Minutes

Present: Janelle Buck, Leslie Granich, Connie-Hayden-McPeak, Jean Leone, John Miliziano, Brenda Nolte, Bill Person, Tom Rao, Peter Russo, Pat Smith, Tempress Solomon, Don Sorondo, Charlotte Valenti, Mark West, and Mari McBryar.

HASA President Mark West called the meeting to order at 5:00 PM.

A. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORTS:

I. Secretary - Sandy Bunkin:

In the absence of Sandy Bunkin, Mark West asked the Board to review the minutes of the November 2001 meeting. Peter Russo moved to approve the minutes as presented. Connie Hayden-McPeak seconded the motion and the vote carried.

II. Treasurer – Nelson Luis

In the absence of the treasurer, Mari McBryar presented the treasurer’s report. No corrections were made and the November 2001 report will be filed for audit.

III. Membership Report – Nuri Ayres

In the absence of Nuri Ayres, Mark West reported that three new members have been added to the rolls since October 31, 2001. Dr. Miliziano asked for direction on some members who have had job changes and are still paying dues, although they now may not meet the criteria for membership. The Board agreed that Dr. Miliziano should make personal phone calls to those individuals.

IV. President’s Report – Mark West

Mark West asked Dr. Miliziano for a report on the recent one-on-one meeting held with Dr. Lennard. Dr. Miliziano reported that he discussed the concerns regarding communication and intimidation issues with the Superintendent. Dr. Lennard took note of the concerns and said he would try to work on the communication issue, and that he wanted to continue the Superintendent’s Roundtable; however, one-on-one meetings with Dr. Miliziano could also be substituted when needed. Mark West commented that for the last few Roundtable meetings, it may have been felt that HASA was not well represented. He also felt that discontinuing the Roundtables would be a step backward for the association. The Board agreed to continue talks with the Superintendent, either in the Roundtable forum or one-on-one meetings with Dr. Miliziano for sensitive issues. The topics for the next Roundtable meeting on 12/19/01 will be:

§ Concerns about the ATOSS program and the impact its closure would have on school attendance.

§ Rumors that Assistant Principals will be cut from schools with less than 400 students.

§ Alternative Education implementation issues, including transportation, lunch periods, etc.

§ Information about the ten senior level staff members whose positions may be eliminated, or who may be reassigned to school sites. Will the positions be eliminated through natural attrition?

§ Thanks to staff for releasing the purchase orders that were being held due to budget concerns.

§ School Board Dinner: Questions/topics are for Board Members to address first, with comments from the Superintendent’s Staff as warranted.

§ March FCAT: The new state test calendar has make-up tests being administered on one of Hillsborough County’s early release days. Can that be changed for the students’ best performance on the test(s)?

V. Executive Director’s Report – John Miliziano

Dr. Miliziano reported that Bill Orr and MaryEllen Elia, two Board members who recently underwent surgery, were doing well. Board members are asked to keep them in their thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery.

The Legislative Benefits Committee met with Dr. Mike Bookman and Connie Milito recently for updates on (1) 25 years instead of 30 for normal retirement; (2) the best three years instead of five for salary calculations, and (3) 2.0% instead of 1.6% for retirement benefit calculations. Those are the main bills that were sponsored by legislators last year and we hope to have them refiled for the 2002 legislative session.

Regarding the Annual Joint Legislative Reception: The committee has changed its name to: Hillsborough Advocates for Public Education, with a theme of forming a coalition for a common agenda. Dr. Miliziano reported that there were approximately 25 HASA members who have verified that they are attending the reception. 100 representatives of HASA are needed. Tempress Solomon asked about the possibility of a pre-meeting briefing and Dr. Miliziano said that it could probably be arranged.

Mark West reported that House Bill 235 (top 5 years to 3 years) had been reintroduced and has some support. House Bill 237 (2.0% instead of 1.6% for benefits) was also a possibility for passage, but the third issue of the 25-year retirement did not have as strong a chance, due to its possible impact on retention of educators.

Dr. Miliziano reported on the status of the Tampa Bay Coalition. Pinellas and Pasco will hold off joining the coalition for now, but they wish to remain involved. Since several surrounding counties are not as well organized as Hillsborough with their associations, dues are a problem. Dr. Miliziano mentioned the possibility of dues being $1 per county member (ex. - HASA would pay $600 for 600 members). He will keep the Board apprised of the progress of the Coalition.

B. OLD BUSINESS

Program of Work & Committee Reports:

Special Projects – Charlotte Valenti and Janelle Buck

Charlotte Valenti gave an update on the School Board Dinner and distributed a handout with theme, dates and colors. It was discussed that topics for the Board should be addressed to the School Board members first, with Superintendent’s Staff commenting afterward, if necessary. Charlotte asked for topics from component groups.

Janelle Buck reported that she had photos of the Coalition for the next newsletter, a history of HASA for the web page, and the member spotlighted next would be Jean Leone. Some discussion ensued as to whether or not to try and put out a December newsletter – it was suggested that a very brief couple of pages be devoted to December and that Janelle’s articles should appear in the January newsletter. Janelle told the Board that she would be taking a leave of absence from her District position, but that she intended to remain active in her position with HASA.

C. NEW BUSINESS/ROUNDTABLE

§ Pat Smith gave an update on online scholarship applications. She asked that the Board please advertise that these scholarships are available, some for District employees.

§ In the absence of the web page committee, Dr. Miliziano reported that the dollar amount for the web page setup had increased to $2,600 from $1,885. This was due to the amount of information submitted for the site. The original price included setup for approximately 4 to 5 pages; currently, 45 pages of information have been gathered. There was some discussion by the Board about whether or not this expenditure should be undertaken. Dr. Miliziano explained that the password protection feature proved to be too expensive and had to be taken out. Bill Person made a motion that we move forward with the web page construction at the new price, Tom Rao seconded the motion and it carried.

§ Mark West reported that as many as 12 members may be traveling to Tallahassee for FASA legislative days.

§ HASA pins were discussed and a sample passed around. It was decided that the words are difficult to read when fully spelled out. The Board would like to see a sample pin with just the first letters of each word (HASA) appearing in larger font and highlighted in black.

§ Peter Russo mentioned that the state testing calendar was out and FCAT make-up testing would take place on a Hillsborough School District half day. He asked if anything could be done about changing that date so that students have optimum opportunity to do well on the test(s). The Board decided to make that concern a topic of discussion at the next Superintendent’s Roundtable.

§ Several school-based Board members expressed concern about the cuts in Alternative Education, and the fact that those students would be transported to and from school on the buses with mainstream kids, and would be eating meals in the cafeteria, etc. This concern was also added as a topic for the 12/19 Roundtable meeting.

§ Jean Leone thanked Dr. Miliziano for the Christmas card she and the Board members received.

The meeting adjourned at 6:30 PM

Respectfully submitted,

Sandy Bunkin, Secretary