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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes EAB 101100CITY OF PALM BEACH GARDENS is EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD OCTOBER 11, 2000 The October 11, 2000, Regular meeting of the City of Palm Beach Gardens Education Advisory Board was called to order at 5:40 P.M. by Vice Chair Leslie Millar in the City Manager's Conference- Room of the Municipal Complex located at 10500 North Military Trail:, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The roll was called and the following members were found to be in attendance: Wayne Anderson, Ilene Gerber, Judith Hanrahan, Nancy Krause- Laurie, Vice Chair Leslie Millar, James Panoch; Jan Porter; and Charlotte Schiff. City Council Liaison Vice Mayor Eric Jablin was:also present, but had to leave after approximately 20 minutes. Jan Porter arrived during presentation of Committee Reports. StudentEdithe Delhomme arrived later in the meeting. Motion was made by Wayne Anderson, seconded--by: Ilene Gerber, to approve the minutes of the September 13, 2000 meeting as - submitted - Motion carried_ by unanimous vote. Committee Reports Public Liaison - Nancy Krause -Laurie reported people-had been contacted regarding the meeting change. .. Boundaries - There was no report. Curriculum - There was no report. School Board Forum - James-Panoch reported next year's - budget had been discussed at the budget workshop. At the audit workshop it had-beerrdecided to more closely monitor construction, that - it was not the School Board's: responsibility to see that charter schools did not fail; and a change in the way teachers' payroll was handled was discussed A meeting of representatives from °Miami -Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach County had-been held in Ft Lauderdale, at which there had been discussion regarding signing bonuses; down payments on homes, etc. I­ ancl- other incentives to attract ® Page 1 of 5 teachers. They had expressed concern with the anticipated large numbers of children moving into the area, and had discussed joint contracts. Another member of the Board commented regarding anewspaper articlewhich had discussed money to build schools with smaller - .class sizes that had not -been properly allocated. Partnership - There was no report. SAC Meeting Reports Allamanda Elementary - Wayne Anderson reported discipline was better this year, attendance was lower, concern had been expressed that_parents were not coming to SAC meetings, and ways to-- *increase SAC meeting attendance had been discussed. Palm Beach Gardens Elementary. - .Where was no report. Timber Trace Elementary -There was no report. Grove Park Elementary - There was no report. 0 H. L. Watkins Middle - There was no report. Watson B. Duncan Middle - Judy Hanrahan reported the -school improvement program had been discussed, new teachers could= -be hired because enrollment was up, a pre - FCAT test was to be held, 8th-grade would have a-- 9-week exam, a change in fund raiser had been discussed; and students .were to wear ID.. School of the Arts Middle - There was no report. Palm Beach Gardens High Leslie Millar reported there had been discussion on the budget, and a teacher taking students to Australia had been granted $500. William T. Dwyer Hi*- Nancy Krause Laurie reported the students had ID badges, that classes that had been added; that there would be a mentoring__program, and discussed school improvement objectives -that ha&been - discussed. Leslie Millar reported she = attended a football -game at this school -anrl had been impressed with crowd control-Provided by the Palms Beach Gardens police department. • Page 2 of 5 ® Suncoast High - Jim Panoch reported there had been discussion of a lot of numbers after which they had concluded they were a very good school; and election of chairs and co- chairs consisting of parents and-faculty. Mr. Panoch-commented his impression had been that the faculty members ran the show. Alexander W. Dreyfoos, Jr. School of the Arts - Jan Porter reported discussion had been held regarding money won last year for being an "A" school, advance payment, landscaping, that the middle school still did not have a cafeteria, equity funds, partnership with City Place, fiend- raising, and students skipping classes. North Tech - There was no report. During additional discussion it was noted there had never- -been a meeting with Riviera Beach and that there were- only two alternative= students: at Eisenhower Elementary, who were not to ride the same -bus as the other: students. Wayne Anderson was to follow up. Discussion ensued: It-was reported that administration of the alternative program was a-mess and-them was- so much red tapeitwasverydifcult to get a child into the program. It was d_ecidect to table this item for - further discussion pending obtaining more informations and to invite the Superintendent-of Area 5 to be a guest speaker on the subject of alternative schools. Old Business Golf Digest - This subject was tabled to a future meeting. Concurrency - There was no- new information regarding the City Council's position. Other Business - Wayne Anderson suggested- that in the- futir€e guest speakers be scheduled before the business of the-Board Scheduling Board meetings earlier than 7:30 p.m. was to be discussed at the next meeting. Nancy Krause- Laurie reported teachers that had been overpaid some time ago had been notified the overpayment was to be taken out of future= _payroll checks; and the teachers . had objected that the deduction was to be in gross pay, which was not the:: correct, solution. The Board indicated they- would like to invite Wayne Anderson's wife to be a guest speaker to share the methods she had used to obtain _ great success in improving, student reading levels. ® Page 3 of 5 0 Guest Speakers - Political Candidates Michael Danchuck, candidate for House of Representatives for District 83, discussed the problems of the schools. Mr. Danchuck stressed the first thing that must be done was to increase respect for: teachers. Other suggestions were to encourage teacher incentives and better salaries, to offer more electives so children would want to go to school, and to provide a safe haven. Pam Dunston, also a candidate for District 83, discussed her background and experience from working on various boards and programs, and in particular noted her appointment to the Children's- Services Council by Governor Chiles. Ms. Dunston commented she had been instrumental in programs for children, including a free and reduced lunch program, and expressed her interest in- education. One of the items she hoped to accomplish was to--establish -after school programs, since studies had shown that after school -,was the -- time - a lot of unsupervise& children got into trouble. Ms. Dunston related- her many-- years of experience working in early education, and noted she had experience with -:.privatization_ - Ms. Dunston- favored separate alternative schools instead of incorporating alternative proms into existing schools, and explained that the- Eckerd- wilderness Program had- been used for alternative students to teach respect and= hour to get along with others. Ms. Dunston favored fewer administrators and more teachers,-and more on- sitemanagementin:the school system, and requested a " yes" vote - forte €hiidren -'s °Services Council on,the November ballot. Ms. Dunston answered questionssfrom the Board members. Mark Hendrickson, City Forester, explained he-had worked with the School Board on complaints received by the -City regarding Duncan= Middle :School. Mr. Hendrickson explained that because of safety concerns, the School Board was in the process of trying to make the schools safer; and -that:part of their:program included removing vegetation that someone - -could hide-behind. Mr: Hendrickson reported that Shady Lakes development, located= immediately south- of Duncan Middle . School, had negotiated an agreement in-1989fora 50-foot-buffer--between their their development and the school, and now the School Board had retmovedtlwbuffer, causing complaints from the residents. Mr. Hendrickson- presented the original: approved master plan of the school. Mr. Hendrickson advised the Board that-this: would probably happen with all the schools, and that the City -was trying to mediate -to reach a compromise between the concerns of theresidents and the safety issue in-the schools, and the School Board had ceased removing vegetation: until° some solution could be reache . Mr. Hendrickson 0 Page 4 of 5 ® pointed out that at another school the buffer was a preserve area, which would be a problem. Mr. Hendrickson commented that landscaping served many purposes, and he had wanted to make the Board aware1hat there was a real security issue with the schools. Mr. Hendrickson advised that - the: School Board would probably only agree to barriers consisting of -two- chain link fences: with native vegetation in between them, and invited any ideas from the Board. Vice Chair Millar commented one of her students was present, and it was noted she would be given credit for attending. New Business The next meeting was scheduled for November 8, 2000. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 7:15 p.m. • • Page 5 of 5