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Minutes 05-27-10 MINUTES OF THE EDUCATION AND YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD MEETING HELD ON MAY 27, 2010 AT 7:00 P.M. IN CITY COMMISSION CHAMBERS, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA PRESENT: Steve Waldman, Chair Sherri Claude, Board Liaison Hattie Miller Lori Wilkinson Myra Jones Carol Lundquist Robert Chiste, Student Regular-Voting Member Emily Schweitzer, Student Regular Voting Member ABSENT: Mary Morera, Vice Chair Paulette Ford Jose De La Torre Tiffany North I. Call to Order Chair Waldman called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. II. Pledge of Allegiance/Moment of Silent Reflection The members recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag followed by a moment of silent reflection for our troops in harms way and for the oil spill. III. Approval of Minutes of April 22, 2010 Ms. Wilkinson clarified at the City Commission meeting, Poinciana Elementary School was discussed. She pointed out she asked the City Commission for funds, as did former Commissioner Mack McCray, and she wanted to ensure it was not a mistake based on what was said. Chair Waldman was unsure whether Ms. Gibson petitioned the City Commission. He also advised the team travelled to East Lansing, Michigan. In addition to the funds the Board gave, the Chamber of Commerce gave them $2,000 and they fundraised for the event. Motion Mr. Chiste moved to approve. Ms. Lundquist seconded the motion that unanimously passed. 1 Meeting Minutes Education and Youth Advisory. Board Boynton Beach, FL May 27, 2010 IV. Approval of Agenda Ms. Wilkinson added a request for a letter from the Board to New Business as Item D. There were no other additions and the agenda was approved by consensus. V. Announcements /Presentations /Correspondence Chair Waldman advised BankAtlantic donated $25 to the Board. He commented the Board requested the donation late in the Bank's budget cycle and the Bank had already given out several scholarships. He expressed he was hopeful they could obtain more funding next year. VI. Public Audience There was no public audience. VII. New Business A. Board Elections: Chair and Vice Chair Ms. M-ura Wilkinson nominated Steve Waldman for Chair. Mr. Chiste seconded the nomination. There were no other nominations made and nominations were closed. Mr. Waldman accepted the nomination. A vote was taken and Mr. Waldman was elected Chair. Chair Waldman opened the floor for nominations for the position of Vice Chair. Ms. Wilkinson noted Ms. Morera was absent and inquired if she had indicated that she would not be interested in serving again as Vice Chair. There was a question whether a member could be nominated even though they were absent. Chair Waldman responded the nomination could be made. Ms. Jones disagreed and submitted her own name for Vice Chair. Ms. Edwards Wilkinson seconded the nomination. Ms. Wilkinson nominated Ms. Morera. Ms. Lundquist seconded the nomination and the nominations were closed. Two votes were cast for Ms. Jones and five votes were cast for Ms. Morera. Ms. Morera was declared Vice Chair. B. Change meeting schedule to bimonthly or quarterly Sherri Claude, Board Liaison, explained some of the other advisory boards were meeting bi- monthly or quarterly instead of monthly. She inquired if the members were interested in doing the same. 2 Meeting Minutes Education and Youth Advisory Board Boynton Beach, FL May 27, 2010 Ms. Wilkinson expressed she had no problem with fewer meetings, but pointed out the Board was involved with several activities and time was of the essence. She clarified she would like fewer meetings and suggested, since the Board was aware of what functions were pending and when, that they not meet on the slower months. The members were polled regarding their preferences and after discussion it was agreed the Board would meet each month, with the option to not hold a meeting and to double up when appropriate. He noted the November and December meetings were usually combined. There was also agreement the Board would combine their June and July meeting and meet in July. Myra Jones announced on June 25, 2010 at 7 p.m. the Watutu Children’s Choir would be performing at St. John Missionary Baptist Church. She invited the members to the free performance. Ms. Jones hosted the Choir for the opening of the Carolyn Sims Center. There were 27 youths, aged 8 to 14, and 12 chaperones including the bus driver and wife. The Choir had been travelling in Canada and the United States for six months. This was the last part of their journey in South Florida, travelling to Miami Gardens next. If a member wanted to book the group, they would be available Saturday, Saturday night and Sunday night. The City Commissioners would receive a press release shortly after the holiday about the event and the employees and other youth organizations would be informed. Ms. Jones hoped the Choir could receive additional press and commented there would be interviews held prior to and immediately after the performance. She also advised the Palm Beach Post and Sun-Sentinel were already contacted. C. Donation Request: Track Club Ms. Jones explained this team demonstrated excellent sportsmanship, talent and skills. The team had made a donation request, but Ms. Jones thought the amount of $1,600 was a bit much. She suggested a $500 donation would be more appropriate. The members were polled regarding their thoughts on the amount to donate. Chair Waldman noted the community contributions were low and the Board had not received any leftover campaign contributions, nor were any discretionary funds available. There was agreement the lesser amount was fitting. Motion Ms. Jones moved that the Board give the track team being supervised by Clyde Harris $500 at this time. Ms. Schweitzer seconded the motion. The motion unanimously passed. There was discussion that the request was dated in April and they may have been able to raise funds. If they were in need of further funds, they should re-approach the Board. 3 Meeting Minutes Education and Youth Advisory Board Boynton Beach, FL May 27, 2010 On a different matter, Ms. Wilkinson requested the Board write to the State Department of Education. One item that was an issue with the State was the FCAT test. Next year, the Department of Education scheduled the test during Passover. She acknowledged the test did not fall within the first few days of the holiday, but she expressed aside from that, it was her belief it was culturally insensitive and there was the potential that families could be gathering and youth would stay up later due to the holiday and then test the next day tired. The request was for the Department of Education to move the test up or back one week. The County Commission already wrote a letter. She requested the City Commission do the same request, and thought the Board should too. Additionally, many individuals vowed to reintroduce Senate Bill 6 that Governor Crist vetoed, which affected teacher pay if the students did not perform well on the test. The holiday would affect the test grades and the teacher’s pay. Ms. Jones felt it was extremely personal if the Board only addressed FCAT. There were many more issues that could be addressed. She gave an example using Memorial Day, or Veterans Day and expressed she was saddened when teachers were working on Veterans Day. She acknowledged the importance of the FCAT, but felt the freedom the country enjoys was the result of veterans who gave their lives. She suggested that addressing the FCAT in the letter, while not addressing schools being open on Veterans Day would be inappropriate. She commented teachers use their personal time if they want to observe Veterans Day. There was discussion the letter regarding FCAT would be sent to Tallahassee, while the letter regarding Veterans Day should be sent to the School Board. There was further discussion if students were absent for the FCAT, there was a retake date. Ms. Wilkinson expressed she did not think, in this instance, the Department of Education would take that stance due to the high number of Jewish students and teachers in the South Florida and Orlando area. She noted Polk County does not take the Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur holiday off because they do not have a high population that observes those holidays; however, Palm Beach County does. The FCAT was scheduled for next year, but at this juncture, there would be time for the date to be adjusted to accommodate the holiday. Ms. Jones suggested a petition be drafted for the public to sign. If an overwhelming response was received, then a letter could be attached to it and sent to the State. There was discussion it may be better to send the letter first. There was no opposition to writing a letter which Ms. Wilkinson agreed to draft and distribute to all the members. It was noted the letter was a Board letter, not from individual members of the Board. The Board could also draft a second letter informing the County School Board of their view that school should not be held on Veterans Day. This year Veterans Day was a Teacher’s Planning Day, which was thought to be a compromise. 4 Meeting Minutes Education and Youth Advisory Board Boynton Beach, FL May 27, 2010 There was agreement Chair Waldman and Ms. Jones would work on a letter, to be circulated to the members as a Board letter. It was further agreed a copy of the letter would be sent to Governor Crist and the Department of Education. Ms. Wilkinson offered to draft the letter as well and no objections from the Board were received in that regard. VIII. Old Business A. Bowling Tournament Chair Waldman indicated Ms. Morera had inquired about the bowling tournament, which was a doubles tournament the Board has held in the past. The Board only raised about $100 on the event which started out as a fund-raiser and then turned into a social event. The event was normally held during the summer and Chair Waldman inquired if the members thought the event could do better during the school year or if the Board wanted to address the issue in July. He emphasized it was not a major money-maker; they only charged $20 and prizes and trophies were awarded. It was pointed out that holding the event during the year could create competition with schools, because most schools held a bowling event and their fee was $10. When the Board held the event during the summer about 40 people played but by the time the expenses were paid, the profit was minimal. It was also noted the $20 fee was for two people to play as a doubles team, which equated to a $10 fee per person. It was suggested if the event would be planned as a fall event, it should be planned to be successful. Chair Waldman offered to speak with Carters and AMF Bowling Lanes, and after discussion, there was consensus for Chair Waldman to start contacting the bowling lanes and the item would be more fully addressed in July. B. Fundraising The members were asked to come up with fundraising ideas. Ms. Wilkinson commented her Kiwanis Club held a raffle. They would expend the money to purchase an item, such as a flat screen TV and raffle tickets were sold. Ms. Claude advised the City Attorney in the past advised the Board could not hold a raffle. Another suggestion made by Ms. Wilkinson was a ”Shred-a-Thon”. The organization retained a shredding company, who donated a truck with paper shredding equipment, for a few hours and participants were charged $5 a box to shred it. The size of the box was equivalent to a box used in ordering copy paper. The concept publicized to participants was it was a way to safely discard old papers and the event tied into recycling. She noted the Kiwanis Club earned $650. There was discussion if the Board was interested in the event, they would have to find a shredding company. She commented it was expensive to do so, but they could then target and solicit CPAs, law firms which comprised a large number of the participants. 5 Meeting Minutes Education and Youth Advisory Board Boynton Beach, FL May 27, 2010 They held the event in the parking lot of Spanish River Community High School. There was very little work involved and the event was publicized by the use of flyers. The Board could contact the Chamber of Commerce. Banks or real estate offices may participate. Ms. Wilkinson would research the event and vendor and bring her findings back to the Board. Chair Waldman inquired about selling items at local concerts. In the past they received donations of cookies from Panera Bread and charged one dollar. They made some money and Chair Waldman agreed to contact Panera Bread again. Ms. Claude recommended contacting the Community Redevelopment Agency. She noted this year the concerts were being held on Ocean Avenue, and she did not anticipate they would have an objection to selling at the new location. She did advise, however, the concert series was over this year but it could be something the Board could do for the next series. Chair Waldman agreed to contact them. Ms. Lundquist inquired if the Board had received any responses from Target and other corporations to solicit funds for the Board. Chair Waldman responded there were no responses received yet from any of the corporations. On a different note, Ms. Wilkinson congratulated Board member Chiste on his acceptance to the University of Miami. IX. Future Meeting Dates - To be Determined X. Adjournment There being no further business to discuss, the meeting properly adjourned at 7:55 p.m. ~ClJw'1 Catherine Cherry Recording Secretary 061610 6