Prairie Creek Board News

Board Minutes November 5, 2011

Download PCCS 11-5-11 minutes

Board Minutes September 22, 2011

Download Meeting_Minutes_9-22-11-1

Board Minutes August 18, 2011

Download Minutes Board Meeting 8-18-11 updated

Board Meeting Agenda for September 22, 2011 @ 7:00pm

Prairie Creek Community School

School Board Monthly Meeting Agenda

September 22, 2011

7:00 pm

PCCS at 27695 Denmark Ave, Northfield

 

1.   Call meeting to order and Verify Quorum

 2.   Recognition / Aspirations for the Board for 2011/2012

 3.   Voting procedure

 4.   Approve Agenda and Minutes from August 18, 2011

 5.   Consent Agenda:

(a)   2010 / 2011 Annual report

 6.   Reports

(a)   School Director Report

 7.   Financial Committee Structure and Procedures

 8.   Board / Faculty Retreat

 9.   Staff Development Plan / Committee

 10.Discussion and Action Items:

(a)   Board calendar

(b)   Board Secretary election

  11.Announcements:

(a)    

(b)

  12.Adjourn

 

 

Next Board Meeting October 27, 2011

 

 

Next Board Meeting

The next board meeting will be on Thursday August 18 at 7pm.  The meeting location is PCCS.  Agenda will be posted soon.

May 2011 Minutes

 

Board Meeting Minutes

Monday May 14, 2011, 7:00 p.m.

Location: PCCS Stage Meeting Room

 

	2010				2011
	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May
Jeanné Avery	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	Cancelled	✔	✔	✔
Tricia Ferrett	✔	✔		✔	✔	Cancelled	✔	✔	✔
Bonnie Jean Flom	✔	✔	✔		✔	Cancelled	✔	✔	✔
Cynthia Gilbertson	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	Cancelled	✔	✔	✔
Paul Hager	✔		✔	✔	✔	Cancelled	✔		✔
Caroline Jones	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	Cancelled	✔	✔	✔
David Lefkowitz	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	Cancelled	✔		✔
Laura Medwetz		✔	✔	✔	✔	Cancelled	✔		✔
Dean Paxton	✔	✔		✔	✔	Cancelled	✔		✔
Michael Viola	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	Cancelled	✔	✔	✔

 

Also in attendance: Marianne Moser, Community Chair; Keith Johnson, Chief Financial Officer.

 

Public Comment

Phil Kasten spoke in support of keeping mixed age classes at the K-1 level despite the challenges posed by the low enrollment in full-day kindergarten for next year. He is willing to lead fund raising efforts targeted to that issue, if that is necessary.

April Minutes

April minutes were approved with corrections.  

The Board discussed how best to reflect decisions in the minutes and agreed to continue with the current practice, which is to record votes by name but otherwise to record that the decision was made "by consensus."  Next year's Board should address the question, however, to be sure the Board is complying with Open Meeting Law requirements.

Treasurer's Report

Keith presented a financial report, reflected in a handout (copy attached).

 

New Policy Needed.  Keith reminded the Board that a new Fund Balance Policy needs to be approved at the June meeting.  He is expecting the auditing firm to provide a standard policy.

 

Teacher Contracts.  Paul reported that the Finance Committee recently met with the teachers to review the financial situation, which includes some expected increases in expenses for next year.  The teachers were made aware that the school cannot afford salary increases (beyond the regular step increases) without making some changes in the budget. A couple of options were discussed, including changing the amount of assistant help in the classrooms and increasing class size.  The teachers are going to continue these discussions, and there will be a follow-up meeting on this topic.

 

This report lead into a lengthy discussion about the advisability of increasing teacher salaries, how to involve teachers in that decision, and how to deal with the fact that teachers will be wanting contracts for next year before the state has decided on next year's school funding. No final decisions were reached. 

 

To continue the discussion, the finance committee will meet with the teachers on Wednesday May 25th at 4:30.

 

Authorizer Application.  Bonnie Jean pointed out that we could benefit from having a copy of NSD's authorizer application, since it shows what the District intends to do in terms of oversight next year. Caroline will ask Dr. Richardson for that when she sees him next week. 

 

Ideas for next year.  Keith intends to have a discussion with the finance committee next year regarding the donation figures in the budget. He recommends that the numbers not be higher than the amount we can actually bring in. 

 

Keith also recommends that next year we come up with a more sustainable formula for determining teacher salaries.

 

Director's Report

Caroline had a very full visit to Washington, D.C. during Charter School Week.  She learned that charter schools in other states struggle even more with inadequate resources and came home feeling appreciative of Prairie Creek's situation.

 

The remainder of the agenda was tabled due to the length of the budget discussion.

 

Adjourned: 9:40 p.m.

Minutes approved June 20, 2011.

 

April 2011 Minutes

 

Board Meeting Minutes

Monday April 18, 2011, 7:00 p.m.

Location: PCCS Stage Meeting Room

 

 

 

	2010				2011
	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	June
Jeanné Avery	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	Cancelled	✔	✔
Tricia Ferrett	✔	✔		✔	✔	Cancelled	✔	✔
Bonnie Jean Flom	✔	✔	✔		✔	Cancelled	✔	✔
Cynthia Gilbertson	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	Cancelled	✔	✔
Paul Hager	✔		✔	✔	✔	Cancelled	✔
Caroline Jones	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	Cancelled	✔	✔
David Lefkowitz	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	Cancelled	✔	✔
Laura Medwetz		✔	✔	✔	✔	Cancelled	✔
Dean Paxton	✔	✔		✔	✔	Cancelled	✔
Michael Viola	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	Cancelled	✔	✔

 

 

Also in attendance: Marianne Moser, Community Chair

 

Public Comment

Having heard about the decreased enrollment in full-day kindergarten for next year, George Shuffleton expressed his concern about class size in the kindergarten rooms.  He asked that the Board find a way to make ends meet without putting more than 20 K-1 students in a classroom. 

Special Meeting Minutes

Approved.

March Minutes

March minutes were approved with corrections.

Auditor's Report

Dennis Hoogeveen of Larsen Allen presented the auditor's report for the year ending June 30, 2010.  He noted a few things for the school to be proud of, including a very stable fund balance and a variance from the budget within the recommended range.  The auditor issued a clean (unqualified) opinion for fiscal year 2009-10.  A copy of the report is attached. 

After the report, Bonnie Jean commended Keith for his excellent work in managing our finances.  

Audit accepted by consensus.

Treasurer's Report

Keith presented financial report, reflected in two handouts (copies attached). In addition:

• A new accounting standard (GASB 54) will require schools to be more specific about what their different funds are for.  We need to change our Fund Balance Policy to define a "critical" level and set steps for what we will do if the balance gets to that point.  The law changes July 1, so we will need to approve a new policy at the June meeting. Keith can provide us with language for the revision.
• Based on one of the auditor's recommendations, Keith requested a Board resolution increasing the capitalization threshold from $500 to $1,500. 

Resolution: Resolved to increase capitalization threshold from $500 to $1,500.    

The resolution passed on the following votes:

 

Jeanné Avery	Yes
Tricia Ferrett	Yes
Bonnie Jean Flom	Yes
Cynthia Gilbertson	Yes
David Lefkowitz	Yes
Michael Viola	Yes

 

Executive Committee

On behalf of the committee, Michael reported:

• The school has reached a contract agreement with Simon.  Salary is $64,000 plus a professional development fund of $2,000.  The other terms are the same as the teachers’ contracts, with a job description that is the same as Caroline's.  The intent is to have the contract start July 1st and cover a one-year term.
• There was some discussion of Simon spending some transition time at the school, with an expectation that he will spend some time at ARTech later to help with the transition of their new director.

The contract, as described, was approved by the following vote:

Jeanné Avery	Yes
Tricia Ferrett	Yes
Bonnie Jean Flom	Yes
Cynthia Gilbertson	Yes
David Lefkowitz	Yes
Michael Viola	Yes

Director's Report 

• Calendar for 2011-2012 presented and approved by consensus.
• MACS membership is up for renewal.  Caroline feels that it is very important to stay connected with MACS.  Renewal of membership was approved by consensus. 
• There was not a huge attendance for the community meeting with Simon, but parents seem very positive about his selection.
• 27 out of 30 families attended Kindergarten Orientation.  Simon was there too.  
• This is a busy time of year.  Getting ready for May Day, Honors Presentations, and Honoring Night.  MCA testing has been going on last week and this week.  A lot is going on this month, so it will be particularly important to pay attention to announcements in the Director's Newsletters.
• All-School Art Show will be May 5th.
• Music show needs to find a new venue again.  The high school apparently reserves the right to use the auditorium, and it has told us that we cannot use it on the 19th.  Caroline has expressed her displeasure with the policy and is working with Rachel to find an alternative.
• The NAG student art show is up.  About 60 pieces of our students' art is on display.
• Caroline will be going to Washington DC May 1-4.  She'll be meeting "key officials in the Administration," the identity of whom is as of yet unknown. (Sadly, she will be missing May Day for the first time in her Prairie Creek career.)
• Registrations are coming in for music camp and summer school.
• Next year's budget won't be adopted until the June meeting.  Because the teacher contracts need to go out before then, Caroline proposes that the Finance Committee meet with the faculty before then to discuss the budget and what goes into it so they fully understand the variables involved in setting next year's budget.  This will give them context for the contracts when they get them.  She would like to schedule that soon so that the contracts can go out in May.
• Caroline has been talking to Simon about him spending time here before his official start date, probably one afternoon a week. 
• Caroline shared an email she received recently from the parent of two Prairie Creek graduates from Caroline's first kindergarten class. Among other things, the parent said that both of her children attribute their success to the elementary education they received at PCCS.

Search Committee Report

Bonnie Jean is putting the finishing touches on a press release to send to news outlets such as the Northfield News, Patch, and Northfield.org. 

Letters have gone out to everyone who applied.

Nomination Committee

The Board approved the slate presented by the Committee (copy attached) by consensus.

Policy Committee Report

A Revised Parenting Leave Policy was discussed, revised further, and approved by consensus.

Building and Grounds

• Working on getting the basement ready so that we can do tornado drills.
• PC, Inc. is currently considering paving the parking lot.
• There was some discussion of the terrible condition of Denmark Ave., and Caroline recommended that we find an alternative route for now.  

Development Committee Report

• We are $35,000 low in total fundraising if the budget numbers are right.  Trish plans to spend a little time with Ona figuring out for sure what the numbers are.
• We are about $7,000 low in parent giving (not including the Auction)
• We plan to have a couple of online giving days to generate more parent contributions.
• Caroline will send out a Grandparents' Gazette, including an envelope for donations.
• Caroline will put together a Prairie Creek Newsletter and send it to alumni, including an envelope for donations.  It will also include a blurb about Bonnie Jean, introducing her to the community.
• We will add out-of-state grandparents to the Grandparents database.
• Still generating new ideas about fundraising after the auction to continue Annual Fund giving through the end of the year.  The ideas discussed included making May Day a walk-a-thon and selling more bird cards.

Education Resource Committee Report

All-School Art Show scheduled for May 5th.  To help prepare, staff will give Angie 1-2 hours of time mounting and installing art.  Will be showcasing the nature journals that night, as well.  Planning some activities going on around the building.

Outreach Committee

Work still continues on the website.

Working on the press release regarding Simon.

Nicole Day-Diggins sent Caroline an email requesting more money for the website.  Caroline will check back with her for clarification to see whether the work she is requesting payment for has already been done.

Nominations Committee

The committee met to review possible candidates.  There were many positive responses from parents.  The slate is attached.

The goal is for Simon to have a Chair in place in July and August, so we will plan to call a special meeting with the new Board members first week in July to select a Chair.  Slate approved by consensus.

Other Business

The latest copy of the By-Laws was distributed.

Adjourned: 8:59 p.m.

 

 

Minutes approved May 16, 2011.

 

 

Special Meeting Minutes

 

Special Meeting Minutes

Monday April 11, 2011, 7:00 p.m.

Location: PCCS Stage Meeting Room

 

Record of Attendance

	In Attendance
Jeanné Avery	✔
Tricia Ferrett	✔
Bonnie Jean Flom	✔
Cynthia Gilbertson	✔
Paul Hager
Caroline Jones	✔
David Lefkowitz	✔
Laura Medwetz	✔
Dean Paxton	✔
Michael Viola	✔

 

Business Conducted

The Search Committee reported that, after a thorough evaluation process, it unanimously agreed to recommend Simon Tyler for the position of Executive Director.  After a brief discussion, the Board voted on the following resolution: 

• to offer Simon Tyler the job of Executive Director for Prairie Creek Community School for the 2011-2012 academic year; and
• to authorize the Board Chair to negotiate a one-year contract with Simon, offering a salary commensurate with his experience and within the parameters of PCCS’s budgetary constraints.

The resolution passed with votes as follows:

 

	Vote
Jeanné Avery	In favor
Tricia Ferrett	In favor
Bonnie Jean Flom	In favor
Cynthia Gilbertson	In favor
David Lefkowitz	In favor
Laura Medwetz	In favor
Dean Paxton	In favor
Michael Viola	In favor

After the vote, Caroline expressed her confidence in Simon and told the Board that she feels very comfortable leaving the school in his hands.  

Bonnie Jean offered to take the lead in preparing a press release to be provided to the Northfield News and selected online news sources.  Caroline and Michael will provide quotes and Cynthia will assist with copy editing.

Finally, the Board discussed whether Cynthia’s term should end at the end of this academic year because she will not have any children attending PCCS next year.  This issue needed to be discussed because the Nominations Committee needed to know how many parents to put on the slate, which will be presented to the Board at the next regular meeting. 

Adjourned:  7:50  p.m.

Minutes approved: April 18, 2011

 

March 2011 Minutes

 

Board Meeting Minutes

Monday March 21, 2011, 7:00 p.m.

Location: PCCS Stage Meeting Room

 

 

	2010				2011
	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	June
Jeanné Avery	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	cancelled	✔
Tricia Ferrett	✔	✔		✔	✔	cancelled	✔
Bonnie Jean Flom	✔	✔	✔		✔	cancelled	✔
Cynthia Gilbertson	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	cancelled	✔
Paul Hager	✔		✔	✔	✔	cancelled	✔
Caroline Jones	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	cancelled	✔
David Lefkowitz	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	cancelled	✔
Laura Medwetz		✔	✔	✔	✔	cancelled	✔
Dean Paxton	✔	✔		✔	✔	cancelled	✔
Michael Viola	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	cancelled	✔

 

Also in attendance: Marianne Moser, Community Chair

 

Public Comment

None

December Minutes

Corrected December minutes were approved.

January Minutes

January minutes were approved with corrections.

Finance Committee / Treasurer's Report

Keith was not able to attend the meeting, but he provided a financial report, which Paul presented.  A copy of the report is attached.

• Keith and Paul plan to meet with auditors in April regarding the timing of teachers’ pay (it is currently paid before work has been performed).  After talking the issue over with Keith, the teachers have opted to correct the problem with the first September 2011 paycheck. 
• Keith requested Board approval to use the Ed Jobs Fund (money from the stimulus bill) to offset specialists' salaries.  The Board approved a resolution to use the Ed Jobs Fund to offset specialists' salaries and provide some funding for the Catalyst Fund. Votes on the resolution:

 

	Vote
Jeanné Avery	In favor
Tricia Ferrett	In favor
Bonnie Jean Flom	In favor
Cynthia Gilbertson	In favor
Paul Hager	In favor
David Lefkowitz	In favor
Laura Medwetz	In favor
Dean Paxton	In favor
Michael Viola	In favor

 

Executive Committee

Nothing to report since the last meeting.

Director's Report 

• Contract renewal report finished in January.  Site Visit occurred Feb.  23 & 24. Carolyn Joyce hosted the Site Visit.  It was a busy two days.
• About 10 non-Board members attended the Director's Roundtable on the topic of qualities to look for in a new Executive Director.
• Caroline attended the March 14th NSD Board Meeting. Rob Hardy presented the evaluation report and highly recommended that the District renew PCCS’s contract.  In response to a question, Dr. Richardson said that the District is planning more oversight (e.g., yearly visits, reviewing budgets).
• The new contract is a five-year contract.
• Caroline is currently trying to find a date when staff, faculty, and Board can have dinner together to celebrate the successful completion of the self-evaluation.
• The fifth graders had successful week at Wolf Ridge in February.
• March 7th was the lottery; many tours followed.
• Applications were down this year from last year.  Thirty students have signed up for kindergarten.  Only twelve students are signed up for full-day kindergarten, which is about half of the number we had enrolled this year.  This will have a significant impact on the budget.
• We are having some difficulty getting some families to pay the full-time kindergarten tuition on time.  Some accounts have become significantly behind.  If we stopped running a full-day program we would avoid the problem of billing and the staffing issue in the afternoon.  
• Music camp and summer school are happening.
• Caroline attended a meeting with representative John Kline at Paideia.  He was looking for ideas about how the legislature could support charter schools.  They toured Paideia. Caroline is trying to set up a visit for Kline to PCCS in April. 
• Keith came to a faculty meeting and explained how to read the monthly reports he prepares.
• Keith and Paul met with the teachers to discuss the timing of payroll.
• Cindy Laverato did some training for faculty and staff about charter schools.
• Hired Mark Ekeren as a handyman on an as-needed basis.  He has been getting things done around the school, such as putting new shelves in the Stage Meeting Room.
• Latest on the ice dam:  ServiceMaster put some sensors in the wall to test for moisture.  We do not have a problem now, but we have to add more insulation in the roof to avoid the ice dam and probably re-do the wall and ceiling in the Doves to repair the damage done this winter.
• There has been a mysterious smell in Susan's room.  After some investigation, Caroline believes that the problem is the way the sink was plumbed when the expansion was built.  Will have Keith Pumper come out and fix it.  It should have been done differently in the first place, so she does not expect PCC Inc. to be charged for it.
• Lunch program: It has been difficult to get volunteers to come work lunch.  One reason for the problem is that the job takes longer than it did before the expansion.  Caroline says that the school needs to start looking into ways to address the problem.  The Board discussed possibilities, including ceasing the hot lunch program, increasing the price to cover the cost of staff help, offering only cold lunch, and looking beyond the school community for volunteers.

Search Committee Report

• After reviewing all of the applications, the Search Committee interviewed Simon Tyler on Saturday, March 18th.
• After the interview, the Committee selected Simon as the sole finalist in the Director search process.
• A process has been planned that will include opportunities for teachers and staff and the parent community to meet with Simon.  Members of the Committee will attend these events and gather feedback from other attendees.  
• Out of respect for ARTech, the Committee rescheduled the process so that it can be completed more quickly than originally planned.  If all goes according to plan, the Committee expects to call a special meeting of the Board on April 11th for a final vote. 

Policy Committee Report

• Fund balance policy was discussed and approved.
• The Board discussed changing the Parenting Leave Policy to include staff who have taught a complete school year -- rather than 12 months -- because this is more consistent with the school's calendar.  Policy Committee will prepare a draft of a revised policy.

Development Committee Report

• The Auction is on the 25th.  Parent giving has been very low this year, so there is more pressure on the Auction than usual.  
• Paul suggested that the committee look into the fundraising technique used by St. Dominic's.  It is a form of lottery.
• Currently generating new ideas about fundraising so that Annual Fund giving will continue through the end of the year. 

Education Resource Committee Report

Looking for a date to have an all-school evening art show.

Outreach Committee

Trish, Caroline, Michelle, and Bonnie Jean attended a meeting about the website redesign.  The meeting was chaired by Josie Rawson.  They concluded that the website redesign is in good hands. 

Nominations Committee

• Nominations Committee will have a slate ready at next month’s meeting.  A notice will go out to the community asking whether they want to be considered.  The slate will be based on the response to the notice.  
• This year our April meeting is happening on April 18th, which is after the 15th.  Caroline recommends that the By-laws be amended to say that the slate will be presented "by the April Board meeting," instead of by April 15th.

Other Business

To improve our compliance with the Open Meeting Law requirements, votes on items passed by consensus will be recorded as a vote in favor by any member not blocking consensus.   

Caroline will ask Colleen to make badges for Board members to wear at the event with Simon on Thursday night.

Adjourned: 9:25 p.m.

Minutes approved: April 18, 2011

 

February 2011 Board Meeting Was Cancelled Due to Weather