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08-03-2011 CITY OF EDGEWATER – SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIP COMITTEE REGULAR MEETING August 3, 2011 5:00 P.M. Council Chambers MINUTES 1.CALL TO ORDER Chairman Kennedy called the School Scholarship Committee meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. in Council Chambers. 2.ROLL CALL Councilman Justin Kennedy Present Vance Smith Absent Mike Kelly Present Joe Rawlings Present Also present were City Clerk Bonnie Wenzel; Glyn Johnson, Daytona State College; and Sheila Rees, Futures/Take Stock in Children (arrived at 5:10 p.m.). 3.APPROVAL OF MINUTES – None at this time. 4.OLD BUSINESS a.Sheila Rees from Future/Take Stock in Children to discuss the program. As Ms. Reese was not present at this time Chairman Kennedy described the program. He started by describing the City Scholarship program, that they are essentially targeting donations on the utility bills. Chairman Kennedy further explained the establishment of the Committee. Chairman Kennedy stated the Take Stock scholarships were awarded at the Middle School level, going into 9 grade. The main criteria is the student has be on the free/reduced lunch program. th This is a $7,000 scholarship and Take Stock matches dollar for dollar. There is a contract the student and parent have to sign and certain criteria has to be met throughout high school. He felt this was a really good deal, with a better chance of success for the student. Chairman Kennedy did not feel this would be in the cards for the Committee this year but wanted the committee to be aware of it. Mr. Rawlings stated that Take Stock in Children was a little dicey this year. Chairman Kennedy asked Ms. Rees about this, and she felt the cut would be minimal this year, 10-15 percent. 1 School Scholarship Committee August 3, 2011 5.NEW BUSINESS b.Approval of application and language for school scholarship newsletter to be sent to schools for the Scholarship Program. City Clerk Wenzel explained why this was on the agenda again. It was stated after the vote at the last meeting that other applications should be available to other schools. City Clerk Wenzel felt the easiest thing would be to use the NSB Standard application and change the name on the application to send to other schools. Chairman Kennedy felt there would be very few applications from schools other cities. He felt sending the other schools the NSB Standard application for Edgewater students to use was the best way. City Clerk Wenzel spoke about the NSB High School Scholarship Newsletter. She asked if they wanted something submitted to the school to add our scholarship to the Newsletter. Chairman Kennedy suggested stating that this a new scholarship for Edgewater students. Mr. Kelly was a fan of using the same format, not changing. He suggested just having the criteria sent in for the newsletter as the other scholarships are described. Mr. Rawlings agreed with Mr. Kelly. Mr. Kelly asked if we should state how much the scholarship is going to be. Chairman Kennedy asked if the others stated the amount. City Clerk Wenzel stated some did while others stated TBD. City Clerk Wenzel clarified that the committee wanted to continue with the NSB Standard application and provide the scholarship criteria for the school newsletter. Chairman Kennedy introduced Sheila Rees from Futures/Take Stock in Children. Ms. Reese stated the program was started in 1995 to help prevent drop-outs. This program is only in Florida and has a 98% success rate. She stated that any funds that come in are matched dollar for dollar by the state. They are currently working towards providing 4-year scholarships. She added that students get a mentor all through high school to help them achieve their goals. Ms. Reese stated that Futures is a 501.3C and Take Stock in Children falls under that. She added that fundraising is an issue and more people are needed. Chairman Kennedy stated he wanted to keep this program on the committee’s radar, that at some point they may be able to work with them. c.Establish marketing program for Scholarship Fund. Chairman Kennedy stated there were seven people enrolled in the utility bill donations. An article is in the City newsletter each month. He added that you could not sign up online at this time, which is a big thing. 2 School Scholarship Committee August 3, 2011 He stated that he spoke with City Manager Barlow about starting a website. City Manager Barlow told him he could. He started “myedgewaterscholarship.com” it is very minimal at this time. He is asking for direction from the committee on the website. Chairman Kennedy suggested a link on the City website. He stated that if they had more people to help they could ask businesses along US 1 to put information on their marquee signs and ask for donations also. Businesses also could give incentives if residents sign up to donate. Mr. Kelly felt it was important to talk to business owners that employee kids. Chairman Kennedy stated this would generate support. Mr. Rawlings stated he would see if he could mention this on his radio show and possibly the connect-ed. He has to get permission from the school. Chairman Kennedy asked him to find out what he could do. Mr. Rawlings stated information could also be put on the school marquee. Mr. Kelly asked about flyers. Chairman Kennedy stated there is a website that information could be posted on. Mr. Rawlings stated they are doing away with the flyers, there were just too many. Mr. Johnson stated if there was a match done, people need to know this. He stated that makes a huge difference in donations. Chairman Kennedy stated the only problem was if they went in with Take Stock it eliminates a lot of students because you have to qualify for free/reduced lunch. As a public program he did not feel they should go fully with Take Stock. Chairman Kennedy suggested a City/school contest to expose children to local government. Something like a coloring and/or essay contest. Mr. Kelly suggested a card night at the local elementary schools. Chairman Kennedy suggested a father/daughter dance and partner with the YMCA or local schools. Mr. Kelly stated that starting with a $1000 scholarship was a good idea. He added that signage and the website were good. He stated he would contact Indian River Elementary and Edgewater public about doing a card night. Chairman Kennedy suggested giving the scholarship in people’s names who give large donations. Mr. Rawlings stated he would have the district policy for the next meeting regarding flyers at the school. Chairman Kennedy suggested having at least one event to raise donations and awareness between now and graduation. He suggested the father/daughter dance, possibly at the YMCA. 6.OTHER BUSINESS – None at this time. 3 School Scholarship Committee August 3, 2011 7.ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 7:08 p.m. Minutes submitted by: Bonnie Wenzel, CMC City Clerk 4 School Scholarship Committee August 3, 2011