Approved on 5/11/2016
NEW HEIGHTS SCHOOLS, INC. Phone: 651-439-1962
614 W. MULBERRY STREET, STILLWATER, MN 55082 Fax: 651-439-0716
Board of Directors Meeting
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
New Heights School – Room 202
4:00 - 5:30 pm
MINUTES
I. Opening of Meeting and Call to Order
President-elect Megan Wieker called the meeting to order at 4:08 p.m.
a. Attendance:
Board of Directors Ex-Officio
Lauren Adamic __P__ Andy Rakerd __A__ Tom Kearney (Principal/Superintendent)
Cheryl Graham __P__ Mike Stahlmann __P__ Lindsay Berberich (Bookkeeper)
Judy Gulden __P__ Megan Wieker __P__ Visitors
(no visitors)
b. Welcome New Members/Guests/Visitors
President Megan Wieker welcomed all those present.
II. Review of Agenda & Minutes
a. Review Agenda
The agenda was reviewed with no changes recommended.
b. Approval of the March 16, 2016 Minutes (action)
On motion by Lauren seconded by Judy with all present voting yes, motion passed to approve the Board of Directors minutes of March 16, 2016 as presented.
III. Financial Report
a. Financial Review (Action)
Lindsay presented and answered questions on the March 2016 Check Register report from the SmartBoard (available on common drive).
On motion by Lauren seconded by Cheryl with all present voting yes, motion passed to approve the Check Register as presented.
b. Food Service Review (Information)
Lindsay presented and answered questions on the Food Service report from the SmartBoard (available on common drive). She discussed the changes due to the new nutritional requirements.
c. Draft of 2016-17 Budget (Information)
Lindsay presented and answered questions on the FY 16-17 Budget Draft report with FY 16-17 Budget Draft Notes. Copies were circulated and discussed from the SmartBoard (available on common drive). There were twelve notes that were discussed. This is a very difficult year to budget as we are looking at a model with 130ADM. We have received our medical and dental quotes and once again we are eligible for a decrease in premiums. We will also be leasing our copy machines next year.
On motion by Mike seconded by Cheryl with all present voting yes, motion passed to approve the 2016-17 Budget as presented.
IV. Old Business (review progress)
a. Board Goals
i. Improve board understanding of the contractual obligations of New Heights from our authorizer MN Guild
ii. Increase board understanding of legislative changes to Charter School Law 124E
iii. Form and review an Events Committee
b. Annual Meeting (review progress)
i. Date & Place ( May 25, 2016,7:00pm; Room 202)
ii. Board Vacancies (Four)
iii. Room Preparation - (Megan & Mike)
iv. Vote Counter - (Lindsay)
v. Publications/mailings - (Mike)
President Megan Wieker led a discussion on the above preparations.
c. School Calendar 2016-17 (action)
Tom lead a discussion on the school calendar as presented and initially discussed at our last meeting.
On motion by Mike seconded by Sheryl with all present voting yes, motion passed to approve the School Calendar 2016-17 with changes.
Revised SOD Plan
Tom and Lindsay led a discussion on the revised SOD plan as discussed from a MDE Excel spreadsheet on the SmartBoard (available on common drive). This shows PPU’s for FY 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019 estimates.
On motion by Lauren seconded by Mike with all present voting yes, motion passed to approve the revised SOD plan as presented.
V. New Business
a. Committee Updates (PLC, Worlds Best Workforce, Leadership, Events)
President Megan Wieker led a discussion on:
· PLC: Megan discussed the meetings held. Tom and Megan have continued the GRR and shared the results at staff meeting.
· WBL: Nothing new to discuss.
· Leadership: Nothing new to discuss.
· Events: Nothing new to discuss.
b. Staffing
Tom led a discussion on our staffing needs. He received staff resignations and recommended the board accept the resignations of: Lauren Adamic, Doris Beedle, and Sara Cote.
On motion by Cheryl seconded by Judy with all present voting yes, motion passed to approve the resignation of Lauren Adamic, Doris Beedle, Sara Cote on the recommendation of our Principal Tom Kearney.
VI. Administrator’s Report
Tom Kearney gave a report on the state of the school including the following:
· Enrollment: As of the first of the year there were 77 newly enrolled students. We now have 144 student in the building. We are estimating our year end ADM at 138 or 139.
· Sale of Washington School: This is still progressing. Tom met with the ISD 834 Superintendent and buildings supervisor. Washington School (NHS) has not been presented to their board for sale.
· ISD 834 School Closures: Tom said ISD 834 stayed the decision with the closure until the lawsuits are settled.
· NHS Buildings & Grounds Improvement: This process is still moving forward.
· SHIP Grant: Tom discussed the receipt of a Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP) grant. This is a Minnesota program to help decreasing obesity rates and reduce the number of people who use tobacco.
· Water Efficiency Grant: Tom discussed the receipt of a Water Efficiency Grant to replace all of our toilet flushing equipment for dual flushers. This is a state wide incentive grant to reduce water usage.
· Q-COMP Grant: Tom discussed the receipt of this grant which for around $45,000.00. He and Megan spent many hours in technical writing to receive this grant. The board thank them both for all their hard work in obtaining all three of these grants.
VII. Receive Donations
On behalf of the NHS School Board President Megan Wieker thanked the following contributors:
· $48.00 from Cheryl Graham
· $585.00 from Jon Neitzell
VIII. Other (not to exceed 5 minutes)
Nothing additional discussed.
IX. Set Agenda for May Meeting
a. Date & Time (May 11, 4:00)
b. Agenda
i. Board Goals
ii. Committee Updates: PLC, Worlds Best Workforce, Leadership Committee, Uniform
iii. Financial Review (check & food)
iv. Staffing
v. Annual Meeting
vi. Authorizer Goals
vii. Graduation Ceremony
viii. Administrator Review Discussion (Megan, Andy, Judy)
Megan led a discussion on next month’s agenda as shown above.
X. Adjournment
On the motion by Lauren seconded by Judy with all present voting yes, motion passed to adjourn the Board of Directors Meeting at 5:28 pm.
Next Meeting
The next Board of Directors meeting will be Wednesday, May 11th in the Room 202 at 4:00.