Board Members Attending: Winnie Bolinsky, Kyle Peck, MarkToci, Donna Fischer, Margaret Hopkins (arrived at 7:00)

Community Members Attending: Ann Bolser, Brian Rowan

I. Call to Order

 At 6:38 p.m., Kyle called the meeting to order.

II. Open Discussion

 No community members chose to speak at this time.

III. Routine Approvals

A. Approval of the Minutes

Winnie moved and Mark seconded to approve the June 27, 2002 CLC Board Minutes. The motion passed.

B. Payment of the Bills

Mark motioned and Winnie seconded to approve payment of the bills. Ann reported that the Finance Committee has not met since last meeting because of the short interval between the June and July Board meetings. Ann distributed a list of the bills paid since last meeting. The motion passed.

IV. CFO / Finance CommitteeReport

A. End of Year Financial Report

Ann distributed a copy of the budget report. The school started the fiscal year with $41, 600 and ended the school year with $78, 263, earning more money than spending. Kyle noted that he was really pleased with the work of the Finance Committee and is grateful to the volunteers, Kosta and Paul. Donna asked if next years budget would be based on actual expenditures this year. Specifically, Donna asked if money budgeted for supplies would be increased since Ann froze that line item well before the end of the school year. Ann said that the budget would be based on what we would ideally want to spend, not necessarily based on last years spending. However, items such as utilities would be based on this past year.

Winnie distributed a copy of the enrollment report. The currently confirmed enrollment for the fall is 105. This includes 7 students from the 2001-2002 school year who are still undecided, but does not include 4 applicants who are undecided. The school will have an open house to show what progress the school has been making. Winnie said that in the long run the school would want to attract more girls. Of the 105 students, 38 are girls and 67 are boys. Winnie indicated that the school might start the year with slightly smaller class sizes. Brian noted that from unofficial conversations he believes that there are a handful of others that will not return who are not indicated as such on the enrollment report. Winnie noted that there are 4 applicants who are undecided that are not listed with the 105. Winnie believes that many people will confirm when they have the chance to meet the new staff, and she suggested that August 1st be a parent meeting where new staff can be introduced to parents. Margaret suggested possibly having two opportunities for parents to meet the new teachers. Winnie preferred 1 night and opened the possibility of having other times upon parent requests. Margaret asked about the number of classes that the school would be split into for the next school year. Winnie said that the school will have 5 classes that will start out smaller. Ann said it is about $6,500 per student and the school will need to make adjustments (i.e. getting more students) throughout the year to avoid being in the red. Margaret asked historically if the school gained students. Ann replied that the school usually stopped recruiting because it started full. Margaret also asked about what other adjustments could be made. Ann said that the school would have to decide as the school year goes and mentioned that staffing, in regards to specials and other hourly staff, then supplies would be expenses that could possibly be reduced. Winnie also said the school would be pursuing other funds via grants. Margaret said that there was earlier discussion about not having assistants and asked about the status of that. Winnie said that having 2 teachers in a classroom was very attractive to parents. For the upcoming year, the assistant model will be used and for one class a co-lead teacher model will be used. The effectiveness of the co-lead teacher model will be studied throughout the year. For the upcoming school year there will be two 5/6 classrooms, one 6/7, and two 7/8. The 6/7 would take mature 6th graders and 7th graders who would benefit from mentoring others. Donna asked if it was possible to see if salary offers are doable with only 20 in a class. Winnie said her first priority was to get good staff. She doesn't feel that the teachers are getting enough as is. For the long-term success of the school it needs to get staff that will come and grow with the school. Ann also said that debt (computer loans) could be restructured if needed. Donna agreed with Winnie's emphasis on the importance of staff. Margaret suggested the possibility of having just 4 classes to go with the current 105 students enrolled to help the school financially. Winnie said that the 6/7 class was really important for flexibility. Brian mentioned that subtracting a class would not be cost-effective in the long run because of overhead. Margaret also mentioned that she doesn't know how accurate the report of 105 students is because of unofficial conversations with others. Mark said that the staff has talked about the reasons for the reduced enrollment and said that he was amazed with hearing about the negativity coming from staff about the school. In order to move forward, he said that people need to be positively involved with the school. Winnie believed that enrollment would continue to grow as we put the word out on the good things that we are doing. Donna asked when the operational budget would be made and presented. Ann estimated that it would be ready by the end of August or beginning of September.

V. Communications

 There were no communications for the Board at this time.

VI. Action Items

A. Offer Letters to New Staff

Winnie moved and Margaret seconded to offer assistant teaching positions to Johnathan Cohen and Kelly Kennedy, as well as lead teaching positions to Julie Danna, Pat Zimmerman, Brian Rowan, and Dana Stuchul. The motion passed.

Julie Danna's offer is contingent on reference checks, since the hiring committee has been unable to contact her references.

VII. Information / DiscussionItems

A. Facilities Progress

Winnie updated the Board on the following facilities changes. The library in the lobby has been making progress, walls are being painted around the school, there is a wall for Ann's new office, and new locks have been installed. Winnie is in the process of getting an estimate for a wall for the Big Room classroom financed through grant funds that she is seeking. Also, Winnie is getting an estimate for a sign for the front of the building and an estimate for lighting in Big Room. In addition to this, a parent has been setting up kitchen as a science lab (collecting and organizing science equipment). Winnie is excited about this and the fact that a lot of the new personnel have extremely strong science backgrounds. Margaret asked about the status of a math specialist for the school. Winnie said that the school was looking at two positions: a half time math specialist and a half time special education person. Margaret asked about the attractiveness of half time jobs. Winnie said a person with kids and Kyle said possibly someone from the university would be interested. If the school does not get a half time special education person, it would contract for services.

Winnie is on draft #3 of the student conduct code. Winnie will run that by Margaret and make that available at the August 1st parent meeting. Winnie would like both the student and parents/guardians to sign it. The categories delineated are academic, behavior, and technology.

B. Parent Meetings

There will be a parent meeting on August 1st for parents to meet the new staff.

C. Parent Volunteers

Winnie is hoping that some community members will be able to help paint the school building. Winnie asked if Margaret could help coordinate this. Margaret suggested targeting the first weekend in August and including the announcement in the email to parents about the August 1st parent meeting. Mark suggested organizing a phone tree, which has worked effectively for his team. Donna reaffirmed that not all families are online. Margaret asked Ann for an updated directory. Donna suggested that the school establish a phone tree for the fall. Winnie though that that would also be a good idea in case of a school emergency. Winnie will target August 3rd for a community workday. This will also give people another opportunity to meet the teachers. Details will be discussed later.

VIII. Adjournment

 At 8:01 p.m., Mark moved and Donna seconded to adjourn the meeting.