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Minutes 06-01-00 MINUTES OF THE EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD MEETING HELD IN THE LIBRARY PROGRAM ROOM, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ON THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2000 AT 6:00 P.M. PRESENT Dawn Russell, Chairperson Ron Ehster Aly Gore, Student Michael Hazlett Revia Lee ALSO PRESENT David Fellows, former Board Member ABSENT Diana Tedtmann I. GREETINGS ALSO PRESENT Virginia Farace, Education Advisory Board Liaison IV. None V. MINUTES APPROVAL CHAIR'S REPORT A. Board Appointments Chairperson Russell called the meeting to order at 6:25 p.m. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Members recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag led by Chairperson Russell. III, ROLL CALL The Recording Secretary called the roll and a quorum was present. Chairperson Russell introduced and welcomed the new student member on the Board, Ms. Aly Gore. MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JUNE 1, 2000 Chairperson Russell announced the following: · There are several openings on the Board, including two regular, two alternates and one student member. Donations in memory of Barry Brunow can be made to the First Union Bank. The State will be paying half his salary to the family and the County will be paying the other half. Chairperson Russell said that something has to be done about gun control to prevent all this unnecessary tragedy that places teachers in such vulnerable positions. Thirteen teachers at Forest Park School have placed their names on the transfer list because they were told that if they remained at an F School and if the school remained an F School the following year, a reduction in salary was possible. Mr. Fellows was under the impression that it was 26 vacancies at the school and that half were staff. · The FCAT scores should be available on June 19~. · There will be an estimated shortage of 23,000 teachers in Florida over the next ten years. · Florida's teachers' salaries are $7,000 lower than the lowest southeastern state, which is Georgia. · The SIP presentations were a great success. · The next Principal at Galaxy Elementary School is Kathy Harris. · Christa McAuliffe was awarded the Blue Ribbon Award. At Atlantic High School, over 94% of their ivy students received their diploma, which was the highest percentage of grades in the world and Newsweek Magazine listed Atlantic High School as one of the best schools in the United States. She has received more information from the National Education Goal's Report, which will be available in the Library. This can be accessed on the Internet at www.negp.gov. VI. CITY LIAISON REPORT 2 MEETING MINUTES '- EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JUNE 1,2000 A. Christa McAuliffe Award Ms. Farace distributed a congratulatory card for members to view, which she plans on sending to the Christa McAuliffe School. Ms. Lee pointed out that representatives from the School would be visiting Washington, D.C. sometime in September. B. COBWRA Education Advisory Board Ms. Farace referred to a recent newspaper article stating that COBWRA was requesting its own Education Advisory Board and distributed a copy of the article to the members. VII. COMMITTEE REPORTS A. Alternative to Suspension Program Mr. Fellows reported that he went to Clearwater with representatives from South County Mental Health, Mr. Dave Benson from Safe Schools, Ms. Diane Curtis from Alternative Education and representatives from Juvenile Justice. Mr. Fellows gave a brief overview of his visit to Clearwater. Mr. Fellows reported that Largo Middle School, which introduced the Alternative to Suspension Program this year, had its suspension rate drop 77%. Tarpon Springs, which also had the program for the first time this year, experienced a reduction in suspension of 66%. Mr. Fellows felt that the trip had been both worthwhile and very impressive. There is a possibility that the Juvenile Justice Department may also be committing funds to additional OCIP Programs. If the program were introduced to other schools in this County, the individual schools would have to come up with their own teacher. A teacher and a classroom have been designated for the Christa McAuliffe School. Ms. Farace felt that Carver Middle School would be a good addition to the OCIP Program and would greatly benefit from it. Mr. Fellows noted that last year Carver Middle School suspended 22% or 343 students last year. Lantana Middle School dropped from 31% in 1998 to 17% in 1999. Lake Worth Middle School in 1997 suspended 23%, in 1998 suspended 23% and last year suspended 25%, which was the highest in the County for student suspensions. Mr. Fellows felt that if the OCIP Program had been in place, that particular student would not have been sent home, unsupervised and on suspension, but instead would have been referred to the program to finish up the school day. 3 MEETING MINUTES - EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JUNE 1,2000 Mr. Fellows pointed out that Boynton Beach is the first municipality to commit funds to the OCIP Program and all this happened as a result of the Education Advisory Board's involvement. Mr. Hazlett inquired why Mr. Fellows could no longer serve on the Board and Mr. Fellows stated that a seven-page letter from the State Ethics Committee was received after he went to the City Attorney regarding his involw;ment with the OClP Program. To sum up the letter, it suggested the best thing would be for Mr. Fellows to resign from the Board. Mr. Fellows informed the Board that he would continue to report on the progress of the Program in order to keep the Board up-to-date. Mr. Fellows also reminded the Board that it had discussed getting this information to the School Board members, which has not been done as yet. Mr. Fellows pointed out that there are 10 Middle Schools in the County that exceed the County's suspension average and last year accounted for 54.4% of the total suspensions for Middle Schools. Last year between the Middle and High Schools over 12,000 students were suspended at least once. Mr. Fellows feels that the School Board is totally unaware of these figures and depends upon the School District to supply the right information so that they can make decisions. Ms. Farace felt that suspensions were a high priority a few years ago and the School Board was aware that suspensions needed to be reduced. Ms. Farace did not think by presenting the Program and the suspension figures at a School Board meeting would have any impact and that it would be better to meet with each Board Member on an individual basis. Ms. Lee pointed out that the discipline referral forms are being revised to supply the necessary information to keep the School District informed and the School Board is aware of this. Discussion ensued on how to approach the School Board members. Mr. Hazlett suggested speaking with Board Member Tom Lynch first. Ms. Lee suggested inviting a Board Member to a forum with all the EAB members present. Mr. Ehster noted when they attended the joint Board meeting with the EAB boards from Boca Raton and Delay Beach, the boards indicated that they would like to do this on a quarterly basis. Mr. Ehster suggested inviting a School Board member to attend a quarterly meeting with the three cities present. Ms. Farace suggested inviting Tom Lynch and Art Johnson to attend. Ms, Farace said this would be allowed because the meeting would have to be public noticed and if the Board wished, all the School Board members could be invited. Discussion ensued on how much time would be necessary to make preparations to schedule a three Board meeting with School Board members. Ms. Farace noted that invitations would have to be prepared and sent out. Mr. Fellows 4 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JUNE 1, 2000 thought this would be a good way to kick off the school year. Members next discussed what should be included in the presentation and whether the various schools should be present to discuss what is taking place at their schools. Mr. Fellows also suggested that he would try to arrange to have the principal from Clearwater High School and a School Board Member from Pinellas County attend. Mr. Fellows suggested before holding the meeting with the School Board Members, that he make an individual presentation to each EAB and the Chamber of Commerce Education Boards to afford those Boards an opportunity to invite individuals that they would like included. Mr. Fellows also suggested inviting Riviera Beach. Mr. Hazlett stated that he would work with Mr. Fellows on the Delray Beach EAB to determine if they could be placed on their agenda. Mr. Ehster agreed to contact the Boca Raton EAB to make the necessary arrangements. Mr. Hazlett and Mr. Ehster will report back their findings at the next Board meeting. B. Raising Test Scores/Parental Involvement - Russell, Tedtmann Chairperson Russell reported that they are waiting for the FCAT scores. Also, a great many schools are offering tutoring and/or parent night, but this area still needs to be worked on. C. "Gathering Storm" Issues - Mitchell Ms. Farace noted that Mr. Mitchell had been appointed to another board, but he would really like to be reappointed to this Board and is trying to get himself appointed to this Board. Mr. Fellows stated that a meeting took place about one month ago and an education professional from California was brought in and the Gathering Storm is now looking at suspensions. D. Legislative Issues Chairperson Russell reported that the State is giving an additional $1Billion for schools and the schools will be held accountable for these funds and will be required to submit a report on how the money is spent. E. SIP Presentation - Hazlett Previously discussed. F. Principals' Roundtable- Lee 5 MEETING MINUTES - EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JUNE 1, 2000 Ms. Lee stated that the primary areas that will be concentrated upon would be suspension and discipline, as a result of what happened last Friday. Ms. Lee said she would like to meet with Ms. Farace to work up a plan. Ms. Lee further stated that these problems are not just in middle schools, but are also in the elementary schools as well. A date for the presentation must be determined, which could probably be in September or October. G. Forest Park - Ehster Mr. Ehster reported that Forest Park received three grants that were in the $100,000 to $300,000 range. Because the school is an F school, they are effective in receiving grants. Mr. Ehster also pointed out that all the schools in Boynton Beach, except for Citrus Cove, are D schools and these schools need attention. Mr. Ehster reported on his meeting last week on grants and noted that nothing significant came out of this meeting. He would like this Board to have a meeting in July to go over the FCAT scores. H. SAC Representatives No reports VIII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None IX. NEW BUSINESS A. Suspensions Previously discussed. Mr. Fellows presented a copy of an article that appeared in Parade Magazine on a program for elementary schools on self-control. The program helps children develop a positive attitude, self-control and confidence, responsibility, and problem solving and cooperation. After reading the article, Mr. Fellows sent away for the literature and tape and discussed the program with Principal Powell at Forest Park Elementary School. The Board viewed the video called "Lesson One". After viewing the video, members discussed its benefits and how it could be introduced into the local schools in Boynton Beach. Mr. Fellows said that there are some costs associated with the program. Chairperson Russell said that this could be presented to the principals at another roundtable after the costs have been determined. Mr. Hazlett will check into the cost of the program and report back to the Board. 6 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JUNE 1, 2000 B. Planning Session - Saturday, August 5th Ms. Fa~race noted that the Board commonly holds its planning session in August. Also, Ms. Farace noted that the next board meeting is scheduled for July 6th and asked members if they still wanted to hold the July meeting. Ms. Farace said she would be on vacation the first two weeks in July. Chairperson Russell also would not be present for the July meeting and questioned if a quorum could be attained. After much discussion, it was determined to cancel the regularly scheduled meeting for July 6th and to hold the regularly scheduled August 3rd meeting. XI. ANNOUNCEMENTS Next Regular Board Meeting: August 3, 2000 @ 6:00 P.M. XII. ADJOURNMENT Thera being no further business, the meeting properly adjourned at 8:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Barbara M. Madden Recording Secretary (Two tapes) 7