HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes EAB 081298• CITY OF PALM BEACH GARDENS
EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD
AUGUST 12, 1998
The August 12, 1998, Regular meeting of the City of Palm Beach Gardens Education
Advisory Board was called to order at 7:30 P.M. in the Council Chambers of the
Municipal Complex located at 10500 North Military Trail, Palm Beach Gardens,
Florida.
The roll was called and the following were found to be in attendance: Alan Adams,
Chair Wayne Anderson, Anne Berg, Ilene Gerber, Mary Inglis, Deborah Martel, Vice
Chair Leslie Millar, Murtaza Kakil, Jan Porter, Ron Sedaka, Adam Adgood, City of
Palm Beach Gardens Liaison Paul Friedman, and City Council Liaison Eric Jablin.
Alan Sara joined the meeting after roll call.
The minutes of the June 24, 1998 meeting were reviewed. Deborah Martel requested
that her name be spelled correctly. Alan Adams requested that the 4th sentence under
General Business be changed to read as follows: "It was reported that the Municipal
• League was contacted to help pass a Concurrency Ordinance." Jan Porter made a
motion to accept the minutes of the June 24, 1998 meeting as amended. Motion was
seconded by Alan Adams and unanimously carried.
City of Palm Beach Gardens Liaison Paul Friedman reviewed operating procedures of
the Board, and explained that the Board served as a conduit of information for the City
Council so that the City Council could determine whether they wished to act on the
Board's recommendations. Mr. Friedman explained that the Board did not have
authorization to make policies; explained that under the Sunshine Law the Board's
business could only be discussed at Board meetings; advised that the Board would set
goals and prioritize them; explained that all the Board's meetings were public and must
be advertised and were posted on the bulletin boards, and that anyone had the right to
attend, to make comments, and to request copies of the meeting minutes. Mr. Friedman
explained that the meetings were conducted according to Robert's Rules of Order,
explained parliamentary procedure, and requested that the Chair recognize each
speaker during discussions so that the person typing the minutes would know who
spoke, which would also make the meetings go smoother. Mr. Friedman explained that
a quorum was 50% plus one, and a majority vote was needed to carry. The procedure
• by which recommendations from the Board became Resolutions approved by the City
Council was explained. Mr. Adams explained that at standing committee meetings
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Education Advisory Board
August 12, 1998
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research was done which was later brought before the Board where approval was given
by a quorum of the members, thereby making policy. Procedure for posting meetings
was discussed.
Chair Anderson reported the Standing Committees had not met. Mr. Adams verified
that the Chair of each Standing Committee had a copy of the previous year's annual
report to use as a guide to write the new annual reports. Chair Anderson requested
those reports from each committee by next meeting. Committee functions as listed in
the agenda were discussed, with additions made where appropriate. Chair Anderson
recommended a handout for potential new Board members so that they would know
what this Board did before joining, and that new members either join a SAC or listen
to and report back on the County board meetings.
Paulette Burdick, candidate for re- election to the School Board, District 2, addressed
• the Board, stressed the need to listen to teachers and school children, to create new
facilities, to modernize and maintain existing schools, and described accomplishments
of the School Board over the past four years, including providing staff development and
training for teachers, curriculum changes, conflict resolution, dogs trained to sniff out
drugs, after - school programs, truancy intervention programs, alternative schools, and
providing additional school nurses. Ms. Burdick recommended that focus should be
on mental health, to help prevent abuse of children. Different reading curriculums were
discussed. Measures used to address problems as alternatives to out -of- school
suspensions were described. Mr. Adams expressed concern that the new literacy
program did not provide special help to children who had difficulty reading, and
questioned whether it would be better to use the money that was spent on reducing
class size by one to hire reading teachers to go into the elementary schools to handle
the children who were testing in quartile one. Ms. Burdick explained that one approach
was to offer a visiting nurse to go to every home in the county with a new infant to
provide the parent with a development program for play skills and health care because
children's brains must be stimulated during the period from birth to 5 years, and to
insure that all child care facilities were licensed, using developmentally appropriate
activities and encouraging reading. Every school would have Reading Recovery
• programs used to target children with reading problems when they reached school age.
Ms. Burdick described the Pupil Progression Plan, now in two County schools, in
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Education Advisory Board
August 12, 1998
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which a dossier on reading skills accompanied a child from one school to another, and
running records which reported reading levels at the end of each year. Councilman
Jablin reported the City Council had recently approved a TIPS facility to be located in
Palm Beach Gardens. Health care and the necessity for more guidance counselors was
discussed, as well as funding for school programs.
The Ad Hoc Committee had no information to report. Councilman Jablin explained
that work was progressing on flyers and was requested to bring them to a meeting for
review.
Chair Anderson stressed the importance of SAC membership, explained that only 50%
of the SACs now had Board representation, and commented he would like to see Board
members at every SAC meeting. Chair Anderson requested that any Board members
not on SACs listen to County School Board meetings and report on those to the Board.
40 A sign -up sheet for SAC committees was circulated.
Chair Anderson explained that he would like the Board to be involved in projects in
which they could make a difference and possibly to take on fewer projects in order to
have time to meet goals. Chair Anderson suggested keeping meetings short so that
standing committees would have time to meet after the regular Board meeting, and
asked that each committee select a Chair. Holding committee meetings one hour earlier
than the regular Board meeting was suggested. Chair Anderson explained that the Vice
Chair would be responsible for keeping track of when the various committees met.
Ron Sedaka made a motion to nominate Nona Helsel as Historian. Motion was
seconded by Leslie Millar, and unanimously carried.
Jan Porter made a motion to disregard a request from the City of Boynton Beach for
$25,000 donation for a Safety for Schools Program. Motion was seconded by Leslie
Millar, and unanimously carried.
• A request for a $50 donation to help new students was discussed. The Partnership
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Education Advisory Board
August 12, 1998
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Program was recommended for this item, and Vice Chair Millar was requested to report
on progress at the next meeting.
Mr. Adams requested each SAC member pass out 50 flyers on the upcoming forum for
School Board candidates at either the orientation or open house at their school, after
obtaining permission from the Principal to do so. Mr. Adams agreed to verify with the
City's Legal Department the appropriateness of passing out the flyers on school
grounds. Newspaper advertising for this event was discussed.
Mary Inglis submitted an idea for the Partnership Program from a beauty salon in
Rome, Georgia, which had offered a spa package to the Teacher of the Year.
There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 9:17 p.m.