BARNSTABLE COMMUNITY HORACE MANN CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOL

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Todd Carley(Chair) Travis Cundiff(Vice-Chair) Beth-Anne Allen (Secretary) Timea Menyhart (Treasurer) Steve Thompson

John Burnett Patty HorganKen Keenan Cathy Milne Sheila Kukstis (Principal)

Mission Statement:The mission of BCHMCPS is to create a nurturing and safe learning community that will engage, educate and challenge a diverse K-3 population to achieve the highest level of academic excellence. We foster the development of respectful and responsible students who are contributing participants in their education, and in their community. We support continuous improvement in the teaching process, and cultivate parent and community partnerships.

Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes

Monday October 2, 2017 at 5:30PM

Meeting Location:HYCC, Conference Room, 141Bassett Lane, Hyannis

Members present: Todd Carley, John Burnett, Patty Horgan, Ken Keenan, Beth-Anne Allen, Cathy Milne, Sheila Kukstis, Timea Menyhart, Travis Cundiff

5:36Meeting called to order; mission statement read.

Public Comment: none

Minutes approved for August 21, 2017

5:40Subcommittee/School Group Reports:

Enrollment Committee – There will be an enrollment table set up at the Main Street Trick or Treating event. Teachers will hand out brochures, information about our school, and candy to the children. Patty would like to buy candy and get reimbursed. Sheila confirmed that this will come in under the advertising portion of the enrollment committee budget.

Finance Committee – Timea was unable to get financial statements from Gareth or Michelle. She is concerned about the vacancy in the bookkeeper position. Sheila has interviewed several candidates. John Burnett recused himself from this discussion and did not vote. A finalist raised concerns about pay rate and weekly hours. She would like 40 hours a week. What she is requesting is comparable to what we have considered paying for outsourced services. Todd recommended continuing to work on outsourcing options so that we are not continuously looking for a new bookkeeper. Sheila would like to have someone at the school that she can work closely with. John recused himself from this part of the discussion. Ken asked what kind of access Sheila would have to an outsourced person. Timea said that there would be time on site written in the agreement. Patty stated the firm may save us money overall, as we are not responsible for benefits like we are for an employee. Todd suggested hiring a bookkeeper as an employee but continuing to research possible companies to use for outsourcing if/when this person should leave us. Travis made a motion to hire a candidate for $25/hr for 40 hours a week, and continuing to search. Motion seconded. Cathy did not vote; Travis, Todd, Ken, Beth-Anne, Timea, and Patty voted in favor, motion was passed.

John Burnett returned for the remainder of the meeting.

Fundraising Committee– Todd reported that he is passing the reigns to Travis. Todd will focus on Board recruiting. The fundraisers have come up with their statement of activity so far. Ken asked if we were on schedule. We are not. We are approximately 2 months behind schedule. Travis will be able to follow through in a more timely way.

Personnel Committee – no report

CADRES– Beth-Anne reported that steering met September 17th. Representatives from each cadre were there. The writing cadre is looking for a program to be used schoolwide. They need to research what is being used and what we have already before they move forward. The professional development cadre has 3 available half days to plan. They will gather input from the staff to see what will be relevant and useful. They were concerned about budget so will look into grants. The science cadre would like to create a science culture in the school. They will be becoming familiar with the new science standards and seeing how science is delivered already. A curriculum map may be created. The MTSS team rolled out the action plan for behavioral expectations in the school. They have implemented plans for transitions to help students safely travel from one are to another. MTSS has also revised the ISIP process to streamline it.

PTO – no report

Friends of BCHMCPS – Shelby Powers has stepped down from her role at BCHMCPS. Todd will update us when he knows more.

Charter Renewal Committee– Patty reported that they are gathering input from all stakeholders as to what they would like the school to look like in the next five years. The first question was “What does your dream school look like?” The second question is “How do we make our school unique for the future?” The third question is how we strategically achieve this. Patty discussed the importance of everyone’s input in this process. We have the power to collaborate and make our vision come true. We need to define our unity of purpose. Todd suggested reaching out to school committee and administration to get their input. Patty and Cathy will be at the November 15th school committee meeting to provide an update of the work being done. They may invite school committee members to answer our three questions as well.

Principal’s Report–No updates on enrollment, it is stable. The only wait list is for kindergarten. Patty wondered if we can extend the enrollment for other grades, this might be good if there are new families that move into town.

-DESE Site visit is November 29th. October 12th and October 25th will be the CPR site visit.

-Our Annual Report has been approved and is now posted on the website.

-Curriculum update: Cathy and Sheila had a lengthy meeting with Kristen Harmon about our new math program and how it meets the Massachusetts common core state standards. Kristen will be presenting it to the school committee. Patty stated that by Charter law, the Board of Trustees is responsible for approving curriculum, not the district. She is concerned that the MOU does not call for the approval of our curriculum by the district. Ken stated that the district is concerned because our students do very well with us but then their scores drop by grade 4 and 5. They are using end of year testing to track students. We need to stress our delivery methods – our students get more services than they might be getting in grade 4. Sheila said that it did come up in the conversation. Our students do well in grade 3 MCAS. It is not our responsibility that they drop by grade 5. Cathy stated that the demands made on Sheila by the district are becoming greater and greater. Travis stated that the Board needs a liason with the town; it might create a better environment and morale for the staff who are working with the children. John stated that the MOU should be defined in the way that we understand it. We should take out the vague language that leads to misunderstandings.

-Terry Corbett, the school assistant, has resigned. Jen Filacci has been hired to work with Carol Higgins. We are fully staffed now with school assistant position.

-Dividers for classroom modification are in, they need to be installed.

-Title 1 family outreach will happen at the principal’s coffee hour tomorrow morning. Tutorials will be offered on October 4th and 11th for all parents interested in learning about the online components of our ELA and Math programs.

-Sheila is developing her goals for the 17/18 school year. She would like to sit with the personnel committee to discuss them.

7:00Board of Trustees Update/Discussion

Todd will be spending a lot of time recruiting new Board members from our current parent pools and staff. There is a minimum of 9 members on the Board. We can have 5 staff, 5 parent members. Cathy suggested Lisa Callahan. Todd would like Sheila to include a recruitment blurb in her weekly blog to parents. He will send her the text to include.

7:14Matters Not Reasonably Anticipated by the Chair

Beth-Anne stated that we have not completed our Board goals. Todd suggested the renewal of the Charter should be our goal.

7:15MeetingAdjourned