Minutes

Present: Ed Ballas, Brenda Kearse, Jean Leone, John Miliziano, Bill Person, Donna St. Peter, Tom Rao, Andi Ringer (for Don Sorondo), Peter Russo, Sherrie Sikes (for Ken Otero), Tee Solomon, Charlotte Valenti, Mark West, and Mari McBryar.

President Mark West called the meeting to order at 5:00 PM. He mentioned to the Board that Prudye Maniscalco, a former administrator, had passed away and that many Board members were attending services for her.

A. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORTS:

I. Secretary - Sandy Bunkin:

In the absence of the Secretary, Mark West asked the Board to review the minutes of the February 2002 meeting. The minutes were adopted with no changes.

II. Treasurer – Nelson Luis

In the absence of the Treasurer, Mark West asked the Board to review the monthly financial report. No corrections were made and the February 2002 report will be filed for audit. Dr. Miliziano pointed out that a new line item will be added and HASA’s account will act as a flow-through account for the Tampa Bay Area Coalition’s funds until their own accounts can be established.

III. Membership Report – Nuri Ayres

In the absence of Nuri Ayres, Mark West reported that two new members had been added to the rolls.

IV. President’s Report – Mark West

Mark West gave a report on the outcome of the February Superintendent’s Roundtable. He reported that he felt the meeting went well and that the Superintendent responded appropriately to some sensitive issues. Communication issues were discussed and had also been a topic of discussion at small group meetings. The Superintendent apologized for recent negative press and reiterated that roof repair requests from Leto High School had indeed been located. He also indicated that what transpired regarding Leto was not how he wanted principals treated. The group felt that he was sincere in his statements.

Regarding upcoming Roundtable topics, discussion ensued and the topics chosen for the 3/11/02 Roundtable meeting were: (1) Unit losses due to revenue versus expenditures, (2) How and when training for site-based budgeting will be made available to school administrators, and (3) CHOICE transportation in the Unitary Status Plan – how will we accommodate individual transportation requests when we are having difficulty accommodating students in the current traditional school plan?

Mr. West asked the Board for their thoughts on continuing with the the Legislative Reception. Most agreed that it was a nice get-together for networking among themselves, but legislative representation was disappointing. Tom Rao made a motion to not participate next year if the same reception effort is repeated. Jean Leone seconded the motion and it passed.

Executive Director’s Report – John Miliziano

Dr. Miliziano reported that the Coalition is moving forward. A Constitution is in place and member fees are determined at $1.00 per local member. An Executive Board has been formed, with himself as President for now. The current goals of the Coalition are to share information, invite other district associations to join, and confer regarding the upcoming Governor’s race.

Dr. Miliziano distributed a survey showing the normal retirement rate and multiplier for most of the Southeastern states. It was noted that Florida’s funding proved to be the lowest. The Legislative Benefits Committee is continuing to research the issue.

Dr. Miliziano reported to the Board that our two bills did not a hearing. The legislature seemed to be focused on tax issues. When speaking to legislators, Dr. Miliziano found them to be confused on our issues, citing no money in the budget for new items, even though our bills would be funded through FRS. He suggested starting early to push the bills for next session.

B. OLD BUSINESS

Charlotte Valenti reported on the recent School Board Forum. Costs came in at $300 less than last year. The restaurant was very good to work with regarding menu selections and dates, and they supplied red and white wine in addition to the sangria at no extra cost.

Charlotte also reported that a location has not been secured as yet for the upcoming Spring Social, but that the theme will remain the same as the Forum theme was, and that it will be held on April 25^th.

The issue of the awards to be presented at the Spring Social was raised and the difficulty in past years to get nominations. It was suggested that each component group nominate candidates for the awards. Brenda Kearse will be handling the nomination process. It was also decided to place a nomination form in the March newsletter. Retirees asked for a printout of retired administrators from the mid 1980s until now, and will be contacting many of those when the information is received.

Mark West acknowledged that the newsletter is an important tool, but raised the question of the necessity of printing one monthly and the availability of enough information to make printing worthwhile. He asked if the Board wanted to consider bi-monthly newsletters. The Board discussed the issue and decided to include a survey to the membership in the next newsletter to answer the question.

Dr. Miliziano distributed a list of newsletter topics for the Board to consider. Tom Rao agreed to do a newsletter article regarding Facts about PACS. Dr. Miliziano noted that Judy Kennedy would take over doing Member Spotlights temporarily, in the absence of Janelle Buck. Brenda Kearse would submit award nomination information.

C. NEW BUSINESS/ROUNDTABLE

§ Dr. Miliziano asked the Board to think about placing an ad in the District calendar for $1,000.

§ Ed Ballas asked if it could be considered that alternates be included in events if they pay their own way.

§ Charlotte Valenti wanted the Board to consider presenting legislators in Tallahassee with some memento of the association that they can keep in their offices to remind them of HASA.

§ The date of the Fall Social has been set as August 22, 2002. Location TBA

The meeting adjourned at 6:30 PM.