School Advisory Council
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Educational Excellence School Advisory Council |
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7541 North Miami Beach Senior High School
Verified EESAC Meeting Minutes for: 03/21/2008 02:45 PM
Please contact the school for a formatted hard copy of these minutes.
Recording Secretary: Ashley Toussaint
Location of meeting: Media Center
Was a quorum established? Yes
Was the meeting advertised? No, 03/21/2008
Attendance:
Members Present:
E. Cherizier, R. Fontana, M. Gottfried, Y. Hart, V. Martin, J. Mercado, M. Montesino, S. Mumtaz, J. Pratt, M. Rountree, P. Stauffer, and D. Tisdahl
Members Absent (Excused):
No one had an excused absence.
Members Absent (Unexcused):
No one had an unexcused absence.
Others Present:
R. Milliken and M. Nesmith
Topics Covered:
I. Welcome & Introductions
P. Stauffer welcomed everyone and convened the meeting at 2:50 p.m. Introductions were made and approval was granted to re-arrange the agenda to accept the Special Presentation first.
II. Special Presentation: FCAT Saturday School
R. Milliken offered a PowerPoint presentation on the FCAT Saturday School which was held on six consecutive Saturdays with record attendance throughout the course of the six weeks. Attendance ranged from 535 – 260. The project was viewed as a success all around with strong commitments made by both faculty and students. As a result, actual FCAT testing day attendance goals were met both for faculty and students. Special thanks were given to the faculty for giving up their Saturdays to help NMB students achieve.
III. Approval of February Meeting Minutes. Several corrections were made to the attendance records as listed in the reported minutes. These included: placing V. Martin as a present member; listing R. Milliken as “Others Present” and D. Tisdahl as “Excused Absent.”
Motion (M. Gottfried): To approve the meeting minutes as amended.
Second (V. Martin)
Vote: Vote: Unanimous in Favor – MOTION PASSES
P. Stauffer requested that future meeting minutes more accurately reflect the attendance status of members (present, excused or not excused) and that expenditures and other business requiring motions to approve were documented as motions with a record of the voting.
IV. Old Business
A. Title I Funding: R. Fontana reported that they expect the “snapshot” for free/reduced lunch numbers to be taken sometime in March. Until then, no word on the status of NMB for next year.
B. M. Nesmith gave an update on the SACS accreditation/site visit review and distributed the final “Standards Assessment Report” that will be used as the primary document for leading the site review team in mid-April. Final arrangements are being made for the team’s visit and all seems to be on track.
V. New Business
A. Financial Status: R. Fontana updated the committee on recent budgetary issues affecting the school. As of this moment, funds have been restored to the EESAC account and it is expected that the remaining funds will be allowed to be spent. However, all expenditures & PO requests now must be approved at the school, regional and district levels so it takes significantly more time to process requests.
P. Stauffer presented a summary of the EESAC approved expenditures to-date.
Opening Balance Sept. 2007: $26,447
$2999 to Fontana’s discretionary fund and then later transferred for FCAT snacks; $6000 to Robotics Club; $2800 FCAT Saturday School; $200 teacher bereavement grocery card; $1500 Faculty/Staff workshop; $2000 FCAT picnic (slated for next spring). Estimated balance through February 2008: $10,948.
B. March Funding Requests
1. R. Fontana requested $2000 to pay for transportation of the 9th graders who successfully completed their FCAT tests to go to the Miami Dade Youth Fair. This had been a promise made to the Freshman class earlier and was going to be paid out of principal funds until budget restrictions were put in place this last month.
Motion (M. Gottfried): to approve the expenditure of $2000 for transportation costs associated with the 9th grade FCAT incentive trip to the youth fair.
Second (V. Martin)
Vote: Unanimous in Favor – MOTION PASSES
2. Major Rountree requested an estimated $3,440 for new drill team
uniforms to be used at the national competition coming up in Daytona Beach on May 1-5. Major Rountree presented a detailed summary of the tradition of success NMB’s JROTC drill team has had and their expectation for continued success at a state and national level. P. Stauffer, V. Martin and Y. Hart echoed the pride felt by the entire school for the work of NMB’s JROTC.
Motion (V. Martin): to approve the expenditure of up to $3500 for JROTC drill team uniforms.
Second (D. Tisdahl)
Vote: Unanimous in Favor – MOTION PASSES
C. Parent Reports/Updates
Y. Hart apologized for missing the last meeting due to work related issues. She reported on activities of the PTSA, thanked the faculty/staff for their participation and support for the group and encouraged everyone to attend the next meeting on April 8th. She stated that she had heard from a distressed parent regarding perceptions of gang activity in and around the school. She confirmed with both Mr. Fontana and the NMB Police that while gang activity is a concern, it is elevated across the region and NMB Sr. High has been very successful in keeping gang related violence out of the school.
D. Faculty/Staff Reports
Martin reported that Home Depot has agreed to completely underwrite her garden project and is willing to donate materials as needed. She also reported on the successful operation of the NMB Second Hand Store where faculty/staff/parents/friends donate gently used clothing for all sizes/ages to be given out free of charge to any NMB Sr High person needing it. While the intent was to provide clothing for students, it has turned out to be a much needed service for faculty/staff and part-time employees who are finding the current economic situation a struggle for themselves and their families. Due to fire hazard concerns, the store has relocated from its original spot to a small closet area on the first floor near Ms. Martin’s room. Everyone is encouraged to go through their closets and donate any worthy pieces of clothing! This is a wonderful example of the extended family of NMB helping NMB!!
E. Administration Reports
R. Fontana acknowledged the concerns around gang activity and informed the group about a recent task force which has been established between the school, local business and NMB police to address the issue. Major initiatives are underway to specifically target the “One-Ways” and everyone is hopeful that the strategies will be successful. After school and sports activities are of critical importance to keeping young people productively engaged and disinterested in gang membership. P. Stauffer
again highlighted the tremendous burden of the current budgetary situation, stressed the point that sports and after school activities would be one of the first targets for funding cuts and reiterated the point that we would all have to come together to identify creative strategies for continuing to support the wonderful progress and success being made at NMB. Creative business partnerships and outside grants would be needed. P. Stauffer encouraged more involvement with the City of NMB’s juvenile justice gang prevention program and stated that she was trying to more actively engage this group in NMB prevention activities.
M. Gottfried asked about special incentives including massages, gift cards, wellness services etc for teachers to take on additional after school club activities. P. Stauffer requested that administration investigate what may be allowed in the way of payment/incentives to teachers for working beyond the regular day for after school clubs. V. Martin suggested approaching Home Depot about special NMB after school workshops related to home improvement skill development. This idea was well received by all and Ms. Martin agreed to ask about it.
F. Student Reports
S. Mumtaz offered praise for the school’s college entrance exam (ACT/SAT) prep classes stating that several people have achieved an increase of two points in their score after completion of the courses. He inquired about the possibility of expanding this current service and possibly expanding it to the subject areas. The group acknowledged the importance of keeping the current service and expanding it if possible, but noted that with financial constraints would probably limit the ability to tackle the subject areas.
G. Other
P. Stauffer informed the group of a bill going through the Florida state legislature (H.B. 265) which would re-instate the mandatory ½ credit health education requirement. P. Stauffer had already contacted three local legislators on the issue and encouraged the group to read the bill (distributed) and contact their state representative if they felt so compelled.
The next meeting was scheduled for April 8th at 5:00 p.m. to coincide with the next PTSA meeting. There being no more business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:10 p.m.