HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes EAB 101904EDUCATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE
October 19, 2004
Minutes
The Education Advisory Committee met on October 19, 2004. The meeting was called to
order at 5:35 PM in the Council Chambers of the Municipal Complex, located at 10500
North Military Trail, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and opened with the pledge of
allegiance.
I. OATH OF OFFICE
Patricia Snider, City Clerk administered the Oath of Office to all regular members
and all alternate members who were present.
II. ROLL CALL
Members Present: Wayne Anderson, Carol Dardick, Mark Falasca, John Gardner,
Ilene Gerber, Ed Gruvman, Percy Kavasmaneck, Ava Sugar. Ron Sadaka arrived
at 6:05 P.M.
Also Present: Charlotte Presensky, Staff Liaison, Debbie Andrea, Alternate Staff
Liaison, Jennifer Holdt, Volunteer Coordinator, Christine Tatum, City Attorney,
Patricia Snider, City Clerk and Susan Bell, Public Information/Recording
Coordinator. Dolores Key, Economic Development/Marketing Administrator
joined the meeting at 6:55 PM.
III. SELECTION OF INTERIM OFFICERS (to serve until January 2005)
Patricia Snider, City Clerk acting as the temporary chair, opened the floor up to
nominations for interim chair and vice chair. The board voted 6 -0 to elect Wayne
Anderson as Chairperson and Ed Gruvman as Vice - Chairperson.
IV. ORIENTATION SESSION
The board was given an orientation session that was led by Christine Tatum, City
Attorney and' Patricia Snider, City Clerk. The orientation included the
background and overview of the City's Boards and Committees, the powers and
duties of the Education Advisory Committee, the Florida Sunshine Law, public
records requests, ethics and financial disclosure. All board members were given a
Board and Committee notebook that explained in detail, everything that was
discussed in the orientation.
All the board members introduced themselves and gave a brief description of their
background.
It was announced that Wayne Anderson and Ed Gruvman were invited to a
breakfast at the school board representing business people who have helped the
schools in the community. Wayne Anderson was the recipient of the gold award
for Community Leader and Ed Gruvman won the gold award for small business.
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V. ITEMS BY STAFF LIAISON
Charlotte Presensky discussed the "read and file folder" that she has provided to
the board members. The "read and file" information included facts about the City
including demographic data, corporate planning and economic development in the
City, an overview of the City schools, a summary of capital improvements and a
copy of Resolution 137, 2004 which states that the City supports the %z cent sales
tax increase that will be voted on in the November 2, 2004 election.
Wayne Anderson asked if Charlotte felt the board members should sit on a School
Advisory Council to allow them to find out what's going on in the schools and
their problems and concerns. This will allow board members to bring that
information back to the board while interacting with the schools. Charlotte stated
that she felt it would be a definite asset for the board members to be involved in the
school advisory councils.
Wayne also had some concerns regarding the committee's past experiences when it
came to time sensitive issues. He stated that in the past, it was hard to get a
response from City Council in a timely matter, especially for matters that are
happening on a State level and need immediate attention. Charlotte responded that
she and Debbie Andrea will do whatever they can to make sure issues are
addressed in a timely matter. She said there were two avenues available to reach
City Council. The first is to try and get the item on the Council agenda or possibly
include it in the City Manager's Report. The second is to formulate a memo
through the committee chair which Charlotte will distribute to each council
member.
Charlotte stated that she would like to see the Education Advisory Committee meet
their goals for the year so they can go back to City Council and ask that this
committee be reinstated as a regular board for next year.
The board discussed having different speakers address the committee as a means of
giving the board information and getting information out to the community.
VI. OLD BUSINESS
None
VII. NEW BUSINESS
Committee Goals
The board discussed the committee goals for the upcoming year. Charlotte went
over the goals that were recommended by staff which included:
• Investigate and report on matters directed to the Committee by City
Council.
• Encourage broad -based citizen participation concerning public
educational services within the City limits.
• Establish annual awards programs on behalf of the City Council,
recognizing outstanding students, teachers, and community leaders.
• Support the development of educational resources within the community,
including adult education and lifelong learning.
• Provide an annual report to the Council on the status of education within
the community.
• Host an annual educational forum where citizens can interact and discuss
issues, hopes, and concerns with local educational entities.
• Encourage information exchange during Committee meetings to facilitate
the exchange of knowledge about individual school operations.
• Develop recommendations for the City Council regarding suggested
actions- to be taken to affect the quality of local schools or to support
issues related to educational legislation.
Dolores Key, Economic Development/Marketing Administrator for the City spoke to the
board briefly about the future economic development plans for the city and how the
education advisory committees ties into those plans. She also discussed having a joint
meeting between the Education Advisory Committee and the Economic Development
Advisory Board.
The board decided to change the regular monthly meeting time from 5:30 to 6:00 PM.
Debbie Andrea, Alternate Staff Liaison and Citizens Services Specialist for the City
discussed the fact that the City does not have any adult education programs that are
conducted by the Palm Beach County School Board and held at City public schools.
Debbie went on to say that when she called the school board to question why there are no
adult education being held in Palm Beach Gardens, she was told that there was no real
resident interest and past classes were not well attended. She suggested the board get
involved in stimulating interest in adult education and bringing it back to the community.
Eva Sugar handed out a report that is put out by Sylvan Learning Centers Corporation,
which gives a global picture of education in the country. It explains how to understand
test scores and a perspective of what is happening in our community versus the country
when it comes to SAT scores and State wide testing.
VII. ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 7:15
PM.
Approval: p
l
t
Wayne A6derson, Chairperson
Ed Gruvman, Vice airperson
7
Ilene Gerber, Board Member
John Gardner, Board Member
Mark alasca, Board Member
�Sa a, Board Member
�-�arol--Ddrdick, Board Member
Percy kAvasmaneck, Alternate Board Member
Ava gugar, Alt ate Board Member
Attest:
Susan Bell
Public Information/ Recording Coordinator