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Minutes 10-09-00MINUTES OF THE EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD REGULAR MEETING HELD IN THE LIBRARY PROGRAM ROOM, OCTOBER 9, 2000 AT 6:00 P.M., BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA PRESENT Also Present Diana Tedtmann (Chair Elect) P, ae Fellows Aly Gore Michael Hazlett Caroline Roter Virginia Farace, Library Director ABSENT Ronald Ehster Aden e, Greenberg Dorothy Howard Revia Lee Judith Brasweil I. ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order at 6:10 P.M. and Ms. Virginia Farace stated that the intent of the meeting was to have an election for Chairperson and that a meeting on the school boundary issue would immediately follow. The roll was called and a quorum was declared to be present. I1. MINUTES APPROVAL -AUGUST 31, 2000 There were no changes or additions to the minutes of the AuguSt 31, 2000 meeting. A motion was duly made, seconded and unanimously carried to accept the minutes as written. III. ELECTION OF CHAIRPERSON Ms. Diana Tedtmann was asked if she would accept the position of Chairperson for the Education Advisory Board and she stated that she would accept the position. Motion A motion was duly made, seconded and unanimously carried to elect Ms. Diana Tedtmann as Chairperson of the Education Advisory Board IV. CITY LIAISON REPORT A roster of new members on the Education Advisory Board was distributed among the members. Meeting Minutes ' Education Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida October 9, 2000 Boundaries Ms. Farace distributed a generic agenda for the Boundary Meeting and revealed the order of business as being two tables with two people each. At one table would be Chair Tedtmann along with Ms. Sarah Williams, Boynton Beach Community Forum Family and Friends Network. At the other table would be two members of the Advisory Boundary Committee, Mr. Garfield Hamilton and Mr. Harry Fix. Mr. Fix would be making a presentation of the existing and proposed boundaries for 1) high schools, 2) middle schools, and 3) elementary schools in the Boynton Beach area. Either the Education Advisory Board or the members of the Advisory Boundary Committee would address questions and concerns. Various other points of order were discussed pertaining to the format of the boundary meeting. V. COMMITTEE REPORTS Since a lot of Board members were absent, the Board reviewed the openings on the various SAC Committees at the area schools. The Board decided that Chcir E)iana Tcdtmc~,~ Rae Fettows would represent the Education Advisory Board at Santaluces._7 bac~cd-uff by P, cc Fcllevcs. Mr. Hazlett was to cover Galaxy. Virginia Farace would take Congress Middle. Chair Tedtmann was to cover Rolling Green. Ron Ehster was to cover Forest Park. Caroline Roter and Aly Gore would be handling Atlantic High. It was mentioned that the new Board member, Judith Braswell, was at Poinciana and would be the logical one to handle that SAC. South Tech and Christa McAuliffe would be left open for other Board members to fill. Chair Tedtmann commented that the money was being cut down for the magnet programs, there was the FCAT to deal with, OCR, busing, and the new boundaries and that all of these would be current issues at all the SACS. Mr. David Fellows asked what would happen with the new elementary school opening up in Boynton next year?. Chair Tedtmann stated there was an elementary school set to open in January of 2002 on Hypoluxo and one opening up on Congress in January of 2003. She also said that Rolling Green was drawing from Boynton Lakes and that when the new school on Hypoluxo came on line, it would shift that entire population to the new school, and would leave Rolling Green with essentially minority students. Chair Tedtmann commented that of the 800 students at Rolling Green 350 of them were .ESOL students and that they only knew the percentages of ~ black -and "other". Ms. Farace commented th at at Galaxy the percentage was going from 38% "ethe~. black.'-' to 97% "othc~ black with the new boundary changes. There will be 18 white students when the boundary changes occur in two years. Forest Park is 55% now and it will be 70%. Crystal Lakes is 15%, and it will be 4%. Citrus Cove is at 31% and going to 5%. Ms. Farace stated that the change in direction on busing and cutting the money for magnet programs were having an effect on racial balance. Rolling Green will go from 50% to 62%. In 5 to 6 years, Boynton Beach Community High School will be 80 to 90%. Chair Tedtmann wondered how teachers could be attracted to teach students that are sometimes more difficult to teach. If I have my choice between going to a western neighborhood where you have a PTA and supportive parents and Iow absenteeism and 2 Meeting Minutes Ed ucation Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida October 9, 2000 all the supports there, and going to a school that is struggling, what is my choice going to be? Who wants to teach at these schools? Ms. Caroline Roter asked how they could start a PTA? Chair Tedtmann said that Mark Scott was very active in PTA in the Boynton Beach area and would be the best person to work with and that she would call Caroline with his telephone number. Mr. Fellows asked how things were going with the mentoring program? Caroline said they were recruiting mentors and that they needed to do a lot of work in the senior class. Ms. Fellows said there were so many people who could assist in this, mentioning parents, grandparents and retired teachers. They don't feel needed and actually they are probably more needed than those of us who have gone to college. Mr. Hazlett said that in reference to the mentoring program there was a joint program going on where they told the City the Chamber would match them person for person in the number of mentors they were able to solicit for.the program. He talked to Mr. Segal and the Mayor and they said that some department heads in the City were balking at releasing their employees for the one hour a week required for the program. Ms. Fellows said that the area schools were rated so poorly and that maybe mentoring was the answer. The next regular board meeting was to be November 2, 2000. Ms. Farace advised Chair Tedtmann that she would _m_ay not be able to attend. Ms. Fellows mentioned that she would like to see recognition for Christa McAuliffe receiving the honor of being a National Blue Ribbon School. She suggested the newspapers might want to pick up on it and that it would be celebrated in January. Also, she mentioned that AItantic High had recognition as one of the nation's top schools. She felt that more positive information should come to the public's attention. A proclamation from the Mayor recognizing these things was suggested and Ms. Fellows said she would draft this and bring it to next meeting. At 6:50 p.m. the meeting was duly adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Susan Collins Recording Secretary (one tape) 3 EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD SCHOOL BOUNDARIES COMMUNITY MEETING HELD IN THE LIBRARY PROGRAM ROOM ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2000 AT 7:00 P.M., BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA Present: Diana Tedtmann, Chairman Education Advisory Board Rae Fellows, Education Advisory Board Michael Hazlett, Education Advisory Board Aly Gore, Education Advisory Board Caroline Roter, Education Advisory Board Sarah Williams, Boynton Beach Community Forum Family Friends Network Virginia Farace, Library Director Garfield Hamilton, Advisory Boundary Committee Harry Fix, School District Planning Department, Advisory Boundary Committee Also present: Vice Mayor Ron Weiland Commissioner Bruce Black Dr. Deborah Robinson, Palm Beach County School Board (Incoming) and Chair of Coalition for Black Student Achievement Dr. Monica Walker, Coalition for Black Student Achievement, Advisory Boundary Committee The meeting was called to order by Virginia Farace, Library Director, at 7:10 p.m. and opened with a Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Ms. Farace explained that the meeting had been called to find out what the community felt about the proposed boundary changes and give them a forum to express their concerns to the School Advisory Boundary Committee. Dr. Reverend Lee of the St. Johns Missionary Baptist Church of Boynton Beach gave a historical perspective and inspirational remarks. Dr. Lee referred to "the struggle", a term symbolizing the trials and tribulations of African Americans in obtaining racial equality in the United States over the past thirty to forty years. He called for parents to take control in their homes, to teach their children the basics of courtesy and respect for elders, teachers, home and family. He said that a lack of this basic training led to discipline problems in the schools and tended to degrade the quality of the educational experience by frustrating the teachers and limiting the amount of time the children could be taught. Diana Tedtmann, Chair of the Education Advisory Board, introduced the participants of the forum, acknowledging the presence of Vice Mayor Weiland and Commissioner Black. She explained that Mr. Harry Fix from the School Board Real Estate & Planning Department, Advisory Boundary Committee, would be presenting the existing and proposed boundaries for elementary, middle and high schools in the Boynton Beach area and would answer questions from the audience on the proposed changes. Meeting Minutes ~ School Boundaries Forum Boynton Beach, Florida 10/9/00 Mr. Harry Fix, Advisory Boundary Committee and employee of the Palm Beach County School District, advised that the Committee had hired an attorney to assist it with boundary issues and the ultimate direction the School Board should take. He explained that this would take some time. The current timetable was the School Board having its first meeting on November 27, 2000 with a second meeting in January 2001. Mr. Fix stressed that the School Board members were the elected representatives and would have the final decision, explaining that his expertise was in demographics and that he was an employee of the School District. The School Board directed the Boundary Committee to eliminate "racially identifiable pockets" which occur in coastal communities having a large percentage of minority students. They are currently transported out of their communities to other schools, a practice that began in the late sixties with court-ordered busing. As new schools are built and brought on line, the School Board's policy has been to try to get students in schools closer to their homes. Boundaries - High Schools Mr. Fix displayed an overhead chart showing the existing boundaries for the area high schools. Mr. Fix explained the term F.I.S.H. capacity of schools (Florida Inventory of School Houses) and the fact that capacity was chief among the Advisory Boundary Committee's concerns. He said that the area elementary schools were generally built for capacities of 970 students, the middle schools for 1300, and the high schools 2500, referring to permanent capacity with no portables. The first high school considered was the Boynton Beach Community High School and its proposed boundaries. He pointed to the east-west boundary lines, which indicated that the school should have the benefit of a diverse racial and socioeconomic base. He stated that some of the pocketed areas in Delray were eliminated and they would eliminate more as more schools are brought on line. Mr. Fix stated that Boynton Beach Community High School was loaded to 2535, or 101% of capacity (based on having a 12th grade, which it would not for first year). It would have approximately 1102 Black students and 1,433 other students or 43% Black. He recognized that this was a fast- growing area and that another high school in this general area would be considered soon, mentioning a site out west near Jog Road. At this point he opened the floor for discussion or questions. Questions & Answers Dr. Monica Walker asked how many Black students were in the Delray pocketed areas and how were they distributed? Mr. Fix replied approximately 700 - 800 students and that they were divided among the three Boca schools: Spanish River High, Boca Raton High, and Olympic Heights High. Dr. Walker stated that those SACS were close to Atlantic High School and asked if any of them went to Atlantic? Mr. Fix said no but that some young people just outside the pockets went to Atlantic. Chair Tedtmann asked Mr. Fix whether his breakdown of "other" students at Boynton Beach Community High School included ESOL students? Mr. Fix stated he had that information but not with him. Meeting Minutes School Boundaries Forum Boynton Beach, Florida 10/9/00 In reference to the new high school site, Dr. Walker ,, pocketed areas should be able to go to the new school ~ consideration? Mr. Fix said he and a colleague had attention to the large number of students being transl result, they are now looking at increasing the capacity of 1700 to 2500 to accommodate these students. Mr. Boundary Committee, stated that Atlantic High modernization in 2003. The pocketed area was identifiec general area of Village Academy and old Carver schools, Ms. Sarah Williams asked about the boundaries of B( School and whether they encompassed Miner Road on Fix said he would have to look at a more detailed map at seemed to indicate that it was just the south side, extend to Southwest 23rd Avenue and Mr. Fix confir Weiland asked what the reason was for the jog off Cot L28 canal and have it squared off? Mr. Fix said that one the Committee looks at SACs (Study Area Codes) and were a function of following existing SAC lines. The residents voiced concern that they had fought for now many of their children would not be able to attend it parents of students north of Miner Road and south of 23r in their dislike of this part of the proposed boundary lines Chair Tedtmann asked Mr. Fix if he knew how many stu~ and whether adding them to the Boynton Beach Comm its capacity? Mr. Fix asked Ms. Farace to send him a mE at the numbers involved. Ms. Farace asked the Committee previously about the Hypoluxo including Boynton Lakes Community and th; going to Santaluces. The Committee told her that wh~ town opened and a north south line was given, Boynton would probably expand and pick up the students below Miner Road. She asked if this was accurate? Mr. Fix do that. A question was posed as to why the separation had t~ have to be moved from school to school now, before th Mr. Fix stated that the Advisory Boundary Committee years ahead to get ready for changes in the future. required before boundaries were changed including con Chair Tedtmann asked what the population of Santa Boynton Beach Community High School was opened in that the population at Santaluces High School would go aid that the students from the nd asked if this had been given ~rought the Planning Director's )rted out of the area and as a Atlantic High School from about Garfield Hamilton, Advisory School was scheduled for as being south of Atlantic in the )ynton Beach Community High ~oth north and south sides? Mr. ~ut that the map he was looking Ms. Williams said it seemed to led this was so. Vice Mayor gress? Why not go across the of the things not seen was that 3e believed that the boundaries years to get a high school and due to the boundary lines. The Avenue were particularly vocal ents were south of 23rd Avenue unity High School would impact ~p of the area and he would look area north of Miner road up to ~t they would have to continue ;n the new high school west of Beach's north/south boundaries S.W. 23rd Avenue and north of aid that it would make sense to occur now? Why did students e new. schools were even built? /as always looking two to three He said that many steps were munity-input meetings. uces would be-when the new August of 20017 Mr. Fix stated 'rom 140% of capacity down to 3 Meeting Minutes School Boundaries Forum Boynton Beach, Florida 10/9/00 101% of capacity. It was built for a capacity of 2515 students and was operating now at 2534 capacity. A question was raised about the area north of Miner Road having to go to Santaluces. Mr. Fix reaffirmed that Miner Road was the proposed boundary and that north of that was within two miles, walking distance, to Santaluces High School. The participant stated that he lived in an area near Miner Road to the north that was at least four miles from Santaluces and that his children now were bused to the south and would now have to be bused out of the area once again. Ms. Sarah Williams asked if there were any kind of "choice plan" in case a person didn't fit into the SAC, if the SAC was not in your neighborhood and disallowed you from attending a particular school? What other plan was available in case there could be some exception to the rule? Mr. Fix stated that unless there was-a magnet school involved there would be no different assignment than what is given in the SAC unless one went to the Student Reassignment Office. Ms. Sarah Williams asked if there was a Majority to a Minority Plan in place? Mr. Fix stated that this plan was in place for the entire district. This allows students to transfer to a school if they would enhance the racial balance of the school. A person spoke of his experiences with integrated schools in the seventies and the busing he had been exposed to over the years. Mr. Fix said with the new high school coming out west, they were in a good Position to attend Boynton schools. This was not seen as a solution since no matter how many new schools were built, they filled up as fast as they were built and busing was still necessary. He was tired of living in Boynton Beach and hearing of students needing to be bused. There was quite a murmur of assent in the audience to this point. Mr. Fix said the Committee had a five-year plan and that they tried not to move people any more than necessary. Persons living in the four to five block area north of Miner Road who had fought to get a high school in their area were very concerned about being excluded from attending it. Mr. Fix said that the input from tonight's meeting would be passed on to the Superintendent of Schools and the School Board had the ability to accept, reject or modify any recommendations given them by the Superintendent. Various people voiced their concerns that the mostly white schools out west would get all the money, all the support, and al the teachers and equipment, leaving the mostly Black coastal schools with second-rate supplies, teachers and minimal support. People spoke of their experiences with segregated schools in the past when the poor quality of education and supplies was a reality. People said that when they went to Carver the materials and education were markedly different than-when they were bused to Boca Raton schools. Parents do not want their children to be put in a school where this could happen and they feared that the boundary changes were almost mandating that their fears would be realized. People wanted to have'schools near their homes but not at the expense of quality in education or support. Mr. Hamilton spoke of the pressure that parents and the community could apply to the School Board to see that it did the job it was elected to do. He pointed to the effectiveness of the highly vocal and active Boca Raton citizenry, suggesting that the citizens of Boynton Beach could have the same effect. Some believed that political 4 Meeting Minutes School Boundaries Forum Boynton Beach, Florida 10/9/00 influence was a function of power and money. Others said it was a matter of enough people getting together and making a big enough "noise" that their demands had to be met. The power of the "ballot box" was also mentioned. Dr. Robinson cited instances where when the community came together and spoke loudly, even if only three people, with or without checkbooks but with data to back them up, their voices were heard. Dr. Deborah Robinson, newly-elected School Board member, offered to listen to all concerns and render all possible assistance, giving her telephone number (561-236- 1657) and soliciting calls from the participants and all interested citizens. She promised to be the voice of the community and stated that her entire purpose of serving on the Board was to see that the children of the community achieved academically. Ms. Robinson mentioned her role as Chair of the Coalition for Black Student Achievement, and their Plan for Achievement. This plan was adopted by the School Board and had more than 50 points in the Plan focused on improving academic achievement of all children in Palm Beach County, with special emphasis on Black children in particular. One of the points in the Plan was to provide children with educational opportunities close to home. She believed that Dr. Walker, also on the Advisory Boundary Committee, was instrumental in seeing that. the children had an opportunity to walk to their schools and that. the boundary proposals were part of a long-range plan to achieve this. It was felt that, having schools close to home was an aid to student achievement and parental involvement. Dr. Robinson addressed the fears of the participants that if schools had a higher percentage of Black students, the quality of the schooling would suffer, saying that she did not believe it would happen. She cited her educational experience at Michigan State and Howard University and said that the Black school, Howard University, was the place where she got her education. She stated again that the Black community had to take ownership of their schools and urged that each and every parent become active in the schools that their children attended in the SACs (School Advisory Committee). She said that the SACS were extremelY powerful and could control the school. She also stated that there was nothing wrong with the Black children but that the expectations of them by staff and teachers were not high enough and this expectation had been passed on to the children. She said that the parents had to become involved with their children's schools and classes and demand excellence in the school. Dr. Robinson also believed that communication and resolution of issues would be easier now that the School Board members were elected from single member districts and minus the influence of the larger cities to the south. Dr. Robinson said that she was answerable to the citizens of Boynton Beach and that this was her district. She had seen some decisions change already because of this change in the way of doing business. The question was raised of whether Atlantic or the new Boynton Beach Community would be magnet schools? Ms. Farace stated that the input from community groups in the last year or so had been that a full magnet was not wanted. They wanted community students to be able to attend their community schools; but there was an interest in specialized programs. Dr. Cornell will be having some more forums over the next 5 Meeting Minutes School Boundaries Forum Boynton Beach, Florida 10/9/00 several months and she invited the participants to attend, offering to mail invitations to persons who had registered on the sign-up sheets at the back of the room. The City of Boynton Beach was criticized for not putting the concerns of education high enough up on its recent capital improvement priority list. Commissioner Black mentioned the $100,000 the City gave to Congress Middle School and stated that the City continued to look for ways it could help education. The participants spoke of several issues unrelated to the boundaries, such as perceptions of inequality in the magnet and honors programs and the difficulties of becoming accepted into them by students who seemingly meet all the criteria yet were being rejected. They also spoke of schools that were not "parent-friendly", having meetings only during the day preventing working parents from becoming involved. Chair Tedtmann offered the assistance of the Education Advisory Board and asked that the Board be advised when there were issues in which their help could make a difference. Mr. Fix suggested that the participants may wish to get a list of problems together and invite the School District Magnet Coordinator and the School District Director of Testing and Evaluation for the magnet and honors programs to come together with the participants to give presentations, answer questions and hear the concerns of the citizens. It was felt that an active dialogue needed to be set up between the concerned citizens and the people in the School District who were in charge of these areas. The School District will listen to the people who come to them and present issues to them. Boundaries - Middle Schools Mr. Fix stated that some SAC areas in Boynton have children who attend Christa McAuliffe, Lantana Middle and a middle school in Boca. In the proposal of the Advisory Boundary Committee, the pocketed areas in Boynton Beach and Delray Beach were eliminated. He showed the attendance boundaries for Congress Middle and Carver Middle Schools. Mr. Fix stated that Congress Middle School, in the proposed boundary map, would be at 98% permanent capacity. It was built for 1318 students and in the new plan would have 1,297 students. The school would have 854 Black students, 443 "other" students or about 66% Black. The new middle school, "BB", would be loaded to 77% of capacity when it opens. It would have 203 Black students, 795 "other" students, or about 20% Black. Someone questioned why there were only 20% Black students in this school and Mr. Fix replied that this represented the geographical population of the area. This led to more feeling that once again the schools out west would be getting a nice new school and the Blacks, many of whom had fought for new schools, were not able to attend or reap the benefits of a new school. One participant stated that she did want her children to go to a predominantly single-race school. There was an outburst of applause at this point, underscoring the shared feeling of the group on this point. The parents and persons at this meeting were united in their desire for children to attend schools that were racially diverse. They were also united in wanting all of their children to be exposed to the high quality of education sometimes seen only in magnet schools with exposure to science, arts, music, engineering and other challenging courses. 6 Meeting Minutes School Boundaries Forum Boynton Beach, Florida 10/9/00 Dr. Robinson said that decisions should not be made on the basis of racial balance alone but for the purpose of increasing student academic performance. She reiterated the Coalition's feeling that this could best be achieved by having schools that were close to home. Ms. Williams asked if Congress Middle School became 66% Black, what would happen to the magnet program? Dr. Lee suggested that the group turn its attention to the boundary proposals that were the subject of this particular meeting. He also reiterated that a meeting must definitely be held with the appropriate individuals in the School District, including the Superintendent of Schools if necessary, to air and resolve some of these pressing issues. Boundaries - Elementary Schools Mr: Fix showed the existing elementary boundary map that showed the pocketed areas, in the middle of which lay Poinciana Elementary. It is a full magnet school that does not have attendance boundaries. The Advisory Boundary Committee is not allowed to do anything to the magnet schools in terms of boundaries. In the pocketed areas the children go to Citrus Cove, Manatee Elementary, and Starlight Cove. Mr. Fellows asked Mr. Fix why the magnet schools were exempt from boundary considerations since they were created to facilitate desegregation? He said this was a function that they no longer needed to perform if you are going to community schools. Mr. Fix stated that the Advisory Boundary Committee considered many of the subjects being dis'cussed tonight; however, one of the things that was not in the purview of the boundary committee was programs. If a school has a gifted program that becomes so popular and so large then the program itself can start crowding out children who live in the neighborhood. This is similar to what happens in the magnet schools. The Boundary Committee has no authority to do anything about it. Chair Tedtmann asked who should be contacted about programs and magnet schools? Mr. Fix suggested Mary Helen Arbegast at 561-434-8000. In the proposed elementary boundary overlay, Mr. Fix said the Committee had been told by the School Board very clearly that when they were looking at attendance boundaries in an area, they should eliminate racially identifiable pockets wherever possible. A resident voiced a concern about having to send her child to a school-that was almost all white. She did not want her children growing up thinking "The white children go here and the Black children go there". Mr. Fix reiterated that there were several things that could be done, citing the M to M option primarily. He also commented that not all of the schools would be so blatantly one way or another and that many of the schools would continue to have considerable diversity. The participant felt strongly that the new boundaries would lead to the kind of segregation that occurred 50 years ago and she did not want to see this happen. The audience mirrored her concerns and feelings emphatically. Mr. Fix said that the Committee could start looking at little areas of the white communities that could be split up and bus the white children to the coastal schools, if 7 Meeting Minutes School Boundaries Forum Boynton Beach, Florida 10/9/00 the School Board directed them to do so. People commented that there were children living within blocks of each other that were going to three different schools. Someone asked if Poinciana was going to continue being a magnet school and Mr. Fix said yes unless the community wanted something else. Mr. Fix stated that the boundaries would be reassessed when new capacities are brought on line in the area. He stated that Rolling Green was scheduled for modernization in 2005 and had a permanent capacity of 602 and dght now had 860 students and was at 125% of capacity. A participant said that in her experience when schools were modernized, the restrooms did not keep pace with the rest of the facilities and that this was a serious problem. She stated that when more students came on line they painted and fixed things but did not increase the number of stalls in the restrooms. Mr. Fix said this kind of thing was supposed to be taken into account. He stated that Citrus Cove was at 185% of capacity and that under the proposed boundary change it would be brought down to under 100% of capacity. The splitting of the gifted program that had to occur would affect the ultimate number. The school would go from 23% Black to about 5% Black. Crystal Lake would go from 118% of capacity to 95% of capacity and it would go from 16% Black to 4% Black. Forest Park is at 107% capacity and 59% Black. It would go to 98% of capacity and 70% Black. Galaxy is at 121% capacity to 110% of capacity. It would go from 47% Black to 95% Black. There were sounds of dismay throughout the audience at that news. Rolling Green was at 143% of capacity and would go down to 124% of capacity 56% Black to 62% Black. Poinciana would remain the same as it is today. A participant asked for a copy of Mr. Fix's presentation and he said he would give it to Ms. Farace and she said she would be willing to make copies. A participant wished to speak about the increase in Black students at Forest Park and Galaxy Elementary. He said those schools were already very Iow performing schools and the new boundaries call for putting fewer students there and taking out more white kids and making it more predominantly Black. Funds will be taken away from them too. How are the schools going to improve in the "neighborhood" approach, when you are taking funds away? Mr. Hamilton commented at this point'that he had been looking at the test scores of the children in the district and that wherever their students go, wherever they are bused to, 60 to 70% of them still score in the bottom 50% of the FCAT test. Moving them from place to place does not make them better students. The only way for them to make their schools better is to help the children read better and help them do better on the basic skills in math. The School Board has a job to do too in making sure that the resources are there for the children to receive a quality education. Mr. Hamilton called for an increase in parental involvement and reiterated that this was one of the major reasons for bringing the schools closer to where people lived. Dr. Lee reminded everyone that they needed to register to vote, which would give them the power to influence the education of their children. 8 Meeting Minutes School Boundaries Forum Boynton Beach, Florida 10/9/00 Dr. Robinson addressed the fears of the parents that the allocation of teachers and resources would follow the children and the ramifications of this fact. She said that was true with the base allocation but pointed to the success of the Coalition of getting more teachers into the schools such as the K-2 reading initiative. She said that a philosophical change was occurring in the School Board towards the definition of equity between the schools - that everyone gets the same amount and quality of resources. She said this meant that if you get five new books over "here" then you get five new books over "there". The philosophical change that is occurring is also that the children that are furthest behind academically need more resources so they can catch up. She said she would be working to expand that to make sure that funding was directed to the under-performing schools and after that, to the under-performing students in the schools having good performance statistics. Dr. Robinson asked for feedback from the parents as to what was actually happening in their children's classes. She said the parents should go in~o the schools and ask to meet the Reading Resource teacher for example. If there is not one (and if there is supposed to be), Dr, Robinson needs to know in order for her support to be focused where it is most needed. Ms. Williams extended special thanks to ail the people who had come out to participate in the discussion of boundaries and other educational issues. She said they had really risen to the call for Boynton Beach's children and that they had begun an important dialogue with the School Board by expressing their concerns. She gave special thanks to the Advisory Boundary Committee and the Education Advisory Board Chairperson and members who had hosted the meeting and participated in it. Ms. Williams made some closing remarks, which were meant to convey the sentiments of the citizens of Boynton Beach that she had gathered from the churches, discussions in the community and from the people who had been at the meeting. Those remarks are summarized as follows. Ms. Williams asked if integration should be sacrificed for segregation? She stressed that social and cultural diversity were the strength of the educational system in this community and in the nation. She stated that no child or teacher should be placed in a school environment without programs that supported educational excellence, and promoted school and community pride. She spoke of the potentially negative impact on the schools of the drastic boundary changes being proposed, especially for the schools that would become almost all Black in population. She said that if the FCAT scores and other test data were being used as the basis for the boundary changes, sne wanted an opportunity to examine the data before the changes were made. She stated that testing was not the best measure of success but instead, how well a person was able to make their visions into reality in a responsible manner. Ms. Williams remarked that integrated schools, while not perfect, had made a major contribution to the rising income of the average family in America and should not be abandoned. She also expressed concern that more clinical support was needed to fortify the learning of students in need. Ms. Williams expressed belief that the neighborhood school concept was a noble idea, but she asked that the school officials continue the present course, which had led to the enlightenment and progress of the present day. Ms. William's comments were well received by the participants of the meeting. 9 Meeting Minutes School Boundaries Forum Boynton Beach, Florida 10~9~00 Ms. Farace said that the boundaries were not already an accomplished fact. She said that the group's concerns would be passed along and that the School Board does pay attention to community input. She stressed the importance of the parents attending School Board meetings to express their concerns. Chair Tedtmann thanked everyone for coming and the meeting ended at 9:45 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Susan Collins Recording Secretary (three tapes) 10