Education Committee Selects New Leader

Fairhope, Alabama

ADDITIONAL MEMBER NEEDED

At its last meeting, the Educational Advisory Committee selected Julia Sumerlin as its new chairman -- to replace Henry Clark who resigned unexpectedly recently for undisclosed reasons.

The committee is also seeking someone to fill the vacant slot; and anyone interested is asked to contact city hall.

Having the President of FEEF (or a Board member) was discussed as being preferred so the two organizations may be be able to coordinate their efforts. Incoming President Terry Bishop, who attended the meeting as an observer, said she would consult with its Board of Directors to determine if that would be feasible.

Committee liaison/Council member Diana Brewer: "... there is an opening ... we are asking interested citizens ... to submit applications ,,, (we) reached out to FEEF to see if a Board member could serve ... to help meld those two groups ... ."

INPUT SOUGHT FROM PARENTS

The committee discussed how to proceed to find the best ways to distribute the $750,000 ($150,000 per school) it is asking from the city next year and it decided to:

* conduct an online survey of parents to determine their priorities and concerns (using SurveyMonkey)

* have the 5 principals construct a laundry list of greatest needs (working in conjunction)

* reach out to stakeholders in the community to seek education needs by meeting with individual
   community organizations and eventually the general public via a "town hall" public meeting
   (charette)

The parent survey is to be similar to -- and "piggy-back" upon -- the educational component of another citizen survey now underway: the Alabama Communities of Excellence Inc. opinion survey.

The Ed. Committee will meet again on August 1st.