The Ivy School, 4212 NE Prescott St.
Board of Directors-Regular Meeting Minutes
September 23, 2013
Present: Anne O’Neal, Johanna Keith, Adam Smith, Dave Stevens, Rebecca Keith, Billy Ladd, Karilyn Wax
Administration Present: Mary Zigman (6:16pm),
Audience: Leah Cutler, Sue Rideout
6:08pm Meeting called to order by Dave Stevens.
6:05pm Dave moves to approve June 2013 regular meeting minutes. Adam seconds, all board members in favor, motion carries, minutes approved.
6:09pm Sue Rideout has been hired for the Capital Campaign position and provided and update of the status of the campaign. During Parent Orientation sessions the school has raised $10,000 to add to the monies collected last school year. We are looking for major donors who can donate $1000 or more. All board members are assigned the task of recruiting new donors from their professional contacts. Sue has asked that all board members bring contact information for five possible donors to the October 28 meeting. Also at the October meeting, Sue will inform the board of the funds collected, so far.
6:23pm Administration report delivered by Mary Zigman. Mary just returned from a meeting in Salem discussing the Ivy School’s second report card. The school is doing well, but there is room for improvement in Academic Growth (the growth of individual students over a period of time). There are already measures in place to boost this measure, including creating more infrastructure within the school and giving teachers leadership roles within their areas of expertise. Another area of improvement is widening the school’s student body to include more students from underserved populations. Ivy School is creating partnerships with the Friends of the Children organization and Mr. Dapo and Mr. Andersen of an enrichment program in Morris Neighborhood. Mary points out that we are experiencing a “crisis in technology” at the Ivy School. Laptops the classrooms use are not reliable and are impeding student progress not only in class, but on standardized tests as well. A Laptop drive will be launched in an effort to obtain newer, more reliable computers for the classrooms. Billy will assist Mary with wiping the memories of donated machines and updating their operating systems.
6:50pm No update from Outreach Committee.
6:51pm Executive Session: ORS 332.061 (confidential student records)
Billy Ladd must leave meeting at 7:10pm.
7:16pm Treasurer’s Report delivered by Adam Smith. Adam is meeting with Karie and Stephanie on Fridays to organize budget and software to reflect the new chart of accounts demanded by ODE. Adam will be reconciling Bank Statements monthly to be sure that all numbers agree. Last year’s financials have been reconciled. The school spent less than budgeted last year, but was still over budget due to administrative and staff turnover. Because of the timing of payments from the State, we are always short this time of year. We still need nearly $10,000 in materials for new classrooms. Stephanie, Adam, and Mary will meet to decide how and when to make big purchases in the coming weeks.
7:40pm Grant Writing Report presented by Dave Stevens. Rachel Powers stepped down from her position on the grant writing committee. Heidi Owen has taken her place. They are still working on securing grants for the school. Please contact Dave if you hear of a grant so that we may be sure there is only one proposal from Ivy being sent. Mary wrote a grant for 10 computers and is working with the owner of the lot across from the Prescott Building to use it as a playspace for the Lower Elementary campus.
7:46pm Leah Cutler gave an update of PTA activities. The Chinook Book sale is going well. Upcoming events include a screening and discussion of the documentary Raising Cain and a Read-a-Thon fundraiser.
8:06pm Meeting adjourned.