January, 2009; Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes
Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School
Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees
Monday evening, January 26, 2009
Minutes
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 6:03 p.m. Members present: Scott Barron, Bill Bogdanovich, Bob Dwyer, Allison Graham, Kathie Grenon, Barbara Haines, Marion Hobbs, Kathy McNamara, Amy Mesirow, Heidi Schmidt, Josh Stewart, Diane Titcomb, Chris Wells. Absent: Dan Dray, Stefanie Fournier, Bernie Lynch. Public: Linda Darbyshire, Jon Fuller, Paul Niles, Karen Scichilone.
Approval of Minutes
The following corrections were made to the minutes of the 12/22/08 Trustees meeting: under Director's Report, change "was" to "will be" cleaned up; strike last sentence of paragraph about the Parent Association. A motion to approve the minutes, as edited, was made by Kathie, seconded by Chris, and approved by the members present.
Public Forum: No report.
Faculty Report
Allie reported that Ms. Garran and two students from the Cornerstone Project seminar were interviewed on WXTK's Spectrum radio show. The Cornerstone Project will also be featured in an exhibit at the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History. The faculty in-service day included department meetings, discussion of a redesign of CCLCS' mission statement, and other planning activities. Anti-bullying assemblies were held for students and parents. Term 2 seminars have begun, and are based around a book. The National Junior Honor Society induction was held, and student have begun work on several service projects. The parent-organized Ski Club had two successful outings. Eighth graders toured the Cape Cod Regional Tech. High School. The first winter concert will take place next Tuesday.
Director's Report
Kathy reported that the school has begun a "music in the morning program", donated by the Chatham Chorale. The school has been thoroughly cleaned after the Chinese Restaurant fire. An air quality test revealed that the school's air is in good shape. The last admissions open house will take place tomorrow evening, and the deadline for applications is February 9. To date, there are 72 completed applications, with 23 siblings and an increase in the number of applicants from Barnstable and Dennis-Yarmouth. Paul noted that the volume of tours is heavier than in recent years.
The Governer has preserved Chapter 70 funding for this year, although local aid will be cut and those cuts will likely trickle to the schools. In preparation for an expected cut in funding next year, staff members have talked about increasing the school's enrollment by 6 students to a total of 222. A group of staff members have begun working on the rechartering process. A site visit by the Dept of Education will take place at the end of May, with a focus on federal regulations for special education and English as a 2nd language. Kathy thanked board members for attending a staff-board breakfast last week. The next meeting of the Parent Association will be held on February 10. The Parent Association is planning an all-school family skating event on the afternoon of February 8. All members of the school community are invited.
Site Committee
Marion reported that the appraisal of the Bayberry Square building has come back with a value of $2.7-million. She thanked Bill for being the contact person for this work. The appraisal was done just before the fire took place, and before the cost estimate for the roof repair was completed. Coastal Engineering has given a ball-park estimate of $1.6-million for the roof repair.
Finance Committee
In Stefanie's absence, Karen gave the Finance Committee report. She distributed a Statement of Activities from July through December 2008, comparing income, expenses, and capital expenditures with the same period in 2007. Total income was up 9% over the 2007 period, but expenses were up 12%. Capital expenses were also up during the last half of 2008, due to $10,000 in capital improvements (school psychologist office, change in front doors). The committee is still projecting a break even year. The Statement of Activities also forecasted income and expenses for next year with a status quo, 5% cut and 10% cut. There was a discussion regarding how to reduce expenditures in the event of a budget cut. Ideas included reducing staff, turning to parents for greater volunteer involvement, and asking parents for monetary donations.
Bylaws Committee
Bill reported that the committee is finished with their review and modification of the bylaws. He noted that Sarah Turano-Flores did a lot of research to assist with the modifications. The committee will have one more meeting next Monday, and plan to have a draft ready for the next meeting of the Board of Trustees. Bill distributed copies of the Charter School Administrative and Governing Guide. It was agreed that the draft bylaws will be distributed and discussed at the next Board meeting, and voted on at the March meeting. Then it will go to the Board of Education to be ratified.
Capital Planning Committee
Chris reported that the school could borrow $2-3 million to purchase a new building, without a change in the amount we now pay to service our debt. Cape Cod 5 has indicated that they would be happy to entertain a loan for 75-80% of our purchase price. Chris noted that this amount, along with our endowment money, might enable us to purchase land with an existing building, but would be insufficient to build a new building. He also noted that the report of the Nonprofit Finance Fund, which indicated that we have a very well-run school, will be an excellent piece to bring to a financing entity.
Nominating Committee
Barbara is putting together a notebook for all board members, which should be passed back in for new board members when a member completes their term. She distributed a list of documents to be included in this notebook, and asked each board member to look at home and cross of the list the documents that they have and circle the ones that they need. Barbara also distributed copes of the "Disclosure of Financial Interest" form, and asked Board members to complete the form and hand it in the Marion Lay.
Chair's Report
Heidi distributed copies of the CCLCS Evaluation of Director for Trustees, Faculty and Staff. The members agreed not to modify the form this year. Heidi asked members to complete the evaluation and return it to the office in a sealed envelope addressed to Heidi.
A motion to adjourn the regular session of the Trustees was made by Scott, seconded by Marion and approved by all at 7:05. Paul Niles, Jon Fuller and Linda Darbyshire left.
Respectfully submitted,
Amy Mesirow, Vice Chair & Clerk