"Point of Order!"
Use it or lose it
Isn’t it always the way?
We water our plants or wash our car and then it rains.
We put the hurricane shutters up or leave town and the hurricane takes a turn. (I’m not complaining about that, though.)
We go to the 50501 protests and we’re prepared. We know not to engage and how to deescalate. This is beginning to sound like the Alanis Morissette song Isn’t it ironic.
Preparing for tonight’s Sarasota School Board meeting - other than our speeches - is probably for naught, however, a reminder never hurt anyone, don’t you think?
While public school advocates stay focused on goals, others may want to distract from the work of the district slogan: Every student, every day. We’re not blind to the culture wars and even the political agenda behind the Student Code of Conduct, which is to be voted on at tonight’s meeting.
While I was looking up other agenda items, I noticed that New York University (NYU), that wants to partner with the Sarasota district schools, lists full enumerations in their code. NYU’s reads:
Discrimination or harassment based on race, gender and/or gender identity or expression, color, creed, religion, age, national origin, ethnicity, disability, veteran or military status, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, genetic information, marital status, citizenship status, or on any other legally prohibited basis is unlawful and undermines the character and purpose of the University.
We vote Yes to approve!
The point that has been made ad nauseum on tonight’s vote is that enumerations - listing the protected classes - matters. It is recommended by school attorneys that a vote be made to remove them, even though data, science and history show that it gives added layers of protections over the word ‘all’.
No matter how many times I’ve blogged about this, a comment by Michelle, a reader of Dear Bubbie expressed it best in her comment:
A friend recently pointed out that The Constitution says "All men are created equal". And yet, over time, Amendments to the Constitution were added, enumerating and clarifying the word "all" because, for various reasons, All did not mean All. So we now have the 14th, 15th and 19th Amendments to address the inadequacy of the word ALL.
The decision to change the enumerated, protective language was a combination of political, legal and economic realities...what I didn't hear from at least 3 of the board members was what was best for those targeted children regarding their academic success and sense of safety. Like Ms Barker asked "why now". Why now did they choose to remove that added layer of protection? As we know from history, all does not always mean all.
The board made the wrong decision to advance the proposed change of language and publish the proposed change in the Sarasota School Board Public Notices for final vote at the August 2025 board meeting. Anyone with an opinion on the matter has the right to email the board to express your opinion on the matter. Your email is not a PUBLIC record of dissent or agreement, but your voice still matters. Over 40 community members including students PUBLICLY spoke out at the last School Board meeting...2 agreed with the change of language, the rest of the public disagreed (wanting the protective language to remain).
The brilliant folks at SEE Alliance will be holding a meeting at their headquarters on this topic, located at 615 S. Orange Avenue beginning at 2:00pm. They will do the deeper dive on how to address school board members in person and help you sign up to speak. The public is encouraged to attend.
There was a speaker at the last board meeting, who said she was an introvert, but the subject matter forced her to come out and speak for the first time. She asked (politely but clearly annoyed) that the enumerations remain in the new code of conduct. Like so many public school advocates, she would have probably rather been home watching Hunting Wives on Netflix.
This is how it begins. One wrong turn and the masses begin to show up. The wrong turn came for me when I heard a public speaker spew hatred against board member Tom Edwards, because he is a member of the LGBTQ+ community. I couldn’t believe my ears! The chair at the time, nor any board member, called a necessary Point of Order.
This led to my first (and not last) speech. With my voice shaking like a Billy goat, I got out what needed to be said in the 2:30 allotted time. One is now allowed three minutes to speak on agenda items; and two minutes on non-agenda items.
It’s very important for board members to hear the concerns of the community, especially when they want to tune their own constituents out. This is happening at school board meetings across the state with superintendents sounding like echo chambers that these meetings are for “the business of the board”.
I thought our own clever Superintendent Terry Connor came up with that one by himself. He didn’t. The twice-monthly meetings were reduced to one time, with continued pleas from the public to return it to twice.
(There is an added town hall for the public to mark on the calendar for September 3.)
Let’s circle back to the point of order. This can be called by the board chair or any board member if a person speaking (or those in the audience) break the rules as outlined in the Roberts Rules of Order.
Speakers aren’t allowed to verbally abuse any board member, including Margo, or mention another audience speaker. When the person is done with the prepared speech, hands can be waved, but no clapping. Absolutely no boo-ing is allowed. Former board chair Karen Rose would call a point of order when laughter was called for. Good riddance to Rose - the people voted her out.
Tonight, we’re going to hear a farewell speech from Board Chair Tim Enos, who is resigning to a position more suited to his talents - that of Chief of Police of the school district. That resignation may ignite some point of orders being called.
It’s the hope of the community’s constituents that he won’t ignore data and will vote against the new code that removes the enumerations. Enos speaks out often on bullying. If a code helps quell it (nothing will ever completely stop it), it would be incongruous for him to vote for it. Will he do the honorable thing for the students and staff?
Is the threat of Florida DOGE coming to the district and possibly cutting funds more important than the life of a marginalized community member? Other districts have kept enumerations in. Sarasota wouldn’t be a sole target.
Tonight is the first board meeting where Edwards has been announced as the new Director of Project Pride SRQ. While congratulations are in order, it could rattle the cage of distraction.
While it’s a farfetched possibility, could a new replacement be named for the departing Enos? With Governor Ron DeSantis at the helm of decision-making, one can expect it to be a J.D. Vance-to-a-Trump type of landscape.
We can attempt to win the new board member over to the creed of “students over politics” or let them truly shoot themselves in the foot. Boo-ing and reacting might make us feel good, but gives the other side ammunition. They want a reaction. They live for a reaction.
Not to put the pressure on our Superintendent or board members Liz Barker and Edwards, but I believe in their purpose. They are laser-focused on the classroom and every child getting a full, equal and quality education.
Public school advocates are as well. While we prepare (hopefully for naught) to hear “Point of order!” called from a board member, it won’t be directed at us. We’re better and smarter than that.
We simply show up.
Sign up to speak here. Tonight’s meeting begins at 6:00pm, with a SEE Rally taking place before the meeting at approximately 4:30 - 5:00pm. Located at 1980 Landings Blvd in Sarasota, there is plenty of easy parking.
You can also watch the meeting on the Sarasota County School’s YouTube channel.
Keep on keeping on Bubbie.
I'd like to amen and second your suggestion regarding our behavior. Reacting is just what the other side wants. Be focused and in charge. Being civil is not an act of cowardice. It's just the opposite.