- December 4, 2025
School Board member Donna Brosemer has called for Volusia County Schools to rescind a non-disclosure agreement about 100 district staff members were asked to sign.
What followed her request during the School Board's meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 26, was about 30 seconds of silence. School Board Chair Jamie Haynes apologized, saying she was reading the legal memorandum handed to the board.
A memorandum written by Brosemer herself, stating that the NDAs were unconstitutional based on Florida's public record laws.
"The Florida Constitution details that, in order to add a new category of what is confidential or exempt from public disclosure, a legislator must first file a bill that justifies its public purpose, and that bill has to be passed by a two-thirds majority of both chambers," Brosemer said. "We've done none of that and are not even authorized to do it."
Brosemer said the NDAs are "a naked admission that the district is trying to hide or control information."
After some brief exchanges by the board and its attorney on how to handle the topic, Brosemer amended her motion to ask the NDAs be discussed at the next workshop.
"I think perhaps if we want to discuss this at a workshop to actually show Ms. Brosemer on where she's incorrect on several of her assertions here, we could do that," said School Board Attorney Gilbert Evans.
Volusia County Schools Superintendent Carmen Balgobin said the district has about 8,200 employees, and the estimated 100, or less, employees asked to sign the NDA were due to their duties within the district.
"You and I know, and several of you here, that we have had incidences of employees who've left and taken our software with them to other locations," Balgobin said. "We've had employees that have worked in the legal department, and after they left, they discussed cases and specific information regarding (the district), so failure to act also, when you're seeing such trailing events taking place, could put our organization at risk."
It's not unheard of for a district to ask some employees to sign NDAs, Balgobin said.
"I'm fine if that's the choosing of the counsel and yourself to put it as part of a workshop, or however you choose, but I believe that we have provided ample information regarding this," Balgobin said. "It's just that it was not processed in a way to seek true understanding why it was taking place."
School Board Chair Jamie Haynes asked Brosemer if she had consulted with an attorney to prepare the memo for the board; Brosemer said she hadn't, but had done legal research and writing for circuit and appellate courts for eight years previously.
Evans maintained that the NDAs were valid.
"As a certified attorney in the state of Florida, I've also done research on this and consulted with other districts, and I have not seen any violation of Florida law with this," Evans said. "That's why I tink I need to create a memo for the board and for you all at the next workshop to validate the point of the NDA."
"And that's why we have a legal system, because there are always dueling opinions," Brosemer responded.
Brosemer said this issue was an example of the complication of having the same attorney represent the board and the district.
"There is a natural tension between the two," she said. "They don't always necessarily agree, and for something like this, how do you ask the same the same attorney to sort both of those out? It's like trying to do an amicable divorce, and you reach an impasse and you can't have the same attorney. There is nowhere for me to go as a board member and get an objective legal opinion if Dr. Evans is effectively representing both sides of the function of the district."
Haynes said that VCS has three attorneys on staff, and that Evans represents the School Board; Balgobin has her own attorney for staff and the district.
