SGC Minutes

Seawell Elementary School

October 21,2003

Members Present Amy Kwiek, Keri Litwak, Terry Stewart, Katherine Worley, Susan Pegg, Phylis Cook, Ursula Council, Mark Peters, Teri Stern, Larry

Fox, Frine Carbonell

Visitors Holli Clem, Jennifer Jansen, Laurie Buck, Maryanne Rhyne, Margaret Voyce, Linda Pischak, Thomas Volk, Lisa Volk, Louis Giordaine, Mark

McCormick, Scott Wallen

Others in attendance Marny Ruben

Mark Peters reviewed the agenda and approved the minutes from the previous meeting.

Frine Carbonell was introduced as the new SGC parent member.

SGC Goals for 2003-2004

The SGC brainstormed potential goals for the school year. The list included the following

Teacher Retention- What can the SGC do? Could we use Gordon Black surveys to gain an understanding of why teacher turnover exists?

Facilities- air, heating, cooling, roof leaks, outside lighting

Request a cap to keep numbers down-protection of space

Improvement of web pages- more computers in homes of families without computers

Support of equity and African American focus groups

Grounds maintenance

Evaluate "power" of county commissioners

Principal’s Report-

Chuck Stone, a professor at UNC and local author will present his new book at the PTA meeting on Nov. 10th at 700 in the media center. This will be

an African American focus group meeting, a FORT meeting, as well as a PTA meeting.

Mrs. Pegg agreed to bring a copy of the Capital Improvement Plan to an SGC meeting to review the improvements that are scheduled for Seawell. Mrs.

Pegg announced the African American focus group meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 28th at Faith Tabernacle Oasis of Love Church

Public Comment

Mark Peters welcomed the group of parents and explained that the SGC wanted to take a position on the merger issue. He shared that the SGC shared their concerns at the public hearing meeting at CHHS and that the SGC was collecting input from parents so they could take a position.

Public comments were shared with the SGC. All of the parents/teachers listed as visitors were opposed to the idea of a merger.

SGC Discussion of Merger

SGC members discussed their concerns with concern for the process that the county commissioners were following for merger, the pace of the process, the fairness of raising taxes, lack of public outcry, lack of collaboration between county and city schools, and the possible implications of merger.

The SGC members voted to take a position against the merger and revised a drafted position statement.