Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees
May 1, 2008
Minutes
In attendance:
Kay O’Dwyer, Cynthia Canavan, Dr John Sullivan, John McEnaney, Cathy Vaucher, Pam Wheaton Shorr, Emil Ronchi, Robert Sousa, Christopher Fauci. Ms Cynthia Canavan arrived at 7:15. Not Present: Nina Cullen-Hamzeh, Pam Wheaton Shorr.
Also in attendance, Dr. Albert F. Argenziano, Interim Managing Director
Location: Community Room at the
The Chair, Ms Kay O’Dwyer opened the meeting at 7:10 P.M. She began by calling for public comment, and noting that there were no individuals wanting to address the Board for public comment at this time.
Decision: Mr. McEnaney moved and Ms Vaucher seconded to approve the minutes of the April 3 2008 Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees.
Ms O’Dwyer recognized Dr. Argenziano, Interim Managing Director for his report. Dr. Argenziano shared his report as well, which is attached.
The Chair recognized Dr. Sullivan, Treasurer, who provided his monthly report, which is attached. Dr. Sullivan stressed the need to rebuild cash reserves, and until we do that, we have limited options regarding new programs, expansions, buildings, etc. He reiterated thata healthy cash balance is important to credit markets when seeking to secure a loan. He also noted that there is money in the budget to provide salary equity to several staff members.
The Chair recognized Ms Vaucher, Chair of the Governance Committee for her report, a copy of which is attached. She also noted that there is an ongoing discussion within the Governance Committee about the roles of Trustees, particularly outside Trustees. There was significant discussion among Trustees about the roles of Trustees, service on committees, and identification and selection of potential Trustees. There was also extensive discussion about the creation of a ‘board of advisors’ who work outside the board for periodic perspective and fund raising.
The Chair noted that Ms Shorr has resigned as Chair of the Personnel Committee, and that she has appointed Bob Sousa as Chair, effective immediately. Ms O’Dwyer thanked Ms Shorr for her service, and then recognized Mr. Sousa to provide a report, a copy of which is attached. Mr. Sousa also asked for Chair approval for the following members of the Personnel Committee: Bob Sousa, Mike Ruth, Doug Plympton, Molly Wolverton, Emil Ronchi, Katie Sullivan, Pam Shorr. The Chair appointed the members Mr. Sousa requested to the Personnel Committee, effective immediately.
Action Item: The Board of Trustees will have meeting on May 19, 2008 devoted to the development of Interim Academic Director’s goals for the 2008/2009 academic year.
The Chair called a recess at 8:40.
The Chair called the meeting back to order at 8:50
The Chair recognized Mr. McEnaney to provide his monthly report, a copy of which is attached. Mr. Fauci noted that Community Coffees may be better attended if held on Fridays. He noted that there tends to be more parents at the School on Friday’s at breakfast.
Ms. O’Dwyer recognized Mr. Ronchi to provide the Foundation report, a copy of which is attached.
Ms O’Dwyer moved into Ongoing Business. She began by following up on last month’s motion regarding the contract for the Interim Academic Director. She noted that Dr. Sullivan and her have successfully completed a negotiation with Ms Cullen Hamzeh for the role, and presented a copy of the contract to the Board for their review and approval (attached)
Decision: Ms Vaucher moved and Mr. Ronchi seconded that the Board approve the terms of the contract being offered to Nina Cullen Hamzeh as Interim Academic Director effective July 1, 2008 (Attached).
Yeas: 6 Nays: 0 Abstain 2 Mr. McEnaney, Mr Fauci
Ms. O’Dwyer went on to provide the Board an overview of the training several Trustees recently received from the ESE. She strongly recommended that all Trustees attend that a governance training hosted by ESE. She also noted that Mr. Fauci asked a question about interviewing candidates for school administration in open meeting. She noted that Cliff Chuang of ESE has provided a memorandum prepared by the then DoE legal department about how certain portions of the interviewing process in Executive Session. She will provide Trustees a copy of the memorandum electronically at a later date.
Mr. Fauci noted that the training was very helpful, and that there was an interesting ‘pre-test’ that was provided as part of the training that it would be useful for Trustees should take. The focus of the test is what a Board can and can’t do.
Ms O’Dwyer also noted there was a potential for grant money about dissemination provide we follow some ESE guidelines. She noted that she would forward an email from ESE about this
In new business, the Chair noted that she believes that a significant portion of the June meeting be the self evaluation of the Board of Trustees. Ms O’Dwyer, Ms Vaucher, and Mr. Fauci will put together an evaluation survey to solicit community feedback. Further, Ms O’Dwyer will forward a Board Self Evaluation survey to Trustees ahead of the meeting.
Decision: Chair moved and Mr. McEnaney seconded that the Board adjourn to executive session under exception three of the Open Meeting Law, MGL Chapter 30 Section 11A1/2, “to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining or litigation.”
Ms O’Dwyer, Yes; Ms Canavan, Yes; Ms Vaucher, Yes; Mr. Ronchi, Yes; Mr. McEnaney, Yes; Dr. Sullivan, Yes; Mr. Sousa, Yes. Mr. Fauci, Yes
The Chair adjourned the meeting to Executive Session at 9:19 PM
Respectfully Submitted
John T. McEnaney
Clerk
Report of the Interim Academic Director, May 1, 2008
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Tel: (781) 631-0777 Fax: (781) 631-0500 MarbleheadCharter.org |
5/1/08
State of the School Report
Submitted by Nina Cullen-Hamzeh, Interim Academic Director
217 students
Expected Enrollment for 2008-2009
08-09 Enrollment Report attached
- full enrollment expected for opening day
- to date, 114 on waiting list
Personnel
Recruitment for 2008-2009: The process will be similar to last year. Initial interviews will be conducted by an administrator. Second interviews will include teachers. Parents will be included in the final stages of the process. Newspaper ads are expensive, so the positions have been posted electronically on schoolspring.com and our website. They will be posted in other locations soon.
International Teachers: We are hoping to host a teacher from
PTO:
Many, many thanks to the PTO!
- The “Send Your Teacher Packing” Raffle has been well received and greatly appreciated by everyone.
- A Teacher & Staff Appreciation Luncheon will be hosted on Friday, May 2nd.
MCAS:
The 2nd round of testing (Math, History, & Science) will begin on May 12th. We’ll also conduct the NWEA testing during this period, because the school will already be in ‘test mode.’
Professional Development
The humanities teachers attended the conference this week. The seminar was "Connecting Boys to Books" for grades 3-8. It was presented by Kathleen Baxter and sponsored by the Bureau of Education & Research. The focus was finding books, activities, and strategies that would appeal in particular to boys, who make up a disproportionate number of reluctant readers. What will entice and encourage boys to read? Ms. Baxter shared her wealth of knowledge on the types of books boys typically read -- nonfiction (usually the more gross, the better), humor (usually the more gross, the better), graphic books/comics, and adventure/fantasy. We, as participants, were a rapt audience for the books or parts of books that she read, and shared our experiences and thoughts. We each left with a terrific resource book full of suggested individual titles & series, websites, ideas, and strategies.
The teachers shared what they had learned during Community Meeting, and we all look forward to reading the books they described!
Grant Awarded
We received a grant from the Friends of Marblehead Public Schools for "Writing Across Content Areas." Many thanks to the Friends.
MCCPS Education Foundation
As requested, a Grants Committee has been formed to assist the Foundation leadership with the dissemination of funds. To date, parents and teachers have agreed to serve on the committee.
Upcoming Events
Nature’s Classroom – next week
PTO Spring Clean-up Sunday, May 4th
Volunteer Appreciation Night, Friday, May 16th
8th Grade Trek to
Spirit Week – Tuesday – Friday after Memorial Day
Report of the Interim Managing Director, May 1, 2008
To: Members of the Board of Trustees
From: Dr. Albert F. Argenziano
Re: April Monthly Report
My monthly meeting with the Superintendent of Schools and the Town Manager have been fruitful. We have mended the fences and barriers that were created over the years. The partnership with
Attached you will find the Summer Camp Registration Forms. We are planning on having a five-week menu of offerings. If we can successfully achieve a high enrollment, we should have the funds available to open school in September with available free cash.
Our PTO is having a raffle to award staff during Teacher Appreciation Week. This has been a difficult year for staff and they should be publicly recognized for a job well done.
A final note, with less than forty (40) days left in this school year, we should be thankful to all concerned for the success and continuation of our school. In September, the sense and feeling was one of caution. Since that time, the sense and feeling has been one of optimism. A great sign and a tribute to those that serve.
Thank you.
Report of the Finance Committee, May 1, 2008
Fin Com Report
May 2008
John D. Sullivan, Ph.D.
FinCom will meet next week and vote on the proposed budget and Jed O’Connor joining the committee.
Student enrollment is forecasted to be at 230 for the upcoming academic year. We have a long waiting list and our commitments are near complete so I’m comfortable with this projection. A caveat that we may need to consider is whether or not the general economy and the state and federal budgets might reduce our revenue per student.
The proposed budget that has been circulated to the board of directors appears to have $150,000 surplus as of the end of 2009. Nina still needs to hire two faculty members and FinCom has requested that she keep within a budget of $80,000, with benefits, to ensure a positive cash flow of $50,000 as of June 2009.
Money has also been allocated to adjust faculty members’ salaries that may be below where they need to be. If indeed the summer school program does contribute to our cash flow, we will allocate additional dollars to this line item.
As of July 1, 2008, expenses such as supplies will be back to normal levels. For the upcoming year, we will not have sufficient funds for major program changes or added curriculum.
Revenue will also require enhancements as experienced in the past through community volunteering and the auction.
Our line of credit has been approved for the upcoming year.
The school survived a very difficult year, but it still needs to rebuild, financially. We have set aside at least 50,000 as a surplus to begin the building of our cash position. I hope to increase this for the 2009/2010 academic year. Even with careful cash management, it will take us at least two years to get to where we need to be financially, although the financial condition should improve significantly by 2009/2010. At this point, I believe that we will be in a position to bump salaries in needed areas and add some programs where academically suitable as requested by the Academic Director or smaller asset purchase options such as a school van.
In our present financial condition, we are not capable of purchasing the building. We simply do not have the significant amount of cash on hand for a down payment without creating risk in our cash flow. Given the credit markets, this also would complicate matters given access to capital. FinCom will need to focus on our debt that comes due in the near term for the expansion of Charter Hall.
We also do not have the ability to expand grades in the near term. This change in strategy and focus, even if gradually implemented, would require significant investment in both leasehold improvements and equipment, but also in working capital needs as staff would need to be added. Other wear and tear costs would impact our existing infrastructure such as Charter Hall and the Community Meeting Room.
If indeed the board would want to move in this direction, we would need to replentish our cash sources in the next two to three years. This would require the current 2008/2009 budget for next year with a very conservative budget for the following two years thereafter. Only then would we have the potential option of expansion in grades, number of students, or large asset purchases.
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MCCPS FY09 Operating Budget Worksheet |
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As of |
5/1/2008 10:10 |
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FY08 |
FY09 |
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ITEM |
DESCRIPTION |
Revised Budget |
Draft V2.0 |
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$9,634 |
$10,222 |
Avg PPE |
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CASH SOURCES: |
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230 |
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1 |
STATE REIMBURSEMENT |
$1,962,446 |
$2,351,134 |
From projection |
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2 |
FUNDRAISING - SCHOOL |
$30,000 |
$30,000 |
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3 |
OTHER |
$3,500 |
$3,500 |
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4 |
STUDENT ACTIVITY FUND |
$21,600 |
$17,250 |
50% compliance |
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5 |
INTEREST INCOME |
$1,000 |
$1,000 |
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TOTAL CASH SOURCES |
$2,018,546 |
$2,413,336 |
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PERSONNEL: |
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6 |
SALARIES |
$1,594,078 |
$1,519,328 |
see detail spreadsheet |
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7 |
ENRICHMENT |
$23,450 |
$25,000 |
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8 |
SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS |
$0 |
$0 |
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9 |
BENEFITS |
$195,900 |
$225,285 |
15% increase |
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10 |
STAFF DEVELOPMENT |
$2,500 |
$2,500 |
same as FY08 revised |
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11 |
SEARCH COSTS |
$5,500 |
$1,000 |
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Sub-Total |
$1,821,428 |
$1,773,113 |
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DIRECT STUDENT SUPPORT: |
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12 |
TEACHER'S SUPPLIES |
$3,500 |
$3,500 |
same as FY08 revised |
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13 |
CURRICULUM SUPPLIES |
$17,500 |
$17,500 |
same as FY08 revised |
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14 |
STUDENT SUPPLIES |
$3,500 |
$3,500 |
same as FY08 revised |
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15 |
SPED SUPPLIES |
$1,500 |
$1,500 |
same as FY08 revised |
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16 |
COMPUTER SUPPORT |
$2,500 |
$2,500 |
same as FY08 revised |
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17 |
COMPUTERS |
$10,000 |
$10,000 |
same as FY08 revised |
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18 |
FURNISHINGS |
$2,000 |
$2,000 |
same as FY08 revised |
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19 |
ALEKS |
$7,210 |
$8,050 |
$35 per student |
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20 |
NURSING SUPPLIES |
$1,200 |
$1,200 |
same as FY08 revised |
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Sub-Total |
$48,910 |
$49,750 |
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OCCUPANCY: |
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21 |
RENT |
$232,539 |
$239,515 |
as per lease |
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22 |
MAINTENANCE |
$17,500 |
$20,000 |
increase |
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23 |
CUSTODIAL SERVICES |
$20,000 |
$22,000 |
increase |
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24 |
CUSTODIAL SUPPLIES |
$6,000 |
$7,500 |
increase |
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25 |
UTILITIES |
$60,000 |
$63,500 |
increase |
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Sub-Total |
$336,039 |
$352,515 |
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OFFICE & ADMINISTRATION: |
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26 |
SUPPLIES |
$3,500 |
$3,500 |
same as FY08 revised |
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27 |
EQUIP & COMM |
$12,500 |
$12,500 |
same as FY08 revised |
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28 |
LEGAL & ACCOUNTING |
$10,000 |
$10,000 |
big question |
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29 |
PAYROLL SERVICE |
$4,000 |
$4,000 |
same as FY08 revised |
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30 |
PRINTING & COPYING |
$500 |
$500 |
same as FY08 revised |
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31 |
POSTAGE & SHIPPING |
$4,000 |
$4,000 |
same as FY08 revised |
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32 |
INSURANCE |
$18,646 |
$21,443 |
15% increase |
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33 |
ANNUAL REPORT |
$500 |
$500 |
same as FY08 revised |
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34 |
BOARD EXPENSES |
$1,738 |
$500 |
back to usual level |
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35 |
FINANCE CHARGES |
$8,500 |
$8,500 |
same as FY08 revised |
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36 |
FUNDRAISING |
$10,000 |
$10,000 |
same as FY08 revised |
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37 |
ADMISSIONS |
$5,500 |
$2,500 |
back to usual level |
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38 |
HoS DISCRETIONARY |
$1,500 |
$1,500 |
same as FY08 revised |
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Sub-Total |
$80,884 |
$79,443 |
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Sub-Total, Cash Disbursed |
$2,287,261 |
$2,254,821 |
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39 |
DEBT SERVICE |
$47,000 |
$10,789 |
34K from Foundation |
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40 |
CAPITAL EXPENDITURES |
$13,500 |
$15,000 |
? Budget from Erbetta |
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TOTAL CASH DISBURSED |
$2,347,761 |
$2,280,610 |
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41 |
Excess/(Deficit) |
($329,215) |
$132,726 |
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42 |
Surplus FY07 |
$480,000 |
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43 |
Ending Cash |
$150,785 |
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Report of the Governance Committee, May 1, 2008
We have been continuing to review the Charter. We have two potential new members to the committee. We are continuing to attempt to recruit new members the serve on Committees of the Board or the Board themselves.
Sincerely,
Cathy Vaucher
Governance Chair
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Personnel Committee |
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Tel: (781) 631-0777 Fax: (781) 631-0500 marbleheadcharter.org |
Meeting of the Personnel Committee
Minutes
In attendance:
Robert Sousa, Mike Ruth, Doug Plympton, Emil Ronchi. Not Present: Pam Shorr, Katie Sullivan, Molly Wolverton, Chris Fauci
Location: Room 8S at the
The Chair opened the meeting at
The Committee began by identifying members of the committee for approval by the Board of Trustees. The following expressed interest either at the meeting, by telephone or by email: Robert Sousa, Mike Ruth, Doug Plympton, Emil Ronchi, Pam Shorr, Katie Sullivan and Molly Wolverton.
Action Item: Robert Sousa will present the names to the Board of Trustees at the
The Committee next discussed having a regular monthly meeting date and time. They decided to meet monthly, at the school, in Room 8S, on the second Monday following the monthly Board of Trustee meeting.
Action Item: Robert Sousa will inform the Board of Trustees and develop a schedule for the members.
Next the committee reviewed the Personnel Committee description in the MCCPS Charter for accuracy and relevance. After reviewing it, they agreed, that as far as anyone could remember, the committee had never recommended compensation/benefits packages for anyone working at the school, had not assisted the Head-of-School (HOS) in developing job descriptions for school employees, and had not, at least in recent memory, reviewed recommendations for hiring/firing employees. The committee decided to present this review to the Governance Committee of the Board of Trustees for consideration in the MCCPS Charter review.
Action Item: Robert Sousa will present findings to the Board of Trustees and the Governance Committee for guidance.
For the fourth agenda item, Robert Sousa proposed creating a continuity binder containing members names and contact information; the meeting schedule; committee vision, mission, goals and objectives; monthly agenda; meeting minutes and other documents pertinent to future comm