October 2010 Minutes

 

Board Meeting Minutes

Monday October 25, 2010, 7:00 p.m.

Location: PCCS Stage Meeting Room

 

 

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

 

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

September Minutes

September minutes were approved with corrections.

Finance Report

Keith reported on the school's financial situation.  A copy of his report is attached.

Director's Report

•  
  • First two school-wide events of the year--goal-setting conferences and Curriculum Night--have been completed successfully.
  • A few parents have agreed to serve on the Steering Committee to help the school with its contract renewal process.
  • Director's Roundtables have been happening but have not been as well attended this year as in past years.
  • The 2/3's "food-to-table" curriculum is coming to an end, culminating in an Empty Bowls event this Friday.  There has been a lot of activity around this curriculum.
  • The school was awarded the composting grant it applied for last year.  The 2/3s are taking a lead on getting the project started because of the tie-in with the "food-to-table" curriculum.  As part of the project, the school will begin collecting data about the waste it produces.
  • Current Programming:
    • Starlings are working on a "Building" theme; they are planning a trip to Minneapolis.
    • Doves are working on a "Communication" theme.
    • Chickadees: "How do things grow?"
    • Herons: "Ancient Greece"
    • Robins: "Water"
    • Kestrels: "History”

 

•  
  • The audit will be taking place at the end of October.   Auditors are expected to be at the school for two days.
  • Contract renewal: Caroline will be going to a meeting of the Northfield School District next month regarding contract renewal.  She is thinking about who will be on the team for a site visit in February or March.
  • Self-study:  Considering what approach to choose for the self-study the school intends to complete this year.
  • The Northfield School District submitted its application on time to renew its status as an authorizer.  NSD has expressed its commitment to continuing as our authorizer, but because there is no guarantee that the State will approve the application, we will be applying with Novation as a back-up.
  • Caroline has been observing in class rooms.
  • Caroline has been participating in a professional development group at Mankato State.  
  • Caroline attended the Midwest Conference on Child Sexual Abuse.  It was a very informative conference, and she will share what she learned with the staff.  
  • Board members who need training have been signed up and registrations are being sent in.
  • MACS Annual Meeting is in November.  Caroline will be attending and invites other Board members to attend, as well.
  • Caroline shared an email from MACS reporting on a conversation with Lieutenant Governor candidate Annette Meeks.

After the Director’s Report, the Board spent some time discussing the current state of community/parent involvement in the school, considering, for example, how to increase volunteer involvement and attendance at Curriculum Night.  No clear agreement emerged about the state of the community’s commitment or how best to increase attendance at events, but a lot of anecdotal information was shared and ideas were offered.

Policy Committee Report

A number of new policies will be considered this year.  Up first will be a vote on  amended by-laws, a vote on whether to opt out of the pledge requirement of  Minn. Stat.  121A.11, and the designation of a responsible authority for data practice inquiries.    

Top drafting priorities for the Committee are (1) an attendance policy that addresses questions about students who leave the school for an extended period, and (2) a crisis management policy that sets out the schedule of drills.  

The Committee also shared a lengthly list of additional policies on the radar for future consideration.

In preparation for future decisions, the Board will get input from the staff about the Pledge of Allegiance.  The Board is also interested in learning more about how accessible classroom’s YouTube videos are to the public. 

Building & Grounds Report

•  
  • Contract with TransAlarm expires Nov. 30th.  Bruce Henning will take over monitoring immediately; the school will experience no gap in service. 
  • Contracts for snowplowing, salting, and other winter services have been put in place. 
  • PC Inc. has hired a handyman for about ten hours per week to take care of repairs and similar jobs around the building and grounds. 
  • PC Inc. will be purchasing a 400-sq. ft. shed to put on the grounds. This will replace the small shed and also the rented storage unit by the front lot. PC Inc. will also pay for a surround to be built around the dumpsters. 

Development Committee Report

The committee will be preparing a letter to the community launching the Annual Fund campaign.  Will aim to send it out before Thanksgiving.  The Committee will meet with Caroline to get more input on the letter. 

Education Resource Committee Report

Focus on science continues with classes keeping nature journals. Starting to think about a multiculturalism focus for next year, but that is just in the early stages of consideration. 

Outreach Committee Report

The committee plans to meet with Caroline soon to get started on its work for the year. 

Adjourned:  9:15  p.m.