February 7, 2008
Minutes
In attendance:
Kay O’Dwyer, John McEnaney, Cathy Vaucher, Pam Wheaton Shorr, Emil Ronchi, Robert Sousa, Christopher Fauci, Nina Cullen-Hamzeh Ms Canavan arrived at 7:15 Not Present: Dr. John Sullivan.
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 7:05 P.M. She began 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 a motion to approve the minutes of the January 3 Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees.
Yeas: 7 Nays: 0 Abstain 0 Mr. Fauci did not vote Motion Passes
Decision: Mr. McEnaney moved and Ms. Cullen Hamzeh seconded a motion to approve the minutes of the January 30 Special Meeting of the Board of Trustees.
Yeas: 6 Nays: 0 Abstain 1 Mr. Fauci did not vote Motion Passes
Ms O’Dwyer recognized Ms Cullen Hamzeh, Interim Academic Director, who provided her report, a copy of which is attached. As part of her report, Ms Cullen Hamzeh also provided this month’s Classroom Commentaries, which is included in the attached report.
The Chair acknowledged that Dr. Sullivan, Treasurer, was not to present. Dr. Sullivan provided financial statements to the Board via Mr. McEnaney. Mr. McEnaney also noted that Dr. Sullivan will be forwarding a written report to the Board tomorrow. Mr. Ronchi noted that the format of the financial reports continue to improve.
Ms. O’Dwyer thanked Ms Jeanne Dowdell for her service on the Finance Committee. She noted that Ms Dowdell has resigned from the Committee to focus more energy on the State Department of Education Performance Standards Committee for Writing. Ms Shorr noted that she would like to see the School web site highlight the successes of the teachers and other staff such as Ms Dowdell’s selection for this prestigious State panel.
Action Item – Dr. Sullivan to send note to faculty and staff to solicit interest in joining the Finance Committee as a member.
Ms Vaucher began by providing a brief history of the approval process for Mr. Fauci’s position as a Trustee and the limitations of State approval process.
Decision: Ms. Vaucher moved and Ms Canavan seconded to amend the Article II, Section 1 of the MCCPS By Laws (dated Jun 1, 2007) include “The Board of Trustees shall include at least one current Teacher, and one parent of a current Charter School student as members.” so that the entire paragraph will read:
Section 1: The Board of Trustees (hereinafter the Board) shall consist of at least nine (9) Trustees and not more than fifteen (15) Trustees. In alignment with the School's Charter, "MCCPS is to be a teacher-led, student-focused school, staff members will be an integral part of every aspect of school operations."
(b) ensure that the school is an academic success, organizationally viable, faithful to the terms of its charter, and earns charter renewal.
Ms Vaucher noted that the specific change was the addition of the words “The Board of Trustees shall include at least one current Teacher, and one parent of a current
Ms Vaucher went on to say that as a change to the By Laws, this requires a 2/3 vote of the Board of Trustees to enact, and then will require approval from the Department of Education.
She requested that the Board hold a special meeting in two weeks to vote on this amendment, and in the process to reduce the 30 day waiting period to two weeks. This will expedite the approval of Mr. Fauci as a Trustee.
Ms Vaucher went on to note that Emily Lichtenstein of the Charter office has been reassigned within the Charter office, and that our new contact is Cliff Chuang. She mentioned that Ms Lichtenstein will continue to be involved in MCCPS’s matters. She continued that the Governance Committee’s current priorities are the review of the Charter, and Board training.
Ms Vaucher read a letter from
Ms Vaucher asked Trustees to continue to put forward the name of potential Trustees.
Ms O’Dwyer recognized Ms Shorr for a Personnel Committee updated. Ms Shorr reported that Ms O’Dwyer, Ms Shorr, Ms Cullen Hamzeh, and Dr. Argenziano met to discuss a mid year assessment of Ms Cullen Hamzeh. Dr. Argenziano will provide a narrative assessment of Ms Cullen Hamzeh, and Ms Cullen Hamzeh will provide a narrative assessment of her own performance as well. Ms Shorr is speaking to various community members to assist in putting together an assessment tool for the Chief Staff Person. The Committee is still working on developing job descriptions and will complete those as the leadership model becomes clearer.
There was extensive discussion among Trustees about the process for conducting the evaluation for the Chief Staff Person, and the role of various individuals and Committees.
Action Item: Ms Shorr will provide a copy of a the proposed assessment tool by Monday February 11, 2008 to Ms Cullen Hamzeh and Ms O’Dwyer for their feedback and comments .
Action Item: Ms Shorr to have a Personnel Committee Meeting prior to February 25th to review the feedback and comments and finalize the proposed assessment tool
Mr. McEnaney also shared that the Community Relations Committee held its first monthly parent coffee on Wednesday morning. It was sparsely attended, but we did have a prospective parent from
Mr. McEnaney announced that in accordance with the Committee’s responsibility to develop, foster, and oversee community and public/private partnerships on behalf of the Board of Trustee, the Community Relations Committee has formed its first partnership with the Starbucks in
Mr. McEnaney noted the next priority for the Committee was to focus on developing an active strategy for sharing our positive news with the local press. The Committee is working on drafting one or two pieces to be sent to the papers, along with supporting information. He suggested that perhaps the Board consider one or two members sitting down with representatives of the local papers for interviews and information sharing. Mr. McEnaney noted that the Committee would work on a specific proposal, and provide it at the next Trustees meeting.
Finally, Mr. McEnaney asked the Chair, Ms O’Dwyer to formally appoint Ms Alexandra Pineros-Shields and Mr. Ryan Redmond to the Community Relations Committee. The Board Chair formally made the requested appointments.
Ms. O’Dwyer recognized Mr. Ronchi who provided a Foundation Report, a copy of which is attached.
Ms. O’Dwyer reported that the Board has been notified by Mr. Commeret’s consul that he is seeking arbitration. Ms. O’Dwyer provided the Clerk copies of the letters from Mr. Commeret’s attorney, which are attached.
Ms. O’Dwyer stated that this past summer the Board of Trustees met in Executive Session and made a decision regarding the future of the school and Mr. Tom Commeret. At that time, the Board decided to place Mr. Commeret on Administrative Leave with full pay, regardless of the outcome of his legal proceedings. The Board continues to believe that this is in the appropriate course of action. The Board has acted in accordance with legal advice from school counsel.
In new business, Ms O’Dwyer reminded the Board that she continues to want to complete our Goals and to expect an additional special meeting in the future to accomplish this task. She also encouraged all Trustees to participate the open house on Feb 9
Ms Vaucher informed the Trustees of a League of Women Voters hosted candidates forum on Monday Feb 11, 2008 at 7 PM in the Marblehead High School Auditor for the State Representative race that is currently being held. There is currently a charter school funding question planned to be asked, and an opportunity for the public to feed questions to the moderator. Please attend if you can. :
Mr. McEnaney provided Trustees with the annual Disclosure Forms, which are required to be completed under state law. He requested each trustee complete their form and have it back to the Clerk by February 29, 2008. He asked that Trustees note that the Disclosure Form covered potential conflicts for the 2007 calendar year.
Mr. Canavan moved and Ms Sousa seconded a motion to adjourn the meeting.
Yeas: 8 Nays: 0 Abstain 0 Mr. Fauci did not vote Motion Passes
The Chair adjourned the meeting at 9:15
Respectfully Submitted
John T. McEnaney
Clerk
Report of the Interim Academic Director, February 7, 2008
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Tel: (781) 631-0777 Fax: (781) 631-0500 MarbleheadCharter.org |
2/7/08
Facility:
Break-in – Three teenage boys (2 alums) were arrested for breaking into the school. They will serve 20 hours of community service. The items they took (chips & drinks) were returned by the police. On the night of the break in, all doors had been locked and the alarm was set. We will investigate ways to further secure the doors.
Current Enrollment:
212 total
4th Grade - 49
5th Grade - 50
6th Grade - 44
7th Grade - 35
8th Grade – 34
Applications to Date:
100 total
Total Residents Siblings
4th Grade - 70 31 19 (9 of the 19 are Mbhd residents)
5th Grade - 11 1
6th Grade - 16 1
7th Grade - 3 -
8th Grade - 0 -
Open House (parents & students)
– Saturdays, February 9th from 12:00-2:00
- applications will be accepted for the 2008-2009 school year
through 2/15
Fundraising:
Upcoming: The Jazz Café/Wine Tasting is scheduled for Friday, February 8th.
The “Dream Vacation” winner will be drawn at the Wine Tasting.
April and summer camps will offer sports, arts, music, and other experiences for students. The offerings are being determined and a brochure will be developed soon.
Yesterday’s professional development experience was very beneficial. Kudos to Pam Miller & Becca Perry for organizing the afternoon. Teachers read an article that pertained to a challenging aspect of education, discussed the article in small groups, and then shared what they learned/discussed/decided to do with the whole faculty. All agreed that it was time well-spent.
Community Partnership
Starbucks – Thanks to Joanne Osborne for facilitating this new partnership with an area business. Starbucks has agreed to provide coffee for each of the “Coffee & Conversation” events to be hosted by the Community Relations Committee.
Enrichment:
One of the most exciting ways for parents to be directly involved with their child's education and the school community is to volunteer in the Enrichment Program. We are currently seeking adults who would like to share a particular talent (sports, crafts, math, games, cooking, etc....). You pick the age group (4th - 8th) and the small class sizes – just let us know what you’d like to teach. Training is available, so please contact Deb Galiel soon.
The NAEP Test for 9 year olds was completed on January 29, 2008. MCCPS received a commendation for our participation in the national testing program.
6th & 7th grades are doing mixed grade book group. Mr. McCarthy’s group read Soldier's Heart, so he took them to the G.A.R. Civil War Museum at the Old Town Hall here in Marblehead a couple of weeks ago, and l.ast week, he arranged to have two Civil War re-enactors visit the school to demonstrate what life was like for the average Civil War solider (as depicted in the book). Students wore uniforms, tasted hard tack biscuits, and asked some great questions.
Sixth graders have been rehearsing for this year’s production of Romeo & Juliet. Everyone is invited to attend the dress rehearsal on March 4th from 10am-11:30am. Guest will enjoy a presentation of the entire play, and refreshments will be available.
The 6th grade will offer tours of African on Exhibition night. The students’s tour companies are organizing exciting and adventurous trips to a variety of African destinations. Be sure to stop by the 6th grade on Exhbition night, to pick up your travel money and book your trip!
Websites: The grade level websites have been updated, and there is lots of valuable information about what the students experience at each grade level.
The 8th grade experienced a wonderful trip to
Health:
In grades 4 & 5, students just completed an asthma concentration and began a drug prevention dramatization to teach the social and personal skills to deter them from experimenting with drugs.
In grade 6, students completed a unit on smoking / advertising. Next they will be investigating vision and will be dissecting cow eyes.
In grade 7, over the past couple of weeks the focus has been on body systems and the effect of alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs on the body systems. Students also learned about social pressures and substance abuse. Most recently, students have focused on using safety in lab setting as they dissected frogs.
In grade 8, the last couple of weeks have focused upon inhalant abuse, and the students have begun to learn about eating disorders.
Athletics:
The Basketball Clinic is off to a great start. Mr. O’Connor & his crew are learning skills and having fun.
The basketball teams have been playing hard and well. Kudos to Mr. Ruth and the boys and girls on the teams! To help them progress even further in their skills, several of the players attended a game at Salem State College. Even our tallest player looked tiny next to the college players! Many thanks to Dr. Argenziano for arranging for the players to attend free of charge.
To: Board of Trustees
From: Dr. Albert F. Argenziano
Re: January 2008 Report
As we approach the mid point of the school year, it is time for some reflections. This is a wonderful community experience. A caring, enthusiastic and quite talented staff, who have our students as their top priority. The staff, curriculum, instruction, assessment and evaluation components are solid. The Special Services for this size school are excellent. The Leadership component is quietly solid and provides stability, credibility and trust for our parents, staff and students. The standard that needs assistance is Finance/Facilities. We have focused on this standard and have produced short and long range plans to deal with the issues. With patience, at the end of this budget cycle, we will have looked back and realize how far we have come in a short period of time. Attached is a proposal for additional income. We must over the next 18 months enhance our operating budget with other sources of income. Lastly, we must strongly consider renting the final piece of the existing structure or long range seek to purchase the total facility.
I thank you for allowing me to serve.
FY09 Budget Analysis
230 Students $2,300,000.
3% Salary Increase $ 69,000.
Compression Issues $ 100,000.
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$2,469,000.
220 Students - $2,200,000. Actual Budget
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$ 269,000. Shortfall
Daycare Program
$75.00 per day x 5 days = $ 375.00 x 40 week
$15,000. per child x 20 students = $300,000.
Teacher $ 35,000.
Paraprofessional $ 15,000.
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TOTAL $ 65,000.
Net Profit: $235,000.
Summer School Proposal
Dates: July7, 2008 – August 8, 2008
Five weeks, Monday thru Friday – 25 days – 9:00A.M.-2:00P.M.
Suggested Course Offerings:
Music Camp, Art/Ceramics, Technology, Woodworking, Great Bodies, Global Issues, Science, Foreign Languages
Income:
50 Students x $250 per student = $125,000
Expenses:
Summer School Director $ 3,000
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Total Expenses $35,000
Thank You
Letter from the Department of Education Dated January 4, 2008
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A non-profit organization dedicated to supporting MCCPS |
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Tel: (781) 631-0777 Fax: (781) 631-0500 Marbleheadcharter.org |
The mission of The School provides:
Recognizing that children learn best in the context of community, our mission is to create partnerships among community members that assist students in reaching their highest intellectual, social, emotional, and physical potential.
REPORT TO MCCPS BOARD OF TRUSTEES
The following report is based on draft minutes of the January 24, 2008 meeting of the MCCPS Education Foundation Board of Trustees, subject to revision and approval.
Motions made and Voted (partial list):
That the UBS funds balance of $34,374 be classified as restricted to capital expenditures, and that—pending approval of donor—we intend to use it for ten months debt service on the MassDevelopment bond issued for capital improvements to school building, in direct payments to holder of the debt.
Unanimous YES. Motion passes.
To approve the “Funding Request” submitted by School Technology Coordinator for $16,562, per the terms of the 1/17/08 request form and with disbursement to be made in a single payment to MCCPS from the proceeds of the November 2007 Auction.
Unanimous YES. Motion passes.
To approve the $675 “Funding Request” for National Science Teacher’s Association national conference registration for five teachers.
Unanimous YES. Motion passes.
To table the $3,000 professional development request pending additional information.
Unanimous YES. Motion passes.
To approve the classification of funds under the auspices of the MCCPS Education Foundation as follows:
$61,122 NGB funds balance (1/10/08)
$95,496 Total funds
Balance Sheet as of 1/24/08 (all amounts approximate)
Temporarily Restricted Funds
$34,374 Restricted to capex/debt service (UBS Account)
$16,562 Restricted to Technology funding (subsequently approved for release;
includes single donation of $5,000)
$50,936 Total temporarily restricted funds prior to amounts approved for release
($16,562) Less funds approved for release
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$34,374 Total temporarily restricted funds available
Unrestricted Funds
$11,438 Balance of November, 2007 Auction proceeds not subject to restrictions
$10,662 Individual unrestricted donation
$10,000 Individual unrestricted donation
$12,460 Other unrestricted funds (subsequently $675 released per NSTA request)
$44,560 Total unrestricted funds
($ 675) Less funds approved for release
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$43,885 Total unrestricted funds available
$78,259 Total restricted and unrestricted funds available
Unanimous YES. Motion passes.
Notes
The MCCPS Foundation is willing to discuss extending a loan to MCCPS in response to a formal request, in light of potential cash flow issues.
Charlie to develop new funding request process in conjunction with MCCPS admin. et. al.
Presented by
Emil Ronchi, Trustee, MCCPS Education Foundation
