THE SCHOOL BOARD OF ST. LUCIE COUNTY

Regular Meeting – May 8, 2007

MINUTES

The School Board of St. Lucie County held a regular meeting in the School Board Room on May 8, 2007 at approximately 6:00 p.m.

PRESENT:MS. CAROL A. HILSON, Vice Chairman

Member Residing in District No. 2

MRS. KATHRYN HENSLEY

Member Residing in District No. 4

MR. TROY INGERSOLL

Member Residing in District No. 5

DR. JUDI MILLER

Member Residing in District No. 1

ABSENT:DR. JOHN CARVELLI, Chairman

Member Residing in District No. 3

ALSO PRESENT:MR. MICHAEL J. LANNON, Superintendent

MR. DANIEL B. HARRELL, Attorney

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Vice Chairman Carol Hilson called the meeting to order.Lawnwood Elementary students thencame forward to lead the Pledge of Allegiance and sing several musical selections.

MINUTES

Action: The superintendent recommended the Board approve

minutes for April 5, 2007,April 10, 2007 and

April 24, 2007as presented (Hensley/Ingersoll/

Carried 4-0).

SPECIAL ORDERS OF BUSINESS

1. ML American Cancer Society “Circle of Hope” Fundraiser Awards

Frances K. Sweet student Cody Denig, a young and courageous survivor who created the “Circle of Hope” idea/effort, assisted Ms. Meredith Jones, American Cancer Society volunteer, in presentingCertificates of Appreciation to every school in the district. Students across the district had raised tremendous amounts of money for the Society and Ms. Jones thanked Mr. Lannon and the Board for their support and all of the students for their fundraising efforts on behalf of the American Cancer Society.

2. ML Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Presentation

Mr. Rick Heroux and Ms. Lisa Taylor from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundationpresented Mr. Lannon with a Certificate of Appreciation. Mr. Lannon had served as the Foundation’s Honorary Chairman during its fundraising campaign. Over $30,000 been raised with more contributions still coming in.

3.ML American Heart Association Jump Rope/Hoops for Heart Recognition

Ms. Michelle Cooper, a representative with the American Heart Association who conducted Jump Rope and Hoops for Heart events at several elementary and middle schools, honored the top five elementary school event coordinators and the top two middle event coordinators for their hard work and support of the AHA.

Coordinators from Morningside Elementary, Rivers Edge Elementary, Oak Hammock K-8, Village Green Elementary, Mariposa Elementary, Southern Oaks Middle School, and DanMcCartyMiddle School came forward to be recognized for their outstanding and caring work.

4. ML St. Lucie County Health Department/Fire District Water Safety Awardsok 28:28

Ms. Arlease Hall from the St. Lucie County Health Department and Ms. Puddin Race from the St. Lucie County Fire District presented a donation to the Board on behalf of all schools to say thank you for the partnership and student participation in the water safety/drowning prevention program sponsored by the St. Lucie County Health Department and Fire District. Each school media center was given two books on water safety and a stuffed kangaroo “Roo” to promote student learning and drowning prevention.

5. JK St. Lucie County School District Teacher of Excellence Utilizing Technology 2007 Grant Winners

Mrs. Mary Holmgren, Executive Director of the St. Lucie County Education Foundation, had the honor of presenting laptop computers donated by Dell to the following teachers for their excellence in utilizing technology in the classroom: Pamela Garrity from Bayshore Elementary, Karen Thompson from Forest Grove Middle School, Mary Jean Malizia from Port St. Lucie High School, and Teacher of the Year Anna LaDeans Phillips. This award was given in honor of elementary, middle and high school teachers who were utilizing technology to both enhance the curriculum in an innovative manner and to motivate engaged student learning in the classroom.

6.SR Florida Atlantic University/St. Lucie County Chamber Scholarship Recognition

Vice Chairman Hilson, Superintendent Lannon, Mrs. Olivia Watkins from Human Resources, FAU Vice President Gerri McPherson, and School Board Member Kathryn Hensley who represented the SLC Chamber of Commerce, were very pleased and proud to present plaques to the first graduates in the county who had earned their degrees through the FAU/SLC Chamber Scholarship Program. Ms. Angie Moorer and Ms. Tywannia Moorer were honored and recognized for their great achievement. It was an historical and happy occasion for everyone concerned. Both graduates received degrees as teachers for exceptional student education.

Superintendent Lannon and Mrs. Hensley talked briefly about the “A Promise is a Promise” program.St. Lucie County School District graduates receive aguaranteed contract and a promise of employment once they become highly qualified teachers. Mrs. Hensley, who helped start the scholarship program through the Chamber over a year ago, maintained that the scholarship opportunities needed to be expanded.

7. BS 8th Annual Florida Youth Leadership Forum Delegates

Mrs. Barbara Slaga, Assistant Superintendent for Student Services and Exceptional Student Education, assisted by Ms. Lesa Kitzmiller, Program Specialist for Transition Services, announced and asked the Board to recognize the district’s delegates to the 8th Annual Florida Youth Leadership Forum for high school students with disabilities. The student representatives were Henry Sanchez, Stuart Schneider, Summer Hovaldt, and Robert Noren.

SCHEDULED SPEAKER(5 minute limit)

8. John/Carol Moler

Mr. John Moler addressed the Board about the new temporary Winterlakes K-8 school site which was located in his neighborhood. Mr. Moler had given the Board a petition that contained107 signatures of concerned citizens and neighbors in the north Torino area where the site was currently being built. Mr. Moler explained that residents in that area had understood the Winterlakes area was zoned as OSR—a park, however the zoning was changed. With the current location of a temporary school in that same area (possibly for 3-5 years), Mr. Moler and others hoped and were asking that the zoning be returned to OSR when the temporary school was no longer necessary. The major concern pointed out by Mr. Moler had to do with the inadequate roads that were already congested. Pollution from bus fumes would also be a problem. Another area of negative impact had to do with a proposed bridge across (“rabbit run”) the Sanctuary Apartments area which would compound the traffic problem.

Mr. Moler stated he had met with Port St. Lucie City Manager Don Cooper and Councilwoman Michelle Berger and had asked for options pertaining to other sites that were suitable in the red zone. Mr. Moler was told there were four suitable sites for consideration. In meeting with Mr. Marty Sanders, Executive Director of Growth Management/Land Acquisitions/Intergovernmental Relations, Mr. Moler was told the first priority site was one on west Blanton and west Torino Parkway. Mr. Cooper and Ms. Berger did confirm that that site was negotiable (infrastructure was in place and it was accessible from two secondary roads).

Mr. Moler told the Board that his community was willing to endure the temporary school with the understanding that it was a temporary situation, which is what everyone had been led to believe. Due to the negative impact to the community and with the inherent problems with the Winterlakes school site, Mr. Moler stated a permanent school in a better location with better access and infrastructure was the only answer to this situation. It was understood that the district was in an emergency situation due to rapid growth and a need for student stations. The message Mr. Moler carried to the Board from his community was, “No bridge, no permanent school.” According to the school district and Michelle Berger, the bridge money could fund between one half to two thirds of the cost of the property at Blanton and West Torino Parkway.

Vice Chairman Hilson thanked Mr. Moler for his input from the community and stated the Board was aware that Mr. Sanders was working diligently with the group. Board members were listening and were aware of the issues. Mr. Marty Sanders was asked to update the Board.

Mr. Sanders started by saying the School District had been looking for school sites in the old General Development Corporation (GDC) area of Port St. Lucie for a long time. The re-districting (for student assignment purposes) that the district underwent last year moved theTorino area and the Parkway area that was originally in old zone one into the new red zone. This increased the need for school sites in Port St. Lucie because students were no longer attending schools north of Midway Road. There were about 4,000 homes still to be built in the Torino Parkway area. The typical student generation rate would be about 1,600 students for that area. Last fall, the City and the District looked at the anticipated enrollment numbers for 2007 and discussed what facilities could be brought on line. The Winterlakes site was about the only one that could be obtained in a short period of time. Infrastructure was available and the sitecould be permitted. Other sites that were looked at, including Blanton and West Torino, were not available to the district at the time. The only site that met the timeframe for a 2007 opening was Winterlakes. Based on that information, the district moved forward and requested a five year lease from the City of Port St. Lucie. The City gave the district a three year lease with the option of a two year renewal. The lease was presented to the School Board for consideration and discussion. There was some concern mentioned about the magnitude of expenditures for a site that could only be used for up to five years. However, in recognizing the need for student stations due to the number of incoming students and due to class-size reduction requirements, the Board took action to move forward with the temporary school. Letters were sent out to notify the neighborhood and a meeting was held with residents in March 2007. Most of the concerns brought up at that time were about finding another route to the temporary site that did not go through the neighborhood. Some options were looked at, e.g., extend “rabbit run”, a roadway just south of the Dellwood neighborhood. That appeared to be a viable alternative.

Mr. Sanders continued by stating that new options had opened up to the district that were not available last fall and they should now be explored further. The Blanton site was a good option that should be looked at, however, residents were against the building of an access road. In any event, the access road could not be completed by the start of school. Mr. Sanders advised the Board that he would continue to explore other opportunities with the City of Port St. Lucieregarding other school sites.

Superintendent Lannon thanked Mr. Moler for his comments and indicated he had asked Mr. Sanders to open up new avenues of conversation with the City of Port St. Lucie, the findings of which would be brought back to the School Board.

Following the scheduled speaker’s comments and discussion, Vice Chairman Hilson did advise everyone that Chairman Carvelli’s absence was due toa medical situation, a non-emergency,that had come up and consequently, he was unable to participate in the meeting this evening.

STAFF REPORTS

9. OR Curriculum Report

- School Improvement Plan Presentation –Mariposa Elementary

The Board received a written and verbal school improvement plan presentation from Mr. Craig Logue, principal at MariposaElementary School. School improvement plans are presented during each regular business meeting as determined by the superintendent and staff. As each report is verbally summarized, the written information that each school provides includes the previous year’s data on student demographics, Stanford achievement results, FCAT subgroup data/student proficiency, adequate yearly progress, and strategies germane to each school’s student population for the coming year in reading, mathematics, writing, and science. Details of the data presented can be found in the supplemental minutes packet and/or at each school.

Board members and the superintendent give each report their undivided attention. Follow-up comments and/or questions are not unusual. Board members and Superintendent Lannon do express great appreciation to each school’s team for their support of students and efforts in preparing the plan.

- Curriculum Advancements and Professional Development

Dr. Owen Roberts, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching/Learning & Accountability/Assessment,

stated he was pleased to be able to bring an update to the Board concerning the fine work that was being done at the district office. One and a half years ago, Dr. Roberts said the Board had made a decision to invest In a management system for curriculum (FOCUS), one that would bring quality support to schools to ensure that quality instruction and education was taking place for boys and girls. Dr. Roberts introduced Mrs. Mary Krause, Executive Director of Teaching, Learning, and Title I, and Mrs. Debbie Iseman, Executive Director of Professional Development, who reported on future goals and plans for the coming school year in the areas of curriculum advancement and professional development.

Mrs. Krause, assisted by Ms. Jeanne Moniz andMs. Teri Barenborg from the curriculum department, and Ms. Chris Yahn, project manager for the Riverdeep project, updated the Board on the FOCUS plan. Mrs. Krause explained that it began as a skeleton plan that was put together to help support new teachers coming into the district and those coming in from out of state. The FOCUS lesson plans were aligned with the district’s scope and sequence and the Sunshine State Standards. A teacher only had to click on a lesson, click on a benchmark and they would have what they needed to start teaching lessons. The system provided best practices from very highly qualified teachers and allowed for easier management of updated benchmarks/SunshineState Standards.

Dr. Miller questioned and Mrs. Krause answered how and when FOCUS was used; the number and variety of activities and demonstrations used in lessons; efforts to update the system; how to capture and apply best practices; how to identify that a teacher has a best practice or skill and what was that process; plans for getting the system into the hands of more teachers, and the proposed marketing plan.

Mr. Ingersoll said he really appreciated the forthright, clear, and concise presentation. He and other board members could see the vision and anticipated growth of this system with the district’s technology plan. Mr. Ingersoll asked how many teachers were trained and using the system now and how many hits did the website get during a week.

Ms. Hilson stressed the importance of marketing the system and introducing it to incoming teachers right away. Many new teachers are overwhelmed and this system would make the difference.

.

Mr. Ingersoll suggested that staff continue to keep the training groups small.

Ms. Iseman reported on professional development opportunities for teachers, administrators over the 2007 summer and also provided an agenda for the K-5 Academies that were being offered on August 13-14, 2007.

Mr. Lannon summarized that the district’s 20 point plan that was released to the public on May 2, 2007 was designed to support the kind of work that had just been discussed by the curriculum and professional development staff. All the hard work and creativity took a lot of research and refining by a dedicated staff.

10. ML Superintendent’s Report

TCERDA UPDATE

Mr. Richard A. Kennedy, Jr., Executive Director of the TC Education,Research, and Development Authority,

gave a brief update on the TreasureCoastResearchPark. The new undertaking by St. Lucie County, along with three area universities and the School Board, was an ambitious process designed to contribute to the economic development for the TreasureCoast. The 1,600 acre research park is home to the University of Florida’s 90,000 – SF IFAS research center, the USDA’s 170,000 – SF horticultural research lab, the St. Lucie County Cooperative Extension Service and the School Board’s Agri-Science Education Program. The Authority was in the process of gaining federal and state funding with which to build a 10,000 – SF office center and business incubator along with development of a master plan that would begin the process of further park development.

REVIEW

Superintendent Lannon reviewed the following matters with board members:

-On-going work being done on high school science labs across the district,

-Twenty point funding plan to address needs of underperforming students,

-Potential licensing of a non-commercial education radio station in St. Lucie County,

-Request for hurricane pet shelter at WestgateMiddle School.

ORGANIZATONAL CHART AND JOB DESCRIPTIONS (for review only at this time)