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Saint Theresa Parish Board of Education Minutes Tuesday, April 20 2009 5:45 PM
I Prayer- 5:50 II Open Forum/Visitors’ comments 5:51 Veronica stated her desire to receive grades on Edline from all teachers. Tonya concurred, and also asked that all assignments be available via Edline as well. III Acceptance of April Agenda 5:52 Move, “Tammy Mason, Diocesan CFO,” up to just after Approval of March Minutes. Steve moved acceptance of the amended April agenda, which seconded by Tom and approved by the Board. IV Approval of Minutes from March meeting 5:53 Geri moved approval of the March minutes, which was seconded by Father Larry and approved by the Board VI. Old Business 5:54-(Moved up from later on the agenda) B. Tammy Mason, Diocesan CFO Tammy thanked the Board for inviting the diocesan Finance Office to St. Theresa, and distributed the St. Theresa School Billing Process/Receivables Review Executive Summary report. Tammy said working to solve accounting issues is a difficult issue. The diocesan Finance Office goes to various parishes and schools, in most cases to confirm that things are going well. Sometimes another set of eyes are needed. Tammy gave background on Finance Office staff. The Church has a new focus on accounting practices and procedures. Discussion of fraud seems to be more prevalent nationwide. The U.S. Bishops have turned attention to accounting principles. Tammy has membership in a number of national accounting associations, which gives her exposure to what other dioceses are doing. Tammy explained that the scope of the Finance Office visit to St. Theresa concerned tuition billing, including billing concerns. The Billing Process/Receivable Review Executive Summary scope contained: Review of a sample of billings for completeness and accuracy for charges; review of a sample of payments for proper posting to subsidiary ledger (Hunter) and general ledger; review of ACH process; determination of whether processes are in place to ensure completeness and accuracy of the billing process; review of efficacy of parents’ billing statement; review of documentation and processes related to collectability of accounts; and recommendations related to billings, collections and tuition software. Tammy’s initial hypothesis had been to use Parishsoft, however her conclusion was that St. Theresa could get either system to work, and that regardless of software choice, the process around the tool was the important thing. Errors identified provided opportunities for improvement. Tammy gave specifics examples of errors. She recommended focusing energy on the future, and said a fresh start was needed regardless of the direction taken. If Hunter is to be used, the recommendation was to start over, since there were set-up issues, and that additional staff training was warranted. Improvement is needed in all aspects of the billing and collection process for the 2010-2011 school year and beyond. If billing and collection will be retained as a staff responsibility, the Hunter system should be re-installed, staff should be trained in the set-up software and a new set of procedures should be documented and followed. The diocesan Finance Office recommended outsourcing billing and collection to the Smart Tuition company beginning with the 2010-2011 school year. Either solution requires that new procedures for teachers and staff be established to report which students to bill for various fees. Tammy thought Smart Tuition represented the Church’s mission well, and would denote a fresh start. Accrual Accounting principles, instead of current Cash Accounting, should be implemented. This would be an opportunity to tighten up checks and balances with the current system. Monthly reconciliations of all tuition-related accounts should be performed and reviewed. Currently there were two Hunter tools, one for parish tithing, and the other school tuition billing. There was discussion of the next steps to be taken. Father liked the sound of the Smart Tuition program. The Board discussed options for tuition billing and collection. Tammy said teamwork was among the things missing from current processes. Steve said student achievement was being affected and that a sense of accountability was absent from any current issues. Tammy said it was easy to see that St. Theresa staff had gotten in a bind as far as keeping ahead of billing issues, and that once one was behind; it is difficult to pull out of this. Regular audits would be coming from diocesan policy in the near future, which was common practice across the country. The Board held discussion. Tammy said there was a lot of flexibility and convenience with Smart Tuition. Tom said it would be a huge advantage for the diocesan Finance staff to assist in developing processes for St. Theresa going forward. Tammy said she thought there was no malice in the errors currently taking place. A lack of accountability was discussed. Tammy stressed that accountability, transparency and internal controls were the key focus for the diocese. There was discussion. Tom requested clarification that as of July 1 there was to be a clean slate with systems and processes, with the exception of balances due moving forward. Finance Council would meet next May 13, when the billing process/receivables review executive summary report would be presented. The Board thanked Tammy. V Administrators’ Reports 7:05 A. Director of Faith Formation Report submitted electronically in advance of the meeting, copies of which were also distributed by Father Larry. The Board reviewed Kathy’s report. B. Parish Manager Report submitted electronically in advance of the meeting. Ellen gave a brief Building and Grounds update which she had received from Bob just prior to the meeting. There was discussion of the maintenance position. A proposal was expected to be forthcoming from Sean Itis. The Board discussed receiving Administrators Reports at least five days prior to regular meeting dates, which was in line with Board policy. C. School Administrator Report submitted electronically in advance of the meeting. Two-hundred-forty-eight students were currently registered, not including eight new students. Sixty-four current students were not registered. Class breakdowns: PreK-25, Kindergarten-24, 1st grade-26, 2nd grade-34, 3rd grade-21, 4th grade-15, 5th grade-31, 6th grade-18, 7th grade-30 and 8th grade-24. Summer camps were still in preparation. The Board discussed teacher contracts. VI Old Business 7:20 A. Visioning Process for Parish Council The Board had met Apr. 5 and would meet again May 3 at 6:30 p.m. B. Tammy Mason, Diocesan CFO (Moved earlier in agenda after Approval of March minutes) C. Budget Geri moved to adjourn to Executive Session for Budget discussion, which was seconded by Rob and approved by the Board. VII Adjournment 7:25 Date of next meeting: May 18, 5:45 p.m. Prayer The Board adjourned from Executive Session at 8:45. Next Meeting-5:45 May 18, 2010 |
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