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Minutes 05-03-01MINUTES OF THE EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD REGULAR MEETING HELD IN THE LIBRARY PROGRAM ROOM MAY 3, 2001 AT 6:00 P.M. BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA PRESENT ALSO PRESENT Diana Tedtmann, Chairperson Judith Braswell, Alternate Ashley Hall, Student · Dorothy Howard Revia Lee Mark Scott Virginia Farace, Education Board Liaison ABSENT Arlene Greenberg Rosalind Murray Rae Fellows Caroline Roter, Student PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Chair Diana Tedtmann called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. and led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Chair Tedtmann welcomed the following visitors to the meeting: Commissioner Charlie Fisher, Diane Tidwell, Assistant Principal at Congress Middle School, Richard Kabinoff, Congress Middle School Advisory Chairman, Dan DeCarlo, Neighborhood Specialist, David Fellows, and Jeffrey Kaufer, COBWRA representative. II. ROLL CALL The Recording Secretary called the roll and declared that a quorum was present. III. MINUTES OF APRIL 5, 2001 MEETING As there were no changes, additions, or deletions to the April 5, 2001 minutes, Chair Tedtmann declared that they would be accepted as written. IV. GROUND RULES/AGENDA Judith Braswell was appointed as the timekeeper for the meeting, with assistance from Dorothy Howard. The meeting groundrules were reviewed, including the Fist to Five option. Chair Tedtmann mentioned that the Charter School issue would be heard at the following meeting. Meeting Minutes Education Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida May 3,2001 V. CHAIR'S REPORT Chair Tedtmann reported that the Board had two new members, Ashley Hall, a Health Science student from South Tech, and Mark Scott. Later in the meeting the new members introduced themselves and were welcomed by the Board. VI. CITY LIAISON'S REPORT Ms. Farace asked Commissioner Fisher to come to this meeting to share what he learned from his trip to Tallahassee and discuss the School Violence issue with the Board. Ms. Farace asked for the agreement of the Board to suspend the regular meeting agenda until Commissioner Fisher's portion of the meeting was over and this met with the Board's approval. Ms. Farace gave a brief report, saying she attended the School Board's review of their advisory boards and that they wanted to restructure the Advisory Boundary Committee (ABC).' The staff recommendation was to cut the size down from 30 to 15 members and fill the balance with people from the local areas when their area came up in the boundary discussions. Everyone liked this proposal except Dr. Robinson, who felt that cities did not always consider the best interests of the student, which concerned Ms. Farace. Dr. Robinson had alluded to the last round of boundary discussions, and by extension to the City of Boynton Beach, saying that the City representatives were more interested in property values than the children. Ms. Farace thought this was a misrepresentation of what Boynton Beach was trying to do and that the City felt very strongly about the good of the children and the good of the entire community. Because of this statement, they may not put the representatives from the City on the ABC. She thought it was important that the EAB submit their recommendation that they supported the School Board staff's recommendations for City representation on the ABC. Chair Tedtmann said that this would be addressed later in the meeting. VII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. School Violence - Commissioner Charlie Fisher Commissioner Fisher believed that the Commissioners should defend the Education Advisory Board if they believed they had been misrepresented and offered to do so if the Board desired. He said they did this with the boundary issues when they went to the School Board and were instrumental in getting the boundaries changed. On the one hand, property values go hand in hand with the quality of schools, but it wasn't just property values the City had in mind. It depends on how things are said. The intent at that time was to make sure that the schools were good. Commissioner Fisher stated that Advisory Boards worked at the discretion of the City. If the Commission desires information on a particular topic, it asks the Advisory Boards to look into the issue and report back to the City Commission. The issue of school violence came up and Commissioner Fisher thought it was a priority. He wanted to see the Education Advisory Board apply their particular expertise to the subject both independently and acting as advisers on legislation that Commissioner Fisher would submit as he discovered it, and come back to the City Commission with 2 Meeting Minutes Education Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida May 3, 2001 recommendations on how it could help lobby for passage of beneficial legislation. Commissioner Fisher reported that in addition to the lobbying potential of the City Commission, the City paid a lobbyist in Tallahassee that would be at the disposal of the Education Advisory Board. The rest of the Commission supported the request that the Education Advisory Board look into school violence as a priority for the coming year and come up with suggestions. If the EAB found something the City could work with, the City Commission could work with the Palm Beach delegation in Tallahassee and the delegation in Washington and use its lobbying power. Boynton Beach is the third largest City in Palm Beach County and the Commission wants to use this to their advantage. Commissioner Fisher spoke of his visits and conversations with the City's lobbyist, the School Board, Representative Atwater, and the Commissioner of Education, Charlie Crist. The conversations had to do with the issues of school violence, pending anti- bullying and school violence legislation, violence-free zones, and Palm Beach County representation on the State Safe Schools Task Force. Commissioner Fisher asked the lobbyist to actively seek out information on the issue of school violence. On behalf of the School Board, Commissioner Fisher also asked about incentives for technical schOols like South Tech. During his visit with Mr. Crist, Commissoner Fisher learned that Senator Klein was drafting a letter requesting a full-scale study of the issue of school violence at the State and national level to highlight programs and strategies that other states were using that were successful and if not, why not. Mr. Crist was thinking of mandating the study, which would mean that it could start immediately. Mr. David Fellows was disturbed about the fact that the lobbyist had not noted the bill he had introduced on out of school suspensions, House Bill 1257 (passed) or Senate bill 820 (stalled). Although it did not specifically address school violence, its whole intent was to identify and work with the attitudes that led up to violence, including bullying. The Senate committee chair was holding the bill because it required money. The bill was pared down to $750K, $375K of which would go to Pinellas County to continue to support the eleven programs like this that are already in place there, and $375K to create five new programs here in Palm Beach County. Commissioner Fisher pointed out that if the E.AB got behind something, solicited assistance from the surrounding towns of Boca, Delray and COBWRA, and everyone made calls to the Palm Beach County delegation, including the Commissioners, that level of participation and interest would work towards passage of legislation that might fail if pursued individually. The Board discussed the issue of drug and violence free zones, the zero tolerance policy, and the School Board's proposed behavior guidelines. The behaviors had penalties associated with them depending on the level of behavior displayed. Dr. Robinson took exception to this and the Board felt that zero tolerance meant that some penalty would be applied for these types of behavior, though not necessarily the maximum penalty. 3 Meeting MinUteS Education Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida May 3,2001 The issue of recommending that the City Commission write a letter endorsing the School Board staff's recommendation on including City representation on the ABC was discussed. Motion Ms. Braswell moved that the EAB recommend that the City Commission communicate with the School Board by letter, and in person if necessary, their support of City representation on the Advisory Boundary Committee when issues pertaining to a City's geographic boundaries were up for discussion. Mr. Scott seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. The issue of the state Safe Schools Task Force representation was discussed. Commissioner Fisher said he was asked about his willingness to serve on this Task Force and he affirmed that he would. He also stated that the School Board had suggested the Principal of Lake Worth Middle School. Ms. Farace inquired if an EAB recommendation would be in order and Commissioner Fisher replied that it would if the EAB wanted a political representative and parent as opposed to a school administrator. He did not want to usurp the place of the Lake Worth Middle School Principal but said this would be up to Mr. Crist. Motion Ms. Hall moved to direct the Chair to send a letter to Charlie Crist to support representation from Palm Beach County on the Safe Schools Task Force. Mr. Scott seconded the motion that passed unanimously. Ms, Farace asked if David Fellows needed assistance with his OClP bill? Commissioner Fisher regretted that he had not known of Mr. Fellows' legislation when he went to Tallahassee but said that if it were something the EAB wanted to get behind, it would need to follow the political steps he outlined earlier. It was generally agreed that changing the title of the bill might be helpful. Commissioner Fisher pointed out that if the entire Palm Beach County delegation was made aware of it that would help. Senator Klein could not do it himself. Ms. Lee said it was a matter of the numbers of people that were behind it. Commissioner Fisher hoped that the EAB would become aware of the political power of their alliance With the surrounding towns, the City Commission, and the lobbyists, and make use of it to the advantage of education. Chair Tedtmann thanked Commissioner Fisher for coming to the meeting and everyone agreed it had been very informative. VIII. Public Audience Mr. Dan DeCarlo, Neighborhood Specialist, spoke of David Fellows' visit to the Community Relations Board (CRB) the previous evening and Mr. Fellows' plea on behalf of Congress Middle School. He said the CRB wanted to assist but needed more concrete definition of the type of assistance that would be required. He said the CRB 4 Meeting Minutes Education Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida May 3, 2001 recognized the situation and wanted to know what the impact was on the entire community. Mr. DeCarlo spoke of his participation with the After-School SACS at area schools and their work on the community gardens. The CRB had asked Mr. DeCarlo to come to this meeting and that is why he was present. Chair Tedtmann made a note of communication between other Boards and said she would work this into the Board's discussion of goals and projects. Mr. DeCarlo said there were education issues that affected neighborhoods and he wanted to get better acquainted with the issues. The Board thanked Mr. DeCarlo for coming. Mr. David Fellows, said he had gone to the Community Relations Board (CRB) out of frustration with what he perceived as a lack of support for the Principal of Congress Middle School (CMS) and a lack of awareness on the part of the community of the wonderful things going on at that school. He spoke of the outstanding achievements of CMS students in the sciences and the great job the current principal had done in turning the school around. He had talked to Mr. Kabinoff about doing some marketing to bolster involvement in the SAC. He talked to Ms. Diane Tidwell about coming tonight so she could give the EAB some insights into what Mr. Meltzer is doing at that school. Mr. Fellows also mentioned that one of the key components of the model for the OCIP program called for a teacher in the program. The School Board was supposed to provide funding for that teacher over and above the regular staffing model and that never occurred. There was no teacher in the program and he did not believe that there was any money targeted for it in the coming year. If the EAB and Commission wanted to be advocates, perhaps they could help Mr. Meltzer obtain funding for that position. Chair Tedtmann said one of the things that Mr. Meltzer had talked about was that he needed the parents to be involved with their school - he needed them at the SAC meetings and on the PTSA. Ms. Diane Tidwell, Assistant Principal at Congress Middle SchoOl, said she lived in the Golfview Community and had been at CMS for four years. There were so many wonderful things going on at their school and they were baffled about why they continued to struggle with the image problem. They were trying to live down some publicity that was garnered two years ago. She could not say enough wonderful things about Mr. Meltzer, their Principal. The school was on the cutting edge of technology for middle schools in the County. She praised Ken Meltzer for his ability to find sources of money and said he had channeled it into technology for the teachers and renovations. They recognized that their population represented a socio-economic issue and there was a cycle that they were trying to break. Mr. Meltzer had been unrelenting in a pursuit of excellence for the school. They were excited about what was coming into the school next year in terms of magnet students and the returning population. Ms. Tidwell remarked that it must be discouraging for any principal to go to a meeting and be attacked for some of the problems that were inherent in any school, such as 5 Meeting Minutes ~ Education Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida May 3,2001 fights and suspensions. CMS's suspension rate was 18% compared to Lantana Middle School's rate of 26%. She believed CMS was doing very well. When a student is suspended for fighting, a safer school is assured because you will remove a student who had been caUsing problems. She did not know what the EAB could do for them in terms of getting their message out but it was a good message - there were a lot of good things going on at the school. Mr. Richard Kabinoff, School Advisory Chair at Congress Middle School, wanted to publicly thank everyone for the great work they had done on the boundary issue. Mr. Kabinoff reported that 50% of their new teachers were minority teachers. He had been speaking with Margaret Newton, the Multicultural Specialist in the County, to assure that they did not overlook any strategies that might result in achieving greater harmony at the school and in the community's perception of the school. He remarked that their courses were designed for every student and that at Congress, every student was a magnet student. He was disappointed and puzzled at the reaction of the community towards CMS in a recent community forum. Mr. Kabinoff reported reading a Boynton Times article on Odyssey that declared the boundary issues were still up in the air. They also reported on the wonderful labs in the schools and they were not even built yet. He wondered about their sources? Commissioner Fisher suggested that Julie Waresh from the Palm Beach Post did the Community Section and always needed local stories. He thought she would love to do a story on Congress Middle School and gave her phone number, 561-279-3472. Mr. David Fellows remarked that Vice Chair Beth Miller, Eddie Mitchell and Dan DeCarlo wanted him to convey to the EAB their willingness to engage in a collaborative effort to try to determine how best to address some of the issues concerning Congress Middle School. Chair Tedtmann said the issues would be addressed. Mr. Jeffrey Kaufer, COBWRA representative, said he would pass his notes from this meeting on to the COBWRA Board members. VII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS (Regular meeting resumed) A. Prioritizing Goal Charts The Board decided to address one topic from their three priority goals at each Board meeting. The first topic will be "Visions, Roles and Responsibilities" and would be addressed at the next meeting. B. Summer Schedule The Board discussed whether or not to meet in the summer. Commissioner Fisher remarked that some Boards had in their Charter that they had to meet year round. Chair Tedtmann said that their Charter did not address this issue one way or another. They also decided to keep meeting through the summer on their once-a-month schedule. The 6 Meeting Minutes _/ Education Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida May 3,2001 Board decided to move their July meeting to the 12th due to the 4th of July Holiday The August meeting will be August 2. The June meeting was set for the 7th. Commissioner Fisher said he would try to get the issue of changing the EAB's Ordinance to allow for a quorum of the filled positions as opposed to a set number of people. C. Changes in SlP/Roundtable Dates Chair Tedtmann said the SIP presentation was going to be on September 24 at 6 p.m. in the Library Program Room. Ms. Farace wanted the Commissioners to attend the Roundtable meeting if possible. Chair Tedtmann said that the EAB Roundtable that all the principals attend was usually in September so it would need to be moved. Ms. Braswell wanted to ask the principals to decide between three dates and she offered to survey them and bring the answer back to Chair Tedtmann. The Board concurred. School Supply Drive - Commissioner Fisher said he had brought a carload of school supplies to Galaxy and the Children's Home Society the previous year. Commissioner Fisher suggested that if the EAB helped divide the supplies up when they came in, more schools could get supplies. He also wanted to start promoting it in July. Last year they got contributions from the Senior Center, City Hall in the Mall and other places. D. School Violence - Previously addressed. E. Grants The Board discussed whether it wanted to pursue grant funding. It seemed that everyone was otherwise occupied. All agreed that filling out grant paperwork and following through was very time consuming. The Board decided to table the item. VIII. REPORTS A. Coalition Meetings Chair Tedtmann reported that there had been a COBWRA meeting on April 17 and asked Mr. Kaufer if he would share what happened there? Mr. Kaufer responded that they had discussed some changes at Hagen Ranch School and some of the school violence issues. They also talked about Odyssey Middle School and what they could do regarding after-school activities and adult education. He stated that the COBWRA group was in its formative stages and not nearly as organized as the Boynton Beach EAB. Ms. Farace and Chair Tedtmann attended the South County Tri City Coalition on April 9 and Linda Hines talked about the School Boundary Issue and the District's position on it. They were looking at the current Choice Plan and what they might want to do for next year. Chair Tedtmann asked her for a copy of the current Choice Plan but she had not received it yet. Ms. Farace had a copy and offered to provide it to her. Meeting Minutes Education Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida May 3,2001 The South County Tri City Coalition also discussed the ABC and they were looking at recommending community input for boundary decisions. They also talked about Concurrency and about the Technical Advisory Group that advises them about it. Ms. Farace obtained copies of the current boundary proposals for the two elementary schools that would open next year in Boynton Beach - one on Congress and one on Hypoluxo Road and showed the Board the charts. Boynton Beach did not like the original proposal and countered with a proposal of its own. Because the schools were not opening until next year, the decisions were deferred until this current boundary cycle. She said the EAB needed to address and work on these issues from the boundary point of view and also how the Choice Plan would affect the way they normally did boundaries. She believed the EAB needed a subcommittee that would meet and start working on boundaries. Chair Tedtmann said that last year the boundary issue had been complicated by the fact that they were looking at all three school boundaries (elementary, middle, and high school), and two years of elementary school boundaries. Now only the elementary boundaries needed attention. Chair Tedtmann and Ms. Farace would be working on this issue and called for at least one other person to assist them, particularly with the task of analyzing the numbers, Ms. Farace said they wanted to be able to present their choice to the ABC before it went to the School Board so as to be proactive on the issue. Chair Tedtmann said they would want to put SAC numbers with each school. They would have to make their meetings highly public so the community could come in and be a part of the process. Ms. Farace said that Concurrency and the Choice Plan would definitely affect the way the boundaries were handled. Chair Tedtmann wanted COBWRA involved in the process as well as the South County Coalition. It was suggested that Dan DeCarlo could get the word out to the neighborhood associations on the date and time of the boundary discussion(s). The initial Elementary Boundary Subcommittee Workshop meeting was set for June 4, 2001 in the Library Program Room at 6 p.m. B. SAC Reports Citrus Cove Elementary Ms. Howard was not able to attend the SAC meeting but had a copy of the school's SIP Report. Forest Park Elementary - No representative. Chair Tedtmann will get copy of SIP Report. Galaxy Elementary/Christa McAuliffe/Atlantic- No representative. Poinciana Elementary Ms. Braswell said they reviewed the SIP and analyzed where the money was spent. They also discussed a uniform dress code. A survey went to the teachers, the parents, and all of the incoming class, outlining the code and assessing the level of support for it. Meeting Minutes ' Education Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida May 3, 2001 Rolling Green Elementary Chair Tedtmann reported that the Rolling Green SAC did not meet until the next week after this meeting. Congress Middle School Mr. Kabinoff reported that they had sent home a similar survey on a uniform dress code. The majority of the responses had to be either positive or negative. They had sent the notice through the mail and not with the students. Santaluces Mr. Fellows said there was a juvenile justice grant in the works to set up an OClP program at Santaluces. South Tech Mr. Scott said they were pleased that their budget was accepted as written. They were well on the way to starting new academies the following year. They were also getting ready for their first graduating class of 26 students in the carpentry program. There were a lot of new students coming in. They were looking for facilities. They were working on making their school into a full high school and would be looking to the City for support next year to help push this along. Boynton Beach Community High School Ms. Farace was working with the principal on obtaining business partnerships. She met with a large firm in Boca Raton that would be a great business partner. They resolved the traffic signal issue on Gateway Boulevard. The City will pay 1/3, the District will pay 1/3, and Quantum Park is supposed to pay the other 1/3. The lights will be in place by the time school starts. IX. New Business The Board concurred in the tabling of New Business at this time. There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was duly adjourned at 8:25 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Recording Secretary (two tapes) EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD JULY 12, 2001 THE MEETING WAS NOT HELD DUE TO LACK OFA QUORUM. S. Collins Recording Secretary