Minutes

September 13, 2004

MEMBERS Present: George McGonagill, Tammi Kiefer, Bruce Andersen, Regina Stinson, Mickey Anderson, Mikel Holloway, Tim White, Roland Piccone, Louis Maltaghati, Peter Straw, Ed Carthew, Harriette Laronge, Javier Brito, Jerome Greenstein.

MEMBERS Absent: Janice Sean, Bill McKinlay, David Winterrowd, Ron Turner, Bill Costello, and Carlos Silva.

GUESTS Present: Ken DeVeau, Carol Darling, Eddy Boynton, and Yvette Trahan.

I. Welcome by Chairperson

Peter Straw called the meeting to order at 5:32 p.m. He welcomed the group. The minutes were approved as distributed in a motion made by Mickey and seconded by George.

II. Director’s Report

There are two “special focus” programs. Carol Darling reported.

1. Legal Administrative Assistant: There is a great demand for medical and legal secretaries. There are problems with enrollment at other schools. Andy Fox is in a .6 teaching position in this program. On September 30 there will be a classified line and classified display ad for the program. The allocation for advertising is $1200 for the year. They would like to see more radio and TV advertising. Andy met with the Certified Legal Assistant Coordinator at MCC to explore collaborative opportunities for both schools’ students. The program has an articulation agreement with MCC for 18 credits, which we do not publicize. A night course started this quarter, on Wednesdays for 3 hours. The program is seeking adult enrollment.

2. Networking also has classified display and line ads. They will use a student who graduated from the program and is now a MCC student, to stress the articulation agreement. The job market is not strong. The program has high school students. The teacher has adopted new teaching materials this quarter.

The Marketing Plan was discussed. Bruce indicated that all publications are consistent with goals, as stated by the committee. The marketing focus is on internal marketing and adult enrollment and the greatest dollars are allocated to those goals. The committee is looking at how to spend dollars on and make decisions about increasing the amount of money spent on electronic media and for print media. Some electronic media is showing good return on investment. The committee is examining the greeting of and response to customers, as well as the routing of phone calls. It was suggested that tracking of hits on the website be done. It was also suggested that the committee investigate an insert into the Chamber of Commerce newsletter (distributed four times annually) with a registration forms on the reverse side.

Bruce presented information on the “To the Point”. He stressed the fact that 20% of Florida residents over age 25 do not have a high school diploma, as well as the eight policy recommendations regarding better-educated and highly skilled workers. Mickey asked that an update on the new technical high school be given at the next meeting. The importance of making decisions soon in this regard was discussed by the group. Peter suggested the drafting of a preliminary position paper. This will be a discussion item at the next meeting in October.

Bruce reported on The “Your Success” Expo, which was held in July. Another expo will be held on October 26. It will be an information and application event. SAC members who attended the July event made several suggestions. The application and information area should have more staff to assist prospective students with applications. There should be little or no waiting for assistance. The October expo will be held in the cafeteria from 4 - 7 p.m.

Peter reported that SAMA contracted for a four-color, glossy publication focusing on the manufacturing business and lifestyle in the Suncoast area. There will be feature articles and editorials. He would like SCTI to be featured as part of the editorial content.

IIl. Old Business

Enrollment: The numbers increased this quarter for high school and adult students. The registered students reports will be reworked to get corrected totals. Students can enroll on a quarterly basis.
Citizens Academy helps citizens understand the school district. It is a series of classes over nine weeks on program offerings, ESE, charter schools, career and vocational training. The November 1 meeting will be held at SCTI – the evening’s theme is “World Here We Come”. A major focus for the evening is SCTI and ACE.
The SAMA hurricane relief efforts generated $60,000 to date. SAMA golf tournament is scheduled for October 23.

IV. SDMT

Yvette Trahan, Vice Chair of the SDMT, reported on the meeting of August 6. A policy was adopted regarding instructional staff leaving during their last period planning period. The SDMT is examining the process of choosing the SCTI Teacher and Employee of the Year. The administrative team has eliminated paid planning time for part time teachers.

V. Other Business

PALS training by Pam Houfek will be on September 23 from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the Laurel Nokomis School.

SAC thanked Tim White for his efforts on behalf of SCTI. Tim will be partnering with a large consulting group and will be moving to the east coast at the end of September.

The next meeting will be October 11, 2004 at 5:30 pm.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:45 pm by a motion by George, seconded by Tim. It passed unanimously.

The Sarasota County Technical Institute provides quality technical education to meet workforce development and community needs.