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Minutes 03-04-99 MINUTES OF THE EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD MEETING HELD IN LIBRARY PROGRAM ROOM, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ON THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 1999 AT 6:30 P.M. PRESENT ALSO PRESENT Dawn Russell, Chairperson Virginia Farace, Education Advisory Ronald Ehster Board Liaison David Fellows Commissioner Nellie Denahan Eddie Mitchell Guarn Sims Heidi DeVries, Student Markdaline St. Fort, Student ABSENT Adriana Borgia, Alternate Revia Lee Margaret Newton I. GREETINGS Chairperson Russell welcomed the members to the meeting. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Chairperson Russell called the meeting to order at 6:40 p.m. and led the members in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. III. ROLL CALL Chairperson Russell asked the Recording Secretary to call the roll. A quorum was declared present. Mr. Fellows stated Ms. Borgia was not present this evening because her mother suffered a heart attack. IV. MINUTES APPROVAL- March 4, 1999 Chairperson Russell asked if there were any comments or additions to the minutes of the February 4, 1999 meeting. MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MARCH 4, 1999 Motion David Fellows moved to approve the minutes of the February 4, 1999 meeting. Motion seconded by Guarn Sims and unanimously carried. Chairperson Russell stated that Item X, Public Audience would be moved up to allow Commissioner Denahan an opportunity to address the Board. PUBLIC AUDIENCE Commissioner Denahan stated she had another appointment at 7:00 p.m. and thanked the Board for allowing her to speak first. Commissioner Denahan said she appreciates the hard work the Board is doing and that Chairperson Russell is doing a wonderful job and that the Board is heading in a remarkable direction under the guidance of Ms. Farace. Commissioner Denahan stated that Ms. Farace was made Liaison of this Board at her request. Commissioner Denahan stated she was present this evening to express her surprise to the Commission’s reaction on Tuesday night to this Board’s recommendation for having local schools sing before the Commission meetings. Commissioner Denahan stated she was very supportive of this idea and thinks it is a wonderful idea. Commissioner Denahan stated the idea first came up when she and Mr. Fellows attended a luncheon over the holidays honoring the Boynton Beach police and fire officer of the year. At that luncheon, the children from the Hagen Ranch Road School performed since the luncheon was held at Bethesda Health City. Commissioner Denahan stated the children’s performance was wonderful and after the luncheon, Mr. Fellows suggested that students could perform at the Commission meetings. Commissioner Denahan suggested that Mr. Fellows bring the issue up before this Board in order for the Board to present the program to the Commission. Commissioner Denahan said she was very disappointed when the Commission tabled the issue. Commissioner Denahan stated some of the reasons for tabling the issue were that the staff did not want to be harnessed with additional responsibilities and that a student coordinating students would not work well. Commissioner Denahan suggested that the Board draft a new proposal for presentation before the new Commission, reassuring the Commission that the Education Advisory Board would take full responsibility for the entire presentation. Commissioner Denahan said it was a wonderful idea to have the student members of the Board in charge of this program, which makes them feel they have some responsibility on the Board. Commissioner Denahan suggested in the beginning the parameters be set very small to 2 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MARCH 4, 1999 determine how the program is working. Commissioner Denahan felt that the number of performers should be limited to a maximum of 12 at any one time. Ms. Farace said the issue has been placed on the Agenda for the next Commission meeting. Also, Ms. Farace noted that the Commission suggested reserving student performances to special occasions or occasionally and Ms. Farace inquired if the Board should present various alternatives for the Commission’s consideration. Commissioner Denahan said she would prefer that the presentation include that one or two songs take place at every Commission meeting. Commission Denahan also thought the students could perform during the summer months and that campers could perform, as well as other types of recitals could take place. Mr. Fellows stated that a variety of performers could be presented during April and May and after those two months the Commission could evaluate and determine whether they want to keep the programs and how often should they be presented. Ms. Farace informed members because the issue is on the City agenda for the next meeting, she must have the new proposal for submission to the City Clerk’s office by tomorrow at 12 noon. Ms. Farace said this would not allow the Board enough time to contact the schools to determine their selection and schedules. Chairperson Russell inquired why the Commission tabled the request and Commissioner Denahan stated some of the reasons were that the meetings were to take care of City business and having children going in and out can be disruptive. Commissioner Denahan felt that the new Commission would approve the program. Mr. Ehster inquired if the Youth in Government Day is still in existence and Commissioner Denahan stated it would be taking place in April. Commissioner Denahan said that Mayor Taylor said it was a “mom and apple pie issue”. Commissioner Denahan said all it needs is to be refined so that it would work well with the existing meetings. Mr. Ehster requested that any further discussion on the issue should go before a separate sub-committee. Commissioner Denahan thanked the Board for allowing her time to speak. Ms. Farace said that she and Ms. De Vies would continue to work on the presentation of the program. It was agreed that at the adjournment of the meeting, some members would stay to further refine the program along the lines suggested by Commissioner Denahan. 3 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MARCH 4, 1999 V. CHAIR’S REPORT A. Achievement Matters for All Chairperson Russell reported on the following: ? The new Middle School site has been selected at El Claire Ranch Road and Woolbright, but the adult communities have expressed opposition. ? Three schools in South County were performing at the second lowest level and two were Atlantic and Santaluces High School. Chairperson Russell stated these were tier-two schools and this is an unfortunate situation. Additional help from the School District will be given to these schools to improve the test scores. If the schools drop to tier-one schools, they would be receiving voucher money. thst ? Noted that the G.A.L.A. would be taking place on March 19 through the 21 and this Board’s table needs to be staffed between 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, thst March 20 and Sunday, March 21. A Board member must be present at all times. Chairperson Russell distributed a sign up sheet for members to select the times they could staff the booth. Ms. Farace stated that G.A.L.A. was the same weekend as Bookfest and she is committed to that event. ? Noted that David Brownstein has been removed from the Board due to excessive absences. ? Reported that Eddie Mitchell, David Fellows and she attended the Open Forum and said it was a very good Forum. The idea of the Forum was the Boards’ goals for 1999 and beyond and how the Boards could work together. The various Boards presented their goals. Many other important issues were discussed. Chairperson Russell noted Heidi DeVries was also present at the Forum and it is this Board’s turn to host the next Forum. The Forum date needs to be scheduled for sometime in April. ? Stated that America’s Promise should be removed from the Agenda since it is now a separate entity headed by Charlie Fisher. Anyone interested in becoming involved with America’s Promise should contact Charlie Fisher. ? Noted that the City Commission asked for this Board’s recommendation on the Youth Council, which will operate as a separate entity. The City is in the process of 4 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MARCH 4, 1999 working with the Delray Beach Youth Council and they suggested that a member from this Board should be a member of the Youth Council. Steve Waldman of the Children and Youth Board is in charge of the Youth Council. Ms. Farace noted that the item is under “Unfinished Business” and would be addressed at that time. B. District School Directory Ms. Farace distributed to members a copy of the Palm Beach County 1998-99 School Directory, as well as a copy of the Coalition for Black Student Achievement Report from the School District. Ms. Farace suggested that a Board member should read the report and report back at the next meeting if there were any issues that this Board should address. Ron Ehster agreed to read the report for discussion at the next Board meeting. VII. COMMITTEE REPORTS A. Alternative to Suspension Program Mr. Fellows said that the programs are getting underway at Congress and that Santaluces is still in the process of locating counselors for the program. The teachers have been selected and the funding is in place. Mr. Fellows said that Mr. Alligood has advised him that funding has been approved for the teachers at Congress and Santaluces for the next three years and this is funding over and above the regular staffing allotment. This means that the classroom sizes do not have to be increased to staff the program. B. Raising Test Scores No report made. C. “Gathering Storm” Issues Mr. Mitchell said he does not have any new information and was unable to attend the last meeting. D. Parental Involvement No report made. 5 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MARCH 4, 1999 E. School Concurrency Mr. Ehster stated he was surprised that the School Concurrency Program did not require voter approval and that it also does not require that all Cities approve the Program. Mr. Ehster noted that the presentation given by the Consultant, Leo Noble before the Commission highlighted the fact that the Concurrency Program should move along and that the five-year plan is being updated regularly. Mr. Ehster also noted that a Technical Agency Group is being formed to guarantee that the plans for the new schools are adhered to. Ms. Farace said that she serves on the Construction Oversight Review Committee and thinks there might be some overlapping. Mr. Ehster said that there is enough money today to put together all the schools. Ms. Farace said that the handout given to members tonight was from Mr. Nobel’s presentation. Ms. Farace said that in actuality there is nothing in writing for a Concurrency Plan and the only thing in the presentation was the handout presented to members tonight. Mr. Ehster said that it would take several months to put together a document that the cities and district would accept and then it would be forwarded to the State for acceptance. Mr. Ehster said he was under the impression that this would be implemented within a year. Ms. Farace stated that Mr. Noble said the Commission could approve the concept without the paperwork, however, the Commission did not. The Commission is going to afford this Board the opportunity to review the concept and paperwork. Ms. Farace hopes that this Board will also be given an opportunity to make a recommendation to the Commission before they act on it. F. Administrative Area Issue Chairperson Russell said that Ms. Decker advised her that this issue should be approached by stating that Boynton Beach would like to have all their schools under Area 2 and under the same Supervisor for consistency and order. Chairperson Russell said that a letter needs to be sent to Dr. Kowal with a copy to Dr. Coleman and Ms. Decker. Ms. Farace suggested this be done in the form of a Resolution. Mr. Fellows asked if the letter should be from this Board or does it need to be from the Mayor and Commissioners as well. Mr. Fellows said that this Board should make a presentation to the City Commission and ask them to adopt a Resolution to this effect. Ms. Farace noted that during the new Commission orientation, goals would be discussed and this goal should be stressed. Also the new Commission should be informed that this Board would be coming to them for a recommendation. Ms. Farace said there would be sufficient time to work on a resolution. 6 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MARCH 4, 1999 G. Legislative Issues Mr. Sims stated that vouchers seem to be a reality and that Governor Busch is proposing that $643 million goes towards the schools. Governor Busch is also proposing that an additional allocation of $15 million goes towards top performing schools. Ms. Farace said that if any Board member has feelings about this proposal they could write to the legislators as an individual and not as a representative of this Board. H. SAC Representatives Hagen Ranch Road Mr. Ehster stated he was in the process of switching from Hagen Ranch Road to Forest Park. Mr. Ehster said he likes the manner in which Hagen Ranch operates and had a lot of information, which he gave to Chairperson Russell in the event any member wished to review it. Congress Middle School Mr. Fellows said he did not attend the last SAC meeting, but they are finalizing their mission statement. Santaluces High School Mr. Fellows said that there was not much to report from the last meeting. Mr. Fellows said he had a request from the Principal to see if the selection of the Counselor could be expedited for the Alternative to Suspension Program. Mr. Fellows said he would like the Board to consider some public recognition for Mr. Alligood, as well as Mr. Sills and Mr. Heyward for their efforts in making the program a reality for the two schools. There was a consensus on this Board that this was a good idea and would be discussed at a future meeting. South Technical High School Mr. Mitchell stated that the SAC is comprised of more school personnel than lay people from the community and that is a problem. Mr. Mitchell stated that is not what the State is advocating and would like more lay people on SACs. Therefore, South Technical is trying to recruit more people to join the SAC committee. th Mr. Mitchell stated that on March 26, which is a professional development day, South Technical will be having two motivational speakers at the school, Dr. Richard Ramsey 7 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MARCH 4, 1999 and Carlos Rosello, Principal of Forest Hill High School. Mr. Mitchell said the program would begin at 9:00 a.m. and they will be speaking on diversity issues, which is part of the goals in accomplishing their mission with the Gathering Storm. th Mr. Mitchell announced that on April 13, Ms. Decker would be meeting with the Chamber of Commerce and all the schools in the area to present the School Improvement Plans. Ms. Farace noted that it was the Education Advisory Board that is holding the presentation. Chairperson Russell mentioned there was a very nice article on South Technical in the newspaper recently. Mr. Ehster said that he had a request from Mark Scott from Congress Middle School who is looking for a speaker to talk at a PTA meeting about the new High School and what this Board does. The meeting is scheduled for next Monday from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Ms. Farace questioned how these requests get referred, since it should have gone to Ms. Russell as Chairperson. Ms. Farace said this did not afford much time to get someone to speak on such a short notice. Mr. Ehster gave the name and phone number to Ms. Farace for follow through. Forest Park School Mr. Sims said he attended the Forest Park School and the majority of the meeting was devoted to the new reading program, which was discussed at the last meeting. Mr. Sims said that they visited O’Connor Elementary in Victoria, Texas and were very enthusiastic about the program. The program forces teachers to teach according to the individual learning styles of students and is a new approach to teaching. The School is committed to it and there is some resistance. They are looking for additional funding for the program and the Pugh Foundation has requested the School write a grant, and the Pugh Foundation has all but promised them at least $67,000 once they receive the grant proposal. The hurdle is now to see how many teachers will stay and see the program through. Usually when there is this type of change, a certain percentage of the faculty would transfer. Ms. Farace said she would like to be briefed on how this program works and what is the methodology used that some teachers would want to leave a school. Ms. Farace said that when the Principals’ Forum is held, the Principal could be asked to give a brief description of the program. Mr. Ehster inquired if Mr. Sims would be doing the Forest Park SAC meetings and if so, it was suggested that Mr. Ehster could take Galaxy School, which he said he would. 8 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MARCH 4, 1999 Ms. Farace inquired if there was any discussion between the Principal of Forest Park and Mr. John Wildner, the City’s Park Superintendent, regarding an Interlocal Agreement. Mr. Sims said this was not discussed at the meeting. VIII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. Bylaws Ms. Farace said she made the changes to the Bylaws, but did not bring copies for the Board’s review. Mr. Fellows suggested the matter be tabled. B. Youth Council Chairperson Russell said this Board needs to inform the City Commission whether this Board thinks having a Youth Council for the City of Boynton Beach is a worthwhile endeavor, which would be a separate entity. Ms. DeVries said she attended some of the Delray Beach meetings and said the Youth Council is fully representative of youth opinions and also sponsors a great many events for the youth in the community. Ms. DeVries said it was a very good idea. Mr. Fellows said it was a good opportunity for the youth to become involved in local government. Ms. DeVries presented a newspaper article from the Palm Beach Post regarding the Youth Council for members’ review. Motion David Fellows moved that this Board convey its support of a Youth Council to the City Commission. Motion seconded by Mr. Ehster and carried unanimously. C. Students at Commission Meetings Chairperson Russell noted that this has been previously discussed and that some members would get together after the meeting to work on this issue. Ms. Farace said this could not be done in accordance with the Florida Sunshine Statutes. Ms. Farace suggested that the issue remain on the Commission agenda as is and that this Board be permitted to present alternatives when making the presentation. Chairperson Russell stated that the matter should be tabled. Mr. Fellows said that the item is already on the Commission agenda. Ms. Farace said the Commission could be asked to table the matter until the next meeting. However, after discussion, Ms. Farace said she would request if the Board could present back-up information later and that the matter stand on the agenda as is. It was 9 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MARCH 4, 1999 noted that the suggestions of Commissioner Denahan needed to be incorporated into the new proposal. Ms. Farace stated the proposal needs to be worded that “the Mayor would open the meeting, followed by the invocation, Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag and then the performance by the student(s). Ms. Farace said she would determine if Mr. Fellows and Ms. DeVries would be allowed to suggest alternatives when the item is brought before the Commission. Mr. Fellows and Ms. DeVries said they would make a verbal presentation at the next Commission meeting in accordance with Commissioner Denahan’s guidelines. D. SIP Presentation Ms. Farace said that she spoke with Elizabeth Decker today and Ms. Decker is th recommending that the April 13 date be adhered to. This would provide an opportunity for feedback for the Plans and allow time to make changes. Ms. Decker said that if this Board agreed to that date and issued a letter to the schools, Ms. Decker would work with every Principal using the guidelines that the Board set up. This Board’s role would be (1) setting the agenda, (2) determining the order of the school presentations and (3) writing the invitation letters. Chairperson Russell asked if a sub-committee would be necessary. Ms. Farace said that a sub-committee was formed and that they met last month. A schedule of the schools’ presentations was furnished at last month’s meeting and if it is agreeable, this Board could move forward in the manner they were presented. Chairperson Russell inquired if the regular April meeting could be incorporated with the th April 13 meeting and only have one meeting for the month. Ms. Farace thought it would be difficult to transact any regular business at the SIP presentations. Motion Mr. Fellows moved that the regular Board Meeting of April 1, 1999 be combined with the April 13, 1999 SIP presentation meeting and that the Tuesday, April 13, 1999 meeting be considered this Board’s regular meeting. Motion seconded by Mr. Sims. Mr. Mitchell inquired if the regular Board business would be conducted prior to the SIP presentations. Ms. Farace reminded members that they also had to plan for the Four Board Forum. Ms. Farace suggested that the Four Board Forum could take place during the City Commission Orientation. Motion unanimously carried. 10 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MARCH 4, 1999 Chairperson Russell said that at the April 13, 1999 meeting the following items would be on the agenda: Greetings, Pledge, Roll Call, Minutes Approval and then the meeting would be turned over to the SIP presentations. Ms. Farace suggested that the meeting begin at 6:00 p.m. and the schools would be invited to begin setting up at that time. After the regular business is conducted, the Board could recess and then begin the program at 6:30 p.m. Ms. Farace said that it would not be necessary to have a Recording Secretary present at this meeting and that she would run a tape recorder and the Recording Secretary could merely transcribe the tape of the business transacted during the regular portion of the meeting. Chairperson Russell suggested that refreshments should be served. E. Principal Roundtable Ms. Farace said there had been discussion to holding a Principal Roundtable in May or June. After further consideration, it was decided to postpone this until the fall, which was the consensus of the Board. IX. NEW BUSINESS A. City Commission Board Orientation Chairperson Russell distributed copies of a letter dated March 4, 1999 she received from Interim City Manager Wilfred Hawkins. Chairperson Russell noted that Mr. Fellows, Charlie Fisher and Mr. Hawkins were coordinating this and asked Mr. Fellows to brief the members. Mr. Fellows said that the meeting would be approximately two hours long and would be a roundtable format. Each Board would have ten minutes to make a presentation and then 15 minutes of discussion among the Commissioners and all the Boards regarding the presentation of each specific Board. After a specific Board makes a presentation and after it is discussed for 15 minutes that Board would leave the table and the next Board would come in and sit down to make their presentation. After all four Boards made their presentations, two representatives from each Board would remain and there would be a 20 minute roundtable discussion. Originally, only two members from each Board were to be present to make a presentation, but Ms. Farace said that if all the Board members were present it would give the new Commission an opportunity to meet all the Board members. Mr. Fellows thth said that two dates were mentioned, March 26 or April 6. Mr. Fellows suggested that the time of the meeting be set for the evening or on the weekend, so that all Board 11 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MARCH 4, 1999 th members could participate. Chairperson Russell pointed out that March 26 is a Friday night. Ms. Farace said she called this to the attention of the City Manager’s Office. Ms. Farace said that the City Manager’s Office wanted to make sure that the packets would be ready for that day. Ms. Farace noted if the Commission were comprised of people who worked, there would never be day meetings during the week. Mr. Fellows said that there would be a series of orientation meetings beginning with the budget. Mr. Fellows said that it is intended to have the Board workshop after the Vision 20/20 Workshop. Therefore, the Board must decide what it wants to include in its packet. Chairperson Russell asked if the Board had material available for the packet. Also, hand-out material is needed for the G.A.L.A. Ms. Farace requested that she and the Chairperson work together in creating the packets. Ms. Farace said that if any Board member had something they wished to include in the packets, they should put it together for submittal and inclusion in the packets. Ms. Farace said it would not be necessary to have this much information available at the G.A.L.A. Mr. Fellows asked Ms. Farace when she would need the information from the members. Ms. Farace suggested she receive the material by the 12th of March. Mr. Fellows said that even if the Commissioners did not have an opportunity to listen to every board member, at least the focus of that board member would be available for reading in the packet. Mr. Sims noted that there were three people absent this evening that cover four different areas. Discussion ensued on what materials would be included in the packets. Ms. Farace suggested that Ms. Newton be contacted to determine if she has any information on Raising Test Scores and whether she would be amenable to putting together a legislative packet. Ms. Farace noted that Ms. Newton was on television last Sunday speaking about African/American Curriculum in the Schools. Chairperson Russell requested to review the SAC representatives from this Board. Atlantic High School -- Santaluces High School David Fellows South Technical Eddie Mitchell Christa McAuliffe -- Congress Middle School David Fellows Woodlands Middle School -- Citrus Cove Dawn Russell Crystal Lakes -- Forest Park Guarn Sims Galaxy formerly David Brownstein Hagen Ranch Road Adriana Borgia 12 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MARCH 4, 1999 Manatee -- Plumosa -- Poinciana Revia Lee Rolling Green Margaret Newton Royal Palm School -- Chairperson Russell stated it was important that Galaxy is covered and that Ron Ehster would be assigned to Galaxy. Ms. Farace asked Chairperson Russell if she could do Atlantic High School and she said she would. Ms. Farace said she would like to review what has transpired at tonight’s meeting. ? There will be no regular meeting on April 1, 1999. th ? The SIP presentations will take place on April 13. The Board will meet at 6:00 p.m. ? Chairperson Russell and Ms. Farace will get together to compose a letter to send to all the Principals regarding the presentations using the agenda that was approved at the meeting. ? Chairperson Russell and Ms. Farace will get together for the purpose of putting together the City Commission packets. ? Each Board member will be submitting their information that they want included in th the packets by Friday, March 12. ? A brochure for the G.A.L.A. will be prepared. ? The resolution of the Administrative Area will be put on hold since there is no time to discuss the matter at the April meeting. It should be determined if a letter would suffice or does the Commission need to adopt a Resolution. Chairperson Russell stated it had already been agreed upon that the Board would ask for a Resolution from the City Commission. Chairperson Russell said she would prepare a draft Resolution for submittal. ? It was decided that the Four Board Forum would take place during the City Orientation. Mr. Fellows will contact the other Boards and inform them that the Four Board Forum will take place during the City Commission orientation. ? Mr. Fellows will develop a procedure for presentation to the Commission on the musical programs by students. Mr. Fellows said he would have something for Ms. Farace tomorrow morning. It was agreed that a verbal presentation would be made to the Commissioners on this program. Mr. Fellows said he would like Ms. DeVries involved in the presentation and it upset Mr. Fellows that one of the Commission’s objections to the program was the involvement of high school students in the planning process. Chairperson Russell noted that high school 13 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MARCH 4, 1999 students are very capable of doing many projects. Mr. Fellows said that no one on this Board acts independently of the oversight of this Board. Mr. Fellows said that the City Commission placed the students on this Board and if the City Commission did not have confidence in the students’ abilities, they should not have been placed on the Board. With regard to the G.A.L.A., Chairperson Russell noted that there were time slots that were still not filled. Chairperson Russell stated that a representative from this Board must be present at all time. Mr. Fellows said if there is any subject any member would like to discuss during Commission orientation there will be a 20 minute open discussion and if any member has any concerns which need to be addressed, please have them ready for presentation. Mr. Fellows said the Board should have a budget so that when it sponsors get togethers it can afford to purchase refreshments. Ms. Farace said that she would make copies of the Bylaws so that the Board could adopt them this evening so that they could be included in the orientation packet. Mr. Fellows also said that the issue of whether the high school students should be voting members should be introduced to the new Commission. Mr. Fellows said that this Board is supposed to be an advocacy board and yet the Palm Beach County School District employs over half its members. Mr. Mitchell raised concerns that there were people who wanted to reduce the strength of the Education Advisory Board. Mr. Mitchell said this Board is an advisory group that advises the City Commission on educational matters in the City and asked how far this Board can go beyond advising the Commission. Mr. Fellows said that this Board should not only advise the City Commission, but should be in a position to offer positive solutions as well. Bylaws Ms. Farace handed out the Bylaws to the members and referred members to the salient points as follows: ? Page 2, numbers 3 and 4, include the vision and the mission. ? The numbering has been made consistent. ? A second bullet under Committees has been added on the last page and changed from Committees to “Committees and School Advisory Councils”. 14 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MARCH 4, 1999 ? In the second sentence, added “each Board member is required to select at least one committee on which to serve”. ? A new #2 has been added that School Advisory Councils are mandated by the State to include business and community members. “Each Board member is required to select one Boynton Beach Area School Advisory Council on which to serve as an active participating community member, subject to the School SAC approval”. ? Ms. Farace was uncertain if the Annual Board Year begins on May 1 and goes stth through April 30, or if the year was April 1 through March 30. After discussion, it was determined to leave the Board Year as May 1 through April 30. Motion Mr. Fellows moved that the Bylaws as presented be approved. Motion seconded by Mr. Sims. Motion unanimously carried. X. PUBLIC AUDIENCE Moved up on the Agenda XI. ANNOUNCEMENTS CHAIRPERSON RUSSELL ANNOUNCED THAT THE APRIL MEETING TH WOULD BE HELD ON APRIL 13 AND WOULD BEGIN AT 6:00 P.M. XIII. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting properly adjourned at 9:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted, _______________________________ Barbara M. Madden Recording Secretary (3 tapes) 15