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Minutes 10-03-96 MINUTES OF THE EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD MEETING HELD AT CONGRESS MIDDLE SCHOOL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 1996, AT 6:30 P.M. PRESENT Nellie Denahan, Chairperson Wilfred Hawkins, Assistant to the Anne Centi, Vice Chairman City Manager Margaret Newton Dawn Russell David Weinstein Ronald Ehster, Alternate Falechia Price, Student ABSENT Irene Mandel, Alternate Ben Demaline, Student I. GREETINGS Chairperson Denahan called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Since there was no flag in the room, the Pledge was not recited. II. ROLL CALL The Recording Secretary noted the attendance. In addition to the board members and Mr. Hawkins, also present were State Representative Ron Klein, Samuel Watson, Principal of Congress Middle School, David Brownstein (SAC Chair at Galaxy and President of the PTO at Poinciana, Valerie Pleasanton (SAC Chair of Congress Middle School), Barbara Ready (Chair of the Poinciana PTA), and Joy Currier. State Representative William F. Andrews, City Commissioner Jamie Titcomb, and Todd Kotas, Director of Economic Development, and Fawn Bradley arrived later in the meeting. IV. MINUTES APPROVAL This item was not addressed. V. PUBLIC AUDIENCE None. VI. INTRODUCTION OF SPEAKERS A. State Representative Ron Klein B. State Representative William F. Andrews Rep. Klein discussed funding issues and capital facilities issues relating to Congress and the Boynton Beach High School. He stated that different parts of the County are going through different growth experiences. The growth is occurring in West Boca Raton, West Boynton Beach, and Palm Beach Gardens. There not being a home town high school in this community takes away the whole concept of community schools. The reality is that the school system is backlogged with construction projects and is trying to face the issues of concurrency and funding of schools. The school capital facility funding comes from the gross receipts tax, which is a State tax that is assessed on utilities and local property taxes. It does not come from the sales tax. That is a separate operations budget. When we talk about needing more teachers, smaller classrooms, etc., those are operations budget issues. He recommended that at least one member of this board participate in a task force or group that is commenting on and is involved in the activities and organizational approaches to some of the proposals (half cent, one cent, bond issues, taxes) that the school system is considering. He felt there should be at least one person from this board who is actively monitoring and working with a representative of the School Board so that we know exactly what is being presented and can give our input. He said a large portion of our community is still very unsettled about the 1980s bond issue based on what many people perceive to be a lack of the School Board's focus on how the dollars were supposed to be spent and how they were actually spent. There are issues related to independent accountability to make sure that outside auditors participate in the process. In order to sell this to the community, it is probably going to have to be tied to some sort of concurrency. However, this will only deal with the backlog. Most people are not going to support any type of tax if we do not deal with the backlog because the tax is only going to deal with future growth. It does not deal with the past growth of the schools and the needs in the area. With regard to the Boynton Beach High School, Rep. Klein stated that this board should be involved with Dr. Kowal, Larry Zabik, and the School Board with respect to the order of priority and how funding will be spent. If they go forward with any kind of proposal, there will probably be a priority list of the schools that need to be built and the coastal schools that need to be improved. The City needs to make sure that its interests are represented on that list. Mr. Hawkins asked Rep. Klein if he felt the State is doing enough to fund education, not only in Palm Beach County, but State wide. Rep. Klein did not think so. Mr. Hawkins MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 3, 1996 asked what could be done to try to correct that. Rep. Klein advised that for the last eight years, the Medicaid piece of the budget has been growing at the fastest rate. You have certain fixed expenses in the budget, such as prisons, road construction, schools, etc. There has always been more put into the budget every year for schools. However, the growth areas in Florida are growing at a very rapid rate, and we are not keeping up with it. Last year, some people tried to eliminate the DCD (the differential cost factor). Rep. Klein explained that the cost of living varies in different parts of the State. The Palm Beach County Delegation formed a coalition with the Dade County Delegation and the Broward County Delegation and managed to prevent them from eliminating the DCD. Rep. Klein said there is no interest in raising taxes in Florida. He said he would support additional revenues if it could be specifically shown how they would be spent on education. However, there is a "hold the line" attitude because some people were elected on that kind of platform, and some people feel there is adequate money in the school system. Mr. Hawkins asked if the Legislature has done enough to divert funding to education from the lottery. He has heard that lottery money has been diverted to General Fund expenses, or to help with deficiencies in the State's General Fund, and is not being used in the education part of the budget. He asked if this is true and, if so, if any means or measures have been taken to use lottery dollars for education. Rep. Klein said all the money from the lottery has gone to education. However, it has never been defined what specific areas in education the dollars were to be used for. Seventy percent of the net dollars of the lottery goes to K through 12, 15 percent goes to the State University System, and 15 percent goes to the community college system. At this time, Rep. William F. Andrews, City Commissioner Jamie Titcomb, and Todd Kotas, Director of Economic Development, arrived. Rep. Klein advised that a law was passed this year which states that the lottery funds that go to Palm Beach County and every school system have to be accounted for. Once we have that information, we can decide whether the lottery dollars are being spent properly. There were other proposals that we worked on this year which define how the lottery dollars were going to be spent. Rep. Klein introduced Rep. Andrews. Rep. Andrews serves on the Education Committee. 3 MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 3, 1996 He presented the board with a kit on education which contains information about the lottery issue, public military schools, an article on phonics, information on developing second chance schools, etc. He stated that the School Board has the discretion on how to spend the lottery enhancement dollars, not Tallahassee. Rep. Klein stated that if the residents and taxpayers are not satisfied with the way the School Board is spending the lottery enhancement dollars, we can discuss that with the School Board. Similarly, if the public is not satisfied with how schools are being funded, that rests with the Legislature and we need to be accountable and responsible for that discussion as well. Ms. Newton was under the impression that less general revenue funds were being allocated to education because of the lottery monies. Rep. Andrews advised her that she has been partially misled. He stated that at one time, 60 percent of the total general revenue fund went into education. However, that went down in 1991 because of the recession. At this time, Fawn Bradley arrived. With regard to what percent of the total revenue in the State of Florida should go to education, he stated that in a district south of here, there was a lot of clamor about the Alzheimer's center that was not funded for $600,000. We have to make a decision whether that $600,000 should go to education or Alzheimer's. The State of Florida's competition for dollars is going to be senior citizens and children. Mr. Weinstein said the total dollars are really not basic and endemic to the problem. Also, when the lottery money intended for enhancement is used for basic control costs, you are cutting down the amount that should be properly allocated to basic funding. For example, when we give money for humanitarian purposes to a country to allow them to be able to provide food, etc., you are releasing those dollars for them to buy military goods. He felt the funds that are allocated to a school district should follow the school, not the child. When you allocate funds to a parochial or private school for busing, textbooks, lunches, etc., for a child, you have released dollars to that school that they can use for education that are not supposed to be covered. Consequentially, when we use funds that are allocated to our school system from the lottery and you relieve the pressures on Tallahassee so that they can cut down on a per capita basis what should go to the children, we have really accomplished very little, if anything. He asked what those ratios are. 4 MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 3, 1996 Rep. Klein said since the lottery has come into existence, the actual money per student in Florida has increased on a gross basis every single year. That includes the lottery dollars and the general revenue dollars. He advised that in the State of Georgia, they have a very clear policy of how the lottery proceeds are going to be used. In Florida, the lottery funds are divided on a per student basis based on the population, etc., and go directly to the school system. We also have the general revenue funds (sales tax, etc.), which are allocated on a per student basis. If you add the two of those together, in essence, every year the money has gone up. The percentage of the general revenue is less on the overall budget, but that is not on a per student basis. Dollars are fungible. Mr. Weinstein said the people of the State of Florida think the lottery money is going to education, but they are unaware that those lottery dollars have really covered up a vacuum in that now the general revenue dollars have, on a pro rata student basis, been reduced. Ms. Newton and Mr. Hawkins concurred that this is exactly what we have been told. Mr. Hawkins asked if the lottery dollars are being used to make up for the general fund deficiency. Rep. Klein said if you have not defined how the lottery dollars are being used, then you are leaving it to the school system to decide whether they want to use them to paint buildings, buy computers, or whatever you would consider to be lottery purposes. Rep. Andrews said since he sits on the Education Committee, he has looked at every dollar from every source to try to figure out what the problems are. The lottery is a drop in the bucket. It is like looking at one tree in a very big forest. You ought to get off that and get onto the overall budget and finding the places where the 1 percents and the 2 percents are the problems. For instance, Palm Beach County would have all the money they need for school construction today if it were not for immigration, inclusion, and ADA standards. The costs to build a new school have gone through the roof. At this time, Rep. Klein had to leave for another commitment, but offered to continue his discussion at the next Education Advisory Board meeting. Rep. Andrews asked how a company can figure out a percentage raise for its employees in next year's budget without knowing its projected income. He said the School Board did this. Mr. Watson stated that in some states, education receives a percentage of the pie. Rep. 5 MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 3, 1996 Andrews said there is an amendment on the ballot to do that. He felt that when you fix percentages, you are getting into trouble at the potential expense of some other entity. Ten or 15 years ago when Legislators when to Tallahassee, basically everybody figured they could bring about a half million dollars back to their district. There is very little flexibility dollars. We are so tightly controlled by the needs of the State. We are looking at an explosion in population of children that guarantees that we have to find a more economical way to deliver education to children. Mr. Kotas believes the numbers in the State of Florida are $4,300 to $4,400 per child for education. In the State of Missouri, there are 528 school districts. Florida has a very efficient way of operating a school system. They have 67 school districts. The State of Illinois has 1,000 or 1,100 school districts. Most of the northeast school systems are running about $9,000 and some over $10,000 and $12,000 per student. He did not feel that the chart in Rep. Andrews' educational kit takes into account growth, inflation, and a lot of other variables. Rep. Andrews said this chart debunks the newspaper articles that say that the State Legislature took massive amounts of dollars away from education and dumped it into the Criminal Justice System. Mr. Brownstein stated that the money has not gone up proportionately to inflation and the number of students that are enrolled. This chart represents the State of Florida overall, not the money that is coming into Palm Beach County. The number of students in Palm Beach County went up 6.25 percent last year. Unless the Legislature comes up with a more equitable way of determining that it cost less to educate a child in Fort Walton Beach than it does in Palm Beach County, and stops giving every student in the State of Florida the same exact dollars, Palm Beach County is in for no remedy from Tallahassee. Rep. Andrews said Mr. Brownstein is partially correct in that the State of Florida gives an FTE per student across the board. If the student is handicapped, etc., then that FTE moves up per student. However, there is a cost differential that is applied to every district, and Palm Beach County is living in the highest cost differential and gets higher dollars per student on a cost differential basis than Fort Walton Beach does. In addition, 60 percent of the revenues of the School District are not generated in Tallahassee. They are generated right here. Only 40 percent of the total pie for Palm Beach County is generated on a State wide basis. Granted, even with the cost differential, Palm Beach County is supporting Clay County students. However, teachers in Clay County are making $13,000 or $14,000 a year. He asked how much more money can he take out of Clay County. 6 MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 3, 1996 Mr. Brownstein pointed out that you can buy an average house in Clay County for $59,000. Rep. Andrews said that is a tax issue. He was in favor of raising the second homestead exemption because his district would not throw him out of office if he did. However, in District 88, that person would be done in a heartbeat. Mr. Brownstein stated that part of the problem in Palm Beach County is that we have one support staff for every classroom instructor, which is probably the highest anywhere in the country. He did not know of any School District that runs on 51 percent backup and 49 percent classroom instruction. Rep. Andrews said he sponsored a bill that would have brought the K through 3 classroom size in Palm Beach County down substantially. Even though that bill was blocked, he got that measure attached to the educational bill on the floor the last night of the session, and it passed the House and the Senate. Governor Chiles vetoed it. Mr. Brownstein said every elected representative says he is for education as well as senior citizens; however, he did not see many things passing in Florida for Education. He has not seen Medicare in Florida get cut as much as he has seen education in Florida get cut. Palm Beach County has a 6 cent per gallon tax for a bus system that stops at condo complexes, but we cannot come up with funding for a School District. He asked where we are missing it in Tallahassee. He asked if it is truly that we are just not a noisy enough wheel and we do not show up to the polls. Rep. Andrews said it is a matter of whether you would like a tax increase. Mr. Brownstein answered affirmatively. Rep. Andrews asked him where he would like it. Mr. Brownstein said he would like it mostly in property taxes on condos that are appraised at $30,000. Mr. Kotas pointed out that you cannot do that. We have to let inflation wipe that out eventually. Ms. Centi asked how Rep. Andrews felt about a lottery scholarship. Rep. Andrews felt that was fine; however, he asked her to bear in mind that you would be taking direct dollars out of the Palm Beach County School System and giving it in the form of scholarships. Therefore, you are telling the School Board that you do not like the way they are distributing the dollars. Right now they have a list of programs that they are funding. You might want to look at where they spent the money. In pre-kindergarten, they spent $500,451,335 last year. He asked all those presents if they were in favor of eliminating pre-kindergarten. 7 MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 3, 1996 Mr. Andrews would like to focus on what we can do. We have to find new ways of delivering education to a lot more people. The dollars are not there to catch up the way we want to. He wondered if we should have 200 students taking one course in the high school auditorium like they do in colleges. He wondered if we should give students home videos, VCRs, or computers instead of textbooks. He asked what we can do to lower the 87 percent, or spread it out. He said he asked the Teachers' Union Leader if he would rather receive 4 percent more money, teach fewer students, and have more teachers by freezing the salaries and lowering the workload per teacher, or if he would rather have higher salaries and more students. His answer was "higher salary and more students". Rep. Andrews did not have a problem with it one way or the other. All he was looking for is that when students graduate from high school, they can read, write, and do math. Mr. Kotas stated that in all fairness, Rep. Andrews is talking about a couple of million dollars on a budget that is $1.5 billion. You have to focus on the new buildings that are needed. Broward County has 10,000 new students every year. Ten thousand students equates to approximately 15 schools. We need 15 new schools just to deal with the growth annually. Rep. Andrews stated that he passed a bill during his first year in office, and it funded this year, to approach school construction in a whole different way that should theoretically build schools once that program is in place at 30 percent less per school than we are building right now. That means if you have the money for three schools, you get a fourth one free. Mr. Kotas requested a copy of this bill. Rep. Andrews said this year it was in the appropriations bill and included $600,000 to pay for the first two sets of plans for elementary schools. He said he advised the Superintendents of Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach County that the money is there for a free set of architectural plans that you can use over and over. Mr. Weinstein said education has traditionally been a hodgepodge of repairs and Band-Aid types of situations. We solve problems by patching up. Perhaps Florida can be the first state to completely revamp the concept of education and completely codify a new program whereby there would be adequate funds for many things. For example, the most under utilized buildings in the United States are school buildings. There is no reason why schools cannot remain open for a longer period of time, and there is no reason not to double shift. He was talking about year round schools, a program whereby school teachers would get a 50 percent increase in salary, but they work a full year. He felt the 8 MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 3, 1996 entire educational program needs to be revamped and revised. The average teacher in the Philadelphia public schools works 900 hours a year. When he was a lawyer, he worked 2,800 hours a year. The average factory worker works 1,940 hours a year. He polled the teachers in his school and asked how many of them would accept a 50 percent increase in salary to work a full till. About 90 percent of them wanted to do it, but the Board of Education never did it. Rep. Andrews said there is no problem with the Palm Beach County School Board doing year round schools. Year round schools have been tried throughout the State. In our committee meetings, we hashed this out. We talked about what we could do at the State level to do this. We spent an entire summer researching, at our cost, what worked with year round schools and what did not work with year round schools. When the plans were implemented in various school districts, the School District was not savvy enough to figure out that if parents have a child in middle school and another child in elementary school, that those two children ought to be on the same sequence. Therefore, the parents revolted. This was in Orange County. Mr. Kotas stated that the reason for that is that they tried to phase in year round schools. Most communities will not accept it 100 percent. That is a political equation that unfortunately is a reality, and you get back to people's values, religious values, and some of the values we developed out of a Gregorian society that you are off in June, July, and August. Mr. Hawkins agreed that we need to retool and rethink the way we administer our school system. Everything boils down to dollars and cents. We can only spend so much. Rep. Andrews said going door to door to get votes was a very humbling experience. He knocked on front doors that needed paint, and eaves were rotting, which tells him that people are strapped and do not want to talk about taxes. Mr. Kotas said we are not a large earning State from a manufacturing standpoint and that is one of our problems. We relied on tourism too long, which provides minimum wage jobs. Enterprise Florida, in some of the incentive plans, is focusing those dollars back on tourism. We do not have the income levels to pay those taxes and we need to stimulate high tech industries. Rep. Andrews said we changed that this year. Mr. Kotas stated that if you look at the economic development funds used in every county versus what is used for the TDAs, you will find that the TDAs have $10 million whereas the 9 MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 3, 1996 economic developers have about $1 million. Mr. Brownstein stated that if it was not for government checks in South Florida, there would be no economy here at all because every major employer has either cut back or left. Motorola by themselves on a real good year might employ 100 people more, which is by no means going to make up for all those high paying jobs. Mr. Andrews understands that there are a lot of other issues, like Enterprise Florida. However, that changed this year. He felt we ought to focus on the schools in Boynton Beach and on what we can do as parents, SAC members, and volunteers, to make Boynton Beach schools what we want them to be. He felt there is a lot we could be doing to make life easier on the teachers, such as getting involved in the SAC programs and understanding our flexibility. For instance, Blueprint 2000 states that the parents, the teachers, and the principals are going to run their schools, not the School Board. Rep. Andrews said if a principal, parent, or teacher tells him that the School Board did not allow what a SAC committee wanted to do in their school, he will have them in front of the Commissioner of Education in a heartbeat. Mr. Brownstein said the problem is not flexibility and ideas of innovation. The problem is dollars. Rep. Andrews said it is not all dollars. He advised that the School Board recently increased the School Police by $500,000. However, he cannot get them to tell him what that $500,000 is for. Mr. Kotas did not think that is true and offered to get that information for Rep. Andrews. He said it is public information. Rep. Andrews said Tallahassee hopes more money goes directly to the schools so that the teachers can purchase whatever they need. He said he looked through the budget and is concerned about increases in certain items that he does not see justification for. He said he cannot put through a tax increase tomorrow or tell the Building Department to build schools a certain way. That is not what Tallahassee is all about. Those decisions are made locally. However, parents and people in the community can participate on their SACs, go over the school budget, work with the principals and teachers, and try to come up with solutions to whatever you are looking for in that particular school. He advised that the Florida Legislature is interested in home rule of money as much as possible. Rep. Andrews said he recommended public military schools to solve a problem that people have been complaining about for a long time, namely, that one rowdy ring leader in some of the classrooms. If you have 25 kids in a class and one kid is yelling and screaming 10 MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 3, 1996 eight hours a day, it does not matter if you have two teachers in there because the kids cannot learn. If you take that one kid out, maybe you could go to 28 because everyone is disciplined and learning. In addition, a public military school campus can be built for two- thirds of what any other campus can be built for. However, the School Board was not receptive to that idea. Tallahassee could pass a law and force them to have a military school concept, but they are not doing that. Ms. Newton asked if Rep. Andrews if he is in charge of curriculum. Rep. Andrews answered affirmatively. Ms. Newton asked if the State mandated that all the public schools in the State of Florida teach a Holocaust curriculum and a Black Studies curriculum and, if so, if funding was provided to do that. Rep. Andrews believes the Holocaust curriculum was mandated, but he was not sure about the Black Studies curriculum. He said there was no funding for this. The idea was to teach it instead of something else. He explained that there are two types of funding. He felt one is valid and the other is not. If you need materials to learn to teach a program, or if you need to throw out old books and buy new ones to teach a program, he felt we should pay for that. However, if the Holocaust material is already in the textbook, he did not think that is a funded mandate. He told about a bill that was passed this year, but was blocked because of the prayer amendment. The bill stated that the teachers will start to upgrade their math teaching. The President of the Math and Science Teachers Association came before the Committee and said if they are going to make the teachers teach algebra that they are going to need more money. Several teachers sit on the committee and asked the President of the Math and Science Teachers Association if the teachers are certified to teach algebra. He answered affirmatively but said many of them have forgotten it. Rep. Andrews said if we never asked you to teach algebra before and you needed the materials and training, the money has to be there. However, these teachers are being paid to teach a variety of math courses. He did not feel we should pay for their training again. Ms. Centi asked who is responsible for auditing. Rep. Andrews advised that the Auditor General's Office audits each school district on a periodic basis. At this time, Ms. Newton left the meeting. Rep. Andrews said a lot of people think there is graft and corruption in government. He stated that there is a very minute portion that is actually illegally taken. However, sometimes money inadvertently goes one way when it should have gone the other way. Mr. Kotas said this is why you elect seven School Board members and why it is important to get qualified people into those positions. 11 MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 3, 1996 Rep. Andrews pointed out that people talk about there not being enough materials in the classroom. He has had teachers in Palm Beach County tell him that they had too much money and had to spend it. At times, some classes could use more money and some could use less. If the SAC committees worked a little better, he felt that flow of money could be juggled around. Next year, he proposes to introduce in the Legislation Mark Foley's lock box theory where if the teacher does not need supplies one year, he or she can put it in a lock box and use in next year for perhaps something that cost more. Rep. Andrews said he knows of some classrooms that do not need anymore. They have so many supplies that you can barely walk in the door. Mr. Kotas said the principal already has that authority. Rep. Andrews said teachers have used the excuse that they have to burn up the money before the end of the year. Ms. Russell said there are a lot of things you have to burn up, such as the flexible spending and school technology funds. They cannot be held over. Mr. Brownstein pointed out that you may have an extra $50 in a classroom because a teacher did not spend it; however, he bet they were short somewhere else. He did not think that overall, there was a surplus. He asked if there is a catastrophe plan in place. Rep. Andrews agreed that we are in a crisis. He firmly believes that if you do not have education going right, then you have to give tax incentives to companies to move to one of the most beautiful places on the planet. To him, this is a sign that something is seriously wrong. Mr. Brownstein stated that there are radical ideas, but they all require money. We ought to be meeting these disadvantaged kids in the nursery when they are born and start reading to them so that when they get to kindergarten they are not so disadvantaged that they cannot learn. There are many things we should be doing but we do not have the money. Rep. Andrews asked why we should have to teach the English language to our one year olds when a Vietnamese child can come here at 10 years old and start speaking relatively decent English in three years. Mr. Brownstein pointed out that some children's parents do not speak English. Rep. Andrews referred to what he said earlier in the meeting about ADA, inclusion, and immigration being the reasons for the problems in Palm Beach County. Mr. Brownstein pointed out that we cannot tell the Federal Government to stop immigration. Mr. Kotas pointed out that most of the immigration is coming from New Jersey and New York. 12 MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 3, 1996 Mrs. Bradley said there are quite a few children whose parents do not speak English. Therefore, they are not getting the help at home. It is put on the teacher to try to teach them in the classroom and if they are disruptive, she has lost the whole class. Mr. Brownstein added that it is a multi-sided problem because those parents will not come near a school building because it is a government building and they are afraid of it. They do not speak the language and they are intimated by it. Rep. Andrews said this is causing us unbelievable expense. He referred to the amount of money spent on the children at the Royal Palm School. The equipment in one classroom at the Royal Palm School is worth about a quarter of a million dollars, and there are eight students in a class. He has feelings for those children and felt they should be supported, but not to the tune of a quarter of a million dollars. However, he cannot mandate that. This is what you elect a school board and a superintendent to do. Part of it is a local problem. We do 40 percent of the funding. The need for school construction in the next seven years in Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties cost $4 billion. We cannot take 10 percent of the entire State budget and build schools in Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach County. We have 67 counties. Rep. Andrews said this year, the State mandated the second chance school program. They want the unruly kids out of the general K through 12 classrooms. Rep. Andrews said there is nothing wrong with having a cadet school for K through 5. Mr. Brownstein thought a student was not assessed for anything until the middle of third grade. Rep. Andrews advised that the Legislatures are privy to checking out what is going on in other states and trying to learn from them. He can get anything on any Legislation anywhere in this country within three days. With the accountability part of Blueprint 2000, we are going to start checking on the students' reading and math abilities in three levels. However, there is no test. No state has started the accountability portion. We have to develop our own tests for the various levels that we want to test. The GED days are over. The community college presidents complain that they have to take in all the students with the remedial work. Fifty- one percent of the graduates cannot read and write. Mr. Kotas said that figure is incorrect. He said the community colleges are after the same funding as the K through 12 education, and you are going to fund the community colleges additional dollars if they tell you that. Rep. Andrews advised that they cannot qualify for that unless the child fails a certain test. Mr. Brownstein asked how students get through 12 grades without knowing how to read or write. Rep. Andrews stated that we are in the process of developing the tests to check them along the way. If the student fails a test, he 13 MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 3, 1996 will not advance. Mr. Weinstein stated that when he went to school, there were 44 students in a class and everyone knew how to read and write. Fifty percent of those children came from homes where their parents did not speak English, and nobody went to pre-kindergarten. Everybody graduated and most went on to college. He felt South Florida is not utilizing its school buildings, its facilities, and its senior citizens who are willing to volunteer their help. He was in favor of eliminating all pre-kindergarten. Rep. Andrews felt pre-kindergarten is a baby-sitting service. The State regulates very strictly who we can hire to maintain these children, and it is very costly. You could increase the toddler program by 20 percent with no cost increase at all if you would allow one person to have five children instead of four, as required by law. Mr. Weinstein advised that during World War II there were psychological education units and they were able to take totally illiterate people from the back woods of Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama, etc., and teach them to how to read and write on a sixth grade level in three months. Rep. Andrews was interested in finding out more about this. Mr. Weinstein suggested he contact the Federal Government. He said in education, there is a readiness date. He did not think a pre-kindergarten student is ready to learn subtle, abstract educational concepts. Psychological experiments have shown that if you take twins and start teaching one of them before the other, the second one will catch up with the first one inside of a very abbreviated period of time when they reach readiness date. Mr. Brownstein said Mr. Weinstein is talking about people with the ability to learn but were never given the opportunity. He said he was told that these children cannot learn because they have been damaged before they even started kindergarten. Mr. Weinstein felt every child, regardless of his background, has the ability to learn given the appropriate educational process, motivation, and proper administration. Mrs. Bradley stated that Dr. Kowal said she cannot do anything and we have to contact our Legislators, and Rep. Andrews said he cannot do anything and we have to contact the School Board and our SACs. She would like to know who is on the State Education Committee, and she wondered if the laws need to be changed. Rep. Andrews advised that on November 19th, there will be a reorganizational meeting of the House and the Senate, and the members of the committees will change. He suggested that if the board feels a particular subject should be State law, that they contact his 14 MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 3, 1996 administrative assistant, Pam, at 379-1616, and she will research the problem. He estimated that 97 percent of the things you will come up with do not need a law. He offered to go with us to the School Board. Mr. Weinstein asked Rep. Andrews to send him a copy of the School Code. Rep. Andrews appreciated the board's time. He was willing to come back any time, and offered his staff's services. He said he wants children to come out of school with a great education, and he stated that it is up to the people to change things. C. Automatic Student Resignations from Advisory Boards In response to Chairperson Denahan's question at the last meeting, Commissioner Titcomb reported that there was a consensus of the City Commission that there needed to be a mechanism to address the problem of high school graduates going onto college without submitting a written resignation to the board. Therefore, this matter was referred back to staff to write the necessary language in ordinance form so that high school graduates are automatically retired from the board upon their graduation date. At this time, Rep. Andrews and Commissioner Titcomb left the meeting. D. Congress Middle School Chairperson Denahan said the board is concerned about getting the funding that Congress Middle School needs to bring it up to standard and to get the magnet curriculum integrated. Mr. Watson advised that Congress Middle School is well diversified. The five main ethnic groups in his school are Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and Haitians. Furthermore, thirteen different languages are spoken during the Pledge of Allegiance. He explained the lab program that he is trying to get started in his school. Mr. Hawkins asked about the technology upgrades at Congress Middle School. Mr. Watson advised that each room now has four computers. Chairperson Denahan appreciated Mr. Watson hosting this meeting, and all his work on getting the school up to standard. 15 MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 3, 1996 VII. OLD BUSINESS A. Committee Reports Congress Middle School Mr. Weinstein reported that the SAC asked this board to try to induce some business to join their SAC. Santaluces High School Ms. Price advised that officers were appointed to the SAC. A vote was taken regarding whether or not the students and teachers would like to dress more formal for school or wear uniforms, and most of them preferred the present school dress code. Atlantic Community High School Vice Chairperson Centi reported that the SAC elected officers and is going to start working on Project Graduation. Forest Park Elementary School Chairperson Denahan reported that there are still problems concerning the safety of the children with regard to parent pick up. The bus loop is in and construction is underway. Former Police Chief Thomas Dettman promised us daily visibility of police officers last year, and Chief Gage said he would try to do this. Poinciana is delivering the students' lunches to Forest Park Elementary School, and all the children are eating in their own classrooms, which the children like. Galaxy Elementary School Mr. Brownstein advised that the SAC's next goal is to contact the other five elementary schools and form a committee in Boynton Beach. He felt the School Board has made it plain that Boynton Beach is a step child and is not going to be treated like Boca Raton. The only option he sees is to form our own little mini school district and maybe a small charter school district amongst the elementary and maybe middle schools. We would all have to join together to do that. If we file the appropriate waivers, we can then lose the Palm Beach County School Board budget and spend the money more appropriately. The 16 MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 3, 1996 SAC is establishing a committee to work with the other SAC chairs to do that. Rolling Green Elementary School Chairperson Denahan reported that this was one of the most well run SAC meetings she has attended. The staff is very motivated and love their children. The entire staff is involved with the SAC in one way or another. Rolling Green Elementary School has an excellent staff and they are working very hard to change their image. Poinciana Elementary School Mr. Brownstein stated that Poinciana has a traditional SAC that is going to review their School Improvement Plan and update the wording to 1997. Chairperson Denahan added that it was typical of the first SAC meeting and it was well organized and well prepared. Citrus Cove Elementary School Ms. Russell was not able to attend the SAC meeting, but asked the secretary of the SAC for a copy of the minutes of the meeting when they are available. Chairperson Denahan asked the members to sign up as liaisons if they are able to attend other SAC meetings. Liaisons are needed for Lake Worth Community High School, Lake Worth Christian School, Galaxy Elementary School, Hagen Ranch Road Elementary School, Crystal Lakes Elementary School, and Plumosa. C. Christa McAuliffe Award Chairperson Denahan advised that at the September 17, 1996 City Commission meeting, Mayor Taylor acknowledged the principal and her staff for the great strides this school has made on their Florida Writes test. D. Congratulations to Sandra Richmond and Jody Gleason Chairperson Denahan advised that she sent Ms. Richmond and Ms. Gleason the board's congratulations on their re-elections. VIII. NEW BUSINESS 17 MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 3, 1996 A. Discuss resolution for the Lottery Accountability Act Mr. Weinstein drafted a resolution for submission to the City Commission. Chairperson Denahan pointed out that the resolution does not address the definition of enhancement or the scholarship program. Mr. Weinstein felt the scholarship program should be addressed in a separate resolution. He felt the resolution would have a better chance of being enacted in the Legislature if there are not so many issues addressed in one resolution. Chairperson Denahan suggested drafting two additional resolutions; one pertaining to the definition of enhancement, and the other regarding the scholarship program. Ms. Ready suggested requesting them to release the unclaimed lottery funds. Mr. Hawkins asked if these issues are addressed in the Lottery Accountability Act. Chairperson Denahan stated that according to Rep. Rayson, they are not. Mr. Hawkins suggested adding verbiage in the resolution that these issues are not addressed in current legislation. Motion Ms. Russell moved to accept the resolution with the verbiage suggested by Mr. Hawkins', and the two additional resolutions as suggested by Chairperson Denahan. Mr. Weinstein was opposed to utilization of money for college programming. The motion carried 5-1. Mr. Weinstein cast the dissenting vote. Vice Chairperson Centi pointed out that Rep. Rayson suggested that we get together with five other cities and have them join us with regard to the resolution regarding Lottery Accountability. Mr. Hawkins explained the procedure. If these resolutions are adopted by the City Commission, they will be sent to the Municipal League, which consists of all the cities in Palm Beach County. This will give all the other cities an opportunity to adopt resolutions as well. IX. CORRESPONDENCE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS 18 MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 3, 1996 A. Correspondence Chairperson Denahan congratulated Mr. Ehster for being moved up to a regular member of this board, and she was pleased that Muslima Lewis was reappointed to the board. B. Announcements 1. Youth in Government Day - October 29, 1996 Chairperson Denahan made this announcement. 2. Youth Expo - November 2-3, 1996 at the Boynton Beach Mall Chairperson Denahan made this announcement. 3. Boynton Beach Multi-cultural Festival - Saturday, November 16, 1996 at Boat Club Park Chairperson Denahan made this announcement. Vice Chairperson Centi advised that on behalf of this board, a flag was presented to the Community Relations Board at the City Commission meeting. 4. Farewell Party for City Manager Carrie Parker Hill Chairperson Denahan announced that a farewell party for City Manager Carrie Parker Hill will be held on Friday, October 18, 1996, at 7:30 p.m. at the Woman's Club. Tickets can be purchased from Susan Berman in the City Manager's Office. 5. Atlantic High School IB Program Vice Chairperson Centi suggested that at a City Commission meeting, this board present Atlantic High School and Carole Shetler with an award for the IB Program. 6. Rep. Klein's recommendation to contact School Board 19 MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 3, 1996 Mr. Ehster pointed out that Rep. Klein recommended that somebody from this board get in touch with School Board administration and follow up on the one cent sales tax. He would like to know if the City Commission would like us to do that. Chairperson Denahan will speak to Mr. Kotas and Larry Zabik about this. X. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the board, the meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m. Eve Eubanks Recording Secretary (Two Tapes) 20