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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. lb 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