy Banda
Clewiston High – Laurinda Barraza
Clewiston Middle – Patricia Weston
Central Elementary – Inez Juarez
Clewiston area School-Related Employee of the Year Honorees
Eastside Elementary – Elizabeth Williams
Westside Elementary – Brenda Itzen
Federal Programs – Amy Plaza
Food Service – Silvia Pantoja
Exceptional Student Education – Charlene McCall
Clewiston Transportation – Deadra Mixon-Brown
LaBelle Transportation – Jerry Moore
Congratulations to Mrs. Barraza and thank you to each of the honorees for their service to our students.
~ Stephanie
1/13 Meeting Recap
ASUS Transformer Pad on top of printed board packets from three meetings.
It was a honor to present Mary Ann Jones (Central Elementary), with a plaque and express the appreciation of the school board for 30 years of dedicated service to begin the January 13 meeting.
A vote on the 2014-15 HCEA (Hendry County Education Association) Collective Bargaining Agreement was postponed to the scheduled January 27 meeting in LaBelle.
At the recommendation of District CFO Michael Yanosik, the board voted unanimously to release $194,156 from the General Committed Fund Balance to the Salary and Benefits Account to cover salary increases voted on and approved in the December 19 meeting.
According to Mr. Yanosik, FADSS (Florida Association of District School Superintendents) have requested school districts consider potential privatization options for district food service programs. The purpose of this request is to gather information and analyze whether privatization offers cost savings for school districts, and to analyze the pros and cons associated with privatizing a district food service program. The board voted unanimously to allow Mr. Yanosik to draft RFPs (Request for Proposals) to submit for the board’s consideration and possible approval. If a RFP is approved, it will be sent out to bid to food service management companies to aide in the Hendry County School Board’s study.
Board members were each issued an ASUS Transformer Pad TF103 to use for board member business, namely to digitally access board packets in lieu of receiving the printed and often lengthy board packets of years past. Printed packets were cumbersome, expensive, and time consuming for district staff to compile. I appreciate the improved environmental impact and the cost efficiency of receiving this information digitally.
The next scheduled school board meeting will be Tuesday, January 27, on the second floor of the Hendry County Courthouse, beginning at 5:30 pm. You can access an agenda and board packet at http://www.hendry-schools.org.
Thank you for the honor of serving Hendry County and for taking time to read my blog. All views and opinions expressed are my own.
~ Stephanie
Stephanie Busin 