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BOD Meeting Minutes – December 9th, 2014

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

ABS 7th Street Building

Winston-Salem, NC

Tuesday December 9thth, 2014.

In Attendance: Eric Prior, Kevin Nunley, Alex Ewing, Paige Raper, Renee Semones, Charles Cleveland, Margaret Taylor, Michelle Lawrence, Amy Lanning, Doug Punger, Heather Smith

  1. Meeting Called to Order – 5:45PM – Eric called the meeting to order at 5:48.
  2. Approval of November 2014 Minutes – ACTION REQUIRED – 5:45-5:47PM – Motion from Margaret Taylor, Heather Smith seconds, all in favor, no opposed. Motion passes.
  3. Principal’s Report (Robin and/or Paige) – 5:47-6:10PM – Paige Raper presented the data from ACT Explore testing (see handout). All 8th graders in public schools in North Carolina take this test. The test consists of two parts: an interest inventory and the standardized subject tests. 8th graders at ABS scored higher than the national norm on all subtests.
  4. Review of October Financials (Renee) – 6:10-615PM – We are in our 5th month and our revenue is at 58%. This is about where we should be. Our total positive variation is $38,000. There isn’t much to point out. We’re tracking the operating reserve in section 8. Capital Campaign numbers are broken out. This school year we’ve received close to $26,000 in donations and we’ve spent $28,000. Eric Prior thinks we are just under $100,000 to go with the campaign. Joan Marie Belnap mentions that not everyone thinks about the donations until they receive a “bill” or pledge reminder. Eric Prior will ask for more details on the capital campaign before the next meeting.
  5. Follow up on new board candidates (Charles & Eric) – 6:15-6:20PM – Charles Cleveland thanks everyone who has given names as potential board candidates. We currently have 14 names and the committee will be meeting after the first of the year to discuss cultivation strategies. We may host some lunches or coffee events to introduce potential members to our school. We’d like to have more names. They aren’t all names of people who would be board members next year but those who we may want to introduce to our school. If you haven’t put names on the list yet, please give them to Charles. We’re interested in increasing diversity, technology, and philanthropy. New members come on in June. Eric Prior thanks Charles for handling this for the board.
  6. Building & Grounds Development Strategy from Strategic Plan (Charles) – 6:20-6:45PM – We’ve used prior board meeting time to revisit some areas from the strategic plan. Tonight we’ll discuss buildings and grounds development. There are three areas to strengthen – having a strong board, technology, and deepening relationships with arts community and neighborhood. The financial security strategy narrative has been approved so it’s now ready for committees to begin work. Last month we talked about technology and Charles created a draft document about this. More time needs to be spent on this. The International Society of Technology in Education has standards for educators and the board may want to use this as a jumping off point for discussions. Another thing to consider is what do we want our board to look like? How will we evaluate that board to see if it’s effective? An advisory Committee has been discussed. People who may not be able to meet every month but could be used for expertise when necessary could serve.

Tonight – We don’t have a strategy written for buildings and grounds. The board may want to take deliberate action on that. Charles asks everyone to imagine that they are in a new funded position as the vice president of buildings and grounds. Put together a plan to ensure that ABS has the best facility that can meet our mission. What questions do we need answered before we can plan? Margaret wants to know the budget? Kevin – what defines a good learning environment? Alex – What do we lack now? Parking and traffic flow. Doug – Do we have a schedule for replacement of major building components? Heather – What opportunities or threats do we have from neighboring properties? Charles – Is this our permanent location? Eric Prior gives out our scorecard on our strategies from last January’s board retreat. At the time when we talked about expanding into middle school, this was discussed a lot. We are committed to being here due to our lease. Do we want to own our facilities or continue to rent? The older building should have a schedule for HVAC, roof, etc. Margaret – What are staff and parent concerns with the present facility? Doug – What is the vision for the courtyard? Kevin – What are the regulatory requirements? Michelle – My son has twice fallen on concrete and wants to know about softer play space. Doug mentions a new play surface being used by other schools. Eric – Is there additional field space? Heather – what did we plan to do with capital campaign money that we haven’t done yet? Joan Marie – where does equipment fit in? Amy – Is security included in this? Margaret thinks risk management and security should have board participation. We have a triple net lease on both buildings. Interior is our responsibility. What are our needs? Can we prioritize a list? How and when would we tackle these? Alex – We don’t seem to come to a conclusion on theater space. Theater space is on the list. Where is it relative to other things like parking and buildings? Doug asks if parents feel or express any concern about the “old” building vs. the “new” building. Charles Cleveland thinks this could be a good area where parents could be asked for input. Michelle Lawrence asks if this could be added to the parent survey. Charles will create a list for everyone to discuss based on this discussion. Eric says we can try to discuss it at the January retreat. The location is TBD. It also serves as our January board meeting.

  1. Other Business – 6:45-6:50PM Michelle Lawrence reported that 240 students attended movie day and we raised $1200 on admission. This number does not count snack and drink sales. Margaret asks for some attention to committee assignments and orientation. Heather Smith – It would be nice to take the strategic plan discussions and divide it up amongst committees. Margaret asks about current committees and whether or not we should add others? Are they working for us? Joan Marie – Do we have a systematic way to orient members to the board? Margaret thinks we will have more parents than spots for committee work.
  2. Adjournment – 6:50PM –The meeting is adjourned at 6:50.