Board Minutes, September 24, 2007
Waldorf School Board of Trustees Meeting – Handwork Room Adams Building
September 24, 2007, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Board members present (13):
Ellen Varney, Helena Niiva, John Wass, Lauren Smith, Janis Rothbard, Jeff Ask, Jeanette Voss, Wendy Margo, Walter Ogier, Jan Connery, Mooly Dinnar, Carol Monzillo, Brian Kydd.
Board Members absent (2): Jonathan Edson, Eva Cahill
Ex-officio present (2): Joe O’Regan, Susan Cody
Guest (1): Amy Burke.
The Board and Faculty scheduled a pot luck dinner prior to the first Board meeting. Most Board members and many faculty members were present.
5:30 Board – Faculty Pot luck and Meeting
· Singing
· Goals for 2007-8 and preparations for Fireside Chats
6:00 Potluck dinner
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7:10 Board Meeting Opening – Jan Connery – Reading of a thank you letter regarding the Waldorf Schools water-painting exhibit.
7:15 Faculty Chair-Susan Cody
Brief update on items such as: Faculty Training, Kim John Payne, Michaelmas, Faculty Staff Evaluation Process with Torin Finser, Faculty Chair / Dean of Pedagogy, Christina Joan Williams.
Special Topic – Extended Day
A faculty committee completed their analysis and decided to solicit input on the item from the board through Susan and Joe. There has been little demand this year, with no demand for Fridays. The discussion ensued whether to cancel the drop in option for Fridays. The Board shared their individual feedback, some based on personal experience in recent times and in previous years where the program was heavily enrolled. The importance of having a good extended day program was emphasized in the context of working parents and family convenience, and the pedagogical aspects were mentioned. The issue was returned to the faculty and administration, with the board’s input.
7:50 Finance committee-Ellen – Board Information
· Financial Results 2006-2007 – Reviewed the board material that was sent out.
Summary Commentary: The school planned a deficit of ($75,949) for 2006-2007. The actual results were better than plan coming in at a surplus of $87,763. This improvement was caused by higher enrollment than plan, continued cost containment, less need for an unemployment provision and the earmarking of some expenditures to fund capital expenditures during the year (kindergarten remodeling).
Cash flow commentary:
The biggest item on the cash flow statement was the purchase of #669, funded by refinancing with RSF and funding with Sovereign Bank. Excluding timing differences we used more cash than last year ($66k) compared to ($48k), but an improvement on planned cash usage ($137k). A significant change to last year was the timing of the receipt of tuition payments, $257k more was received in prepaid tuitions before year-end due to the stricter enforcement of contract deadlines.
The planned credit line was not used this year ($150k), cash reserves are not building up to protect the school in times of change.
· Auditors will attend October Open Board meeting
· Budget 2007-2008 – reminder
· Enrollment Report – Actual students: 277 versus planned 281. Financially, it is less of an issue because when considering Full Time Equivalents (FTE) we have 248.0 versus 248.2 – this is mainly due to having more 5-day nursery students than planned.
8:10 Development Committee- Walter and Amy reported on work so far, and preparation for Annual giving
8:25 Board Development & Governance Committee – John
· Board committees – presented again and reviewed the table. Will be converted into a full list format and distributed to the board.
8:35 CASA – Brian, Joe -Updated on process with the town, and the East Lexington Library process. Joe reported on the Open Meeting of the Cary Trustees, and on the process he proposed to be leading to present a proposal to them.
8:45 Approval of previous Board Minutes – Mooly
Board Resolution -
· Voted to approve the Minutes of June Meeting, June 20, 2006
8:30 Additional item – Hosting of conferences –
Mooly brought forward the recent initiatives and desires of individuals within the community to plan for and host Waldorf conferences at the school. A discussion followed on what it take succeed, and how best to go about it. There was a general consensus on having to plan some years in advance in order to ensure a positive leadership position and success. Will move to the Long Range Planning Committee for follow up and inclusion into the multi year plans.
9:00 Executive Committee - Mooly
Held without Ex-Officio members and guests who were excused early.
· Operation Manager contract renewal - Voted to renew the operations manager contract. Empowered the President and the Treasurer to move forward with doing so, and empowered the executive committee to approve the associated salary increase.
9:10 Closing
Recorded and approved: Reviewed and attested:
Mooly Dinnar, President Wendy Margo, Secretary