Saint Theresa Parish Board of Education Minutes

Opening

q       Prayer – 5:47   Steve led the Board in prayer.

q       Introduction of New Members – 5:49   Jeremy Rogers, Kelly Coleman and Rachael Seymour introduced themselves as new members. Board incumbents gave introductions for themselves. Beth explained general opening procedure for Board meetings.  

q       Approval of May minutes – 5:53   Steve questioned whether tuition billing in the forthcoming year would be handled by ParishSoft. It had been stated at the May meeting that it would not. This had since changed, and tuition billing would be administered through ParishSoft. The May minutes would remain unchanged as reflecting what was factual at the time of the May meeting. The PTC donation amount in the Parish section of the May minutes would be changed to $17,000. Steve moved approval of the amended April minutes, which was seconded by Molly and approved by the Board.

q       Changes to Agenda – 5:59   Move Financial report earlier. Add Information about New Teachers.

Open Forum  6:00 – None.

Election of officers – 6:00    There was discussion of general rules and qualifications for Board officers. Board committee duties were discussed. Two Board members were not yet present, raising the issue of voting requirements and delaying the officer vote. There was discussion of Paul’s future role with regard to Finance, with his term on the Board coming to a close. Bob would be bringing the Finance report to the meetings going forward. It was stated that a Board member should have continued involvement in Finance. Beth called Jean, learning that Jean had the understanding of the meeting time as 6:30, according to the parish bulletin. She was on her way.

Finance – 6:10   Paul arrived to give the Finance report. The budget variance had widened from the prior month by $7,000-$8,000. The Finance Council was set to meet later in the week, resulting in limited information to report. Paul stressed communication between the varying entities that deal with the Financial report. Paul and Jean would work to draft and present a financial management policy to the Board. Paul stated that Ellen’s department heads would need to understand their budget going forward and stressed that the Finance Council would hold the school to the budget dollars allocated in the future. More information had become available since the budget was prepared, and the new numbers should be plugged in to make for a more accurate budget. Salaries for new teachers were established, but benefit figures would remain unknown until employees complete enrollment. Paul distributed an expanded financial report. There was discussion of the variance amount for tuition as compared to the previous YTD figure. *Bob and Paul would look into the school income variance.* Paul explained some budget basics as they pertain to varying departments.

Election of officers – 6:40   Barb nominated Jean for Board President after her arrival, which was seconded by Geri and approved by the Board. Steve nominated Geri for Vice-President of the Board, which was seconded by Paul and approved by the Board.

ADMINISTRATOR REPORTS

o       Faith Formation – 6:44   Kathy distributed her report. Registration for the coming year’s Wednesday Faith Formation would take place the first weekend of August. There was a catechist opening in fourth grade. A death in Kathy’s family had resulted in the delay of textbook selection for the following year. Vacation Bible School was in progress, and another family VBS was scheduled for August 7-9 in the evening. The Generations of Faith committee had met that afternoon to begin work on the festivals for the coming year. Sacraments would be the year’s topic and parish gatherings would be encouraged to use them with the Journey of Faith booklet. Kathy’s report included monthly theme specifics as well as festival themes. The Board discussed the idea of themes. Kathy detailed dates for sacramental preparation for the coming year. Barb Woods, Mary Bishop and Kathy would be attending the week-long institute, Foundations and Practices of Lifelong Faith Formation, June 25-29 in West Des Moines. Kathy extended her thanks for the kindness expressed by the parish community during her mother-in-law’s illness and subsequent death. Susan commented that Kathy was doing a great job with Vacation Bible School. Kathy and Paul exited at the close of Kathy’s report. Paul will continue to be part of the budget process.

o       Parish – 6:51   *Bob will follow up with the Finance Council on the budget after its meeting later in the week.* The air conditioner funded by Scrip and the Altar and Rosary Society had been installed in the parish hall kitchen. A parish hog roast was planned by the Parish Council for the evening of the first day of school, August 22. Plans included friendly competition between parishioners split by geographic location with a traveling trophy. Bob had determined that nine families were in arrears with tuition, for which he had sent letters and would follow up with a phone call on Friday of that week. 

o       School – 7:00   Ellen distributed her report. The school would participate in the Windsor Heights Fourth of July parade. A new chess program would be implemented for after school, with instruction provided by the Iowa Chess Center. There was discussion of enrollment numbers and individual class size as it related to staff numbers. The Board discussed the use of classroom aides with regard to the budget and enrollment numbers. Mock Trial camp was coming up. St Theresa families who applied for CTO funds for the coming year were awarded between eight and 33 percent of their tuition bill amount in financial aid. Additional aid would be available through St. Theresa programs. CTO funds were the subject of general discussion.

School Improvement Advisory Committee – 7:20   Ellen distributed the committee roster, along with goals and action plans for Reading Comprehension, Science and Math. There would be a focus on ITBS. There was discussion of the diocesan-wide pilot reporting system that would be in effect the next academic year. The system would focus on what each child has learned, taking both academic and behavior components into account for grading. There was discussion of Standards and Benchmarks, in addition to academic reporting. The Board discussed various academic assessments. The SIAC would meet quarterly.

Board Policy Revision – 7:35   The student handbook would be reviewed. Jean had worked on updating the by-laws and constitution. By-law article 3/constitution article 5-Board meetings would be conducted on the third Tuesday of the month. An exception would be made in the coming year for spring break and conferences. No specific meeting location would be indicated. Meeting dates and time will be announced to the public. Article 8-The rule for reading proposed changes at multiple meetings prior to a vote would be reviewed. More review of financial management policy would take place. *The Board would review the constitution and by-laws over the summer prior to making any changes in the coming months. Communication would take place via email and other methods as needed, as would any special meetings.* The St. Theresa Board of Education constitution required approval from the Diocesan Board of Education. *Geri and Rachael would assist Jean and Steve in drafting a financial management policy.* The special meeting that had taken place between the Board and the Finance Council had confirmed that more communication between the two entities would be beneficial. Jean further highlighted policy updates. Policy 220-Enrollment would remain open until maximum class size was met. Reference to book fees would be deleted. 240-The multiple-student-discount was no longer in place. Additional latitude would be given to the pastor in administration of tuition assistance. A time would be established for the parish manager to report on tuition issues. 250-Several ACH-related issues were updated to reflect current practice. Ellen would not need to go before the Board for each instance of tuition assistance situation. 280-Updated to reflect current ACH process. Geri questioned 310 regarding teachers’ continuing education credit. She cautioned that proper scrutiny of accreditation of institutions of higher education was necessary, and suggested a broader view of areas of specialization eligible for Master’s degrees with regard to teacher salary level. *Jean would revisit 310.* *The policy book would be updated overall once the revisions were made.* 320-Contract days number was updated based on the current school schedule. 340-Faculty and staff evaluation could be done by the principal or the vice-principal with oversight by the principal. 350-Reimbursement in instances of release from contract could be pursued for cost to advertise for the position. There was discussion of sick leave policy and the concept of donating sick leave. General FMLA leave and maternity leave were discussed, and would be discussed further. Sick leave can be used for funeral leave. 390-Ellen was checking with diocesan legal council on FMLA compliance on maternity leave. 440-With regard to classroom movies, Ellen was following up on consistency with childcare. 270-Steve mentioned fundraising initiatives coming before the Board or principal for approval. There was general discussion of policies, consistency and the Board’s role in policy administration and enforcement.  

Information on new teachers – 8:25   Ellen went through general experience and credentials for the four new teachers that had been hired.

Report on Action Items/Committees from May – 8:30   PTC was moving forward on Stampede plans, with the Tingleffs chairing again. There would be an increase in the discretionary fund that was split between the principal and teachers and available for other needs. The PTC operating budget was separate from the fundraising budget. There was no activity of note for other committees with school not in session.

ADJOURNMENT – 8:35   Beth led the Board in prayer for discretion and good judgment in its future work.

o       JUNE ACTION ITEMS –  * Bob and Paul would look into the school income variance.* *Bob will follow up with the Finance Council on the budget after its meeting later in the week.* *The Board would review the constitution and by-laws over the summer prior to making any changes in the coming months. Communication would take place via email and other methods as needed, as would any special meetings.* *Geri and Rachel would assist Jean and Steve in drafting a financial management policy.* *Jean would revisit policy 310.* *The policy book would be updated overall once the revisions were made.*

Next Meeting- 5:45 p.m. August 21, 2007