SARASOTA COUNTY TECHNICAL INSTITUTE

School Advisory Council

Minutes

June 18, 2007

MEMBERS Present: Bruce Andersen, Bill Glueck, Louis Maltaghati, Terrie Minter, Diane Proeschel, Jerry Sobiac, Regina Stinson, Peter Straw, Javier Brito, Ed Devine, Scott Moore, Roland Piccone.

MEMBERS Absent: Jerome Greenstein, Bill Costello

GUESTS Present: Jack McDonald, Mellissa Morrow

I. Welcome

Peter Straw called the meeting to order at 5:35 p.m. He welcomed the group and recognized that notice of the meeting had been duly posted in appropriate areas at SCTI.

· Bill Glueck commented that any budget or other information that might require analysis or lengthy consideration should be given to the membership in advance of the meeting date, and it should be presented in understandable terms and units. He would like to know the components of the $89,000 per teacher unit used for budget purposes. Mellissa offered to get the information from the Landings.

· Louis agreed that the budget is always under time pressure, with insufficient time for understanding and analysis.

· It was agreed that, since the timeline from receipt of budget information to budget finalization is two weeks, SDMT and SAC could receive the information simultaneously.

II. Chairperson’s Report

· Membership and open positions on SAC:

1. Chairperson

2. Vice Chairperson

3. Parent representative

4. Student representative: Delay until school begins on August 20, then seek a Junior

5. Business representative

There was discussion about the role of the SAC at SCTI and the potential role in the transition to the new school. Several members suggested that the committee should seek a higher standard, make decisions with input, and accept the responsibility to fully participate in the planning and implementation of the new school. It was suggested that a School Board member attend every SAC meeting.

Louis agreed to Chair the SAC for the 2007-08 year, and he received a commitment of communication from Mellissa Morrow. He was approved unanimously.

Roland made a motion that the Vice Chairperson position be left open until all of the members not in attendance can be approached. Louis seconded and the motion was carried unanimously.

· Open positions on campus:

1. Director

Mellissa reported that, of the 11 candidates, 5 were to be interviewed, and 3 of the 5 withdrew. It was decided that reposting the position would give a larger pool of candidates and the posting will close on June 30. The carryover candidates are both internal and external. It is expected that the new Director will be in place by the end of July. As of July 1, Mellissa will serve as Interim Director. Members inquired about the candidates who withdrew, and rumors about the questions given to the candidates. It was suggested that the questions did not refer to SCTI with a positive tone. Mellissa said that the questions were not made public. Both Louis and Peter serve on the interview committee for the new Director. Following interviews, two candidates will be referred to Dr. Norris for the final selection.

Members questioned the timeliness of being informed about Bruce’s leaving. The change of leadership, while an HR responsibility, should be part of the working knowledge of the SAC.

2. Assistant Director

Carol Darling will retire on June 30. The position is currently posted through June 22. There will be both internal and external candidates and application review will be done as soon as possible. It is probable that the Assistant Director will be selected prior to the Director.

3. Technical High School Principal

A contract was offered to Jennifer Putnam, Booker High School Assistant Principal, but it has not yet been accepted. The Technical High School Principal reports to the Executive Director of High Schools. The Technical High School will operate as a separate cost center and will have its own SAC.

It was suggested that there be a liaison between the Technical High School SAC and the SCTI SAC for communication.

· Florida House

The Florida House will have to be reconstructed or moved from its present site because of the construction of the new school. It could be moved to Beneva Road, between Buildings 27 and 28. The Board wants it to coordinate with the instructional curriculum in the future—with programs like Construction and Landscape Management. There is a historical value intrinsic in the existing building that makes moving it a serious consideration. After the move, new technology could be added. The cost to move it is $250,000; method of payment for the move has not been determined. A meeting is scheduled with Florida House directors and Mellissa and Scott Lempe for next week (June 25-29).

III. SCTI Report

· Jack McDonald reported that the Ed Designs representatives, the architect, SCTI departments, and Mellissa Morrow met during the first week of June regarding the bubble diagrams/ space plans for the new school. Departments shared ideas as well as needs. The aim is consolidation of functions in the new center and they are looking at models countrywide. Mellissa will search for her notes for missing Cosmetology and Culinary program information. The student service departments will require more discussion.

· The goal is to increase the numbers of adults that attend this institution, and they are considering which programs to offer. There will be SCTI Technical High School students as well as shared-time students from other high schools in the adult learning center. The kind of high school student enrolled at SCTI will change and delivery methods and schedules may not be the same.

· Over 800 shared time high school students are enrolled for 2007-08, significantly higher than in recent years.

IV. New Business

· Bruce presented the equipment requests and the equipment budget that was previously approved by the SDMT. Workforce expenditures are $189,745 and FEFP expenditures are $12,600.

· Some items that were requested will be purchased with other funds.

· Motion to approve was made by Roland, seconded by Scott, and passed.

· Jack spoke about the Annual Program Review, which was distributed as a final document. It focuses on the programs, their strengths and areas in need of improvement, and it meets the school improvement goal. The program review is the gathering of information to facilitate the documentation required for future accreditation review. Peter noted the program review process establishes measurement metrics that can be used to document program effectiveness and efficiencies. He applauded this effort and noted that industry uses it to certify programs.

· In spring of 2009, there will be a combined COE and SACS review at SCTI. The process of self-review takes 18 months and will begin in fall 2007.

V. Old Business

· Changes have been made to the 2007-2008 budget.

· Child care will be enrolling some Pre K students with special needs in 2007-08. The following positions have been added to the budget with no cost to SCTI: .5 Speech Pathologist, 1.0 ESE Pre K Teacher, and 1.0 ESE Teacher Aid.

· A 1.0 Construction Tech Careers position will be added and charged to SCTI. The $72,382 salary will be funded from consumable materials budget category.

VI. New Business

· Terrie Minter reported that the SDMT met and approved the equipment budget.

· Peter invited the SDMT members to attend SAC meetings.

· Bruce said it was a pleasure to work with the group for the past few years and thanked the SAC for their commitment.

· Peter thanked the group for their support during his time as Chairperson.

· Mellissa thanked Bruce for his commitment and professionalism during the past eight months.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:45 p.m. with a motion by Roland, seconded by Louis.

The next meeting will be scheduled for August, 2007.