Saint Theresa Parish Board of Education Minutes

Opening

q       Prayer – 5:02-Barb led the prayer, first her own composition, followed by the Board joining her in the Good Friday Prayer from the “Our Journey of Faith” booklet.

q       Approval of February minutes – *Page three, first sentence of Budget section, to be removed. *Page two, in the section pertaining to the bank accounts of parish groups, add “at West Bank.” Fr. Larry moved approval of the Feb. minutes as amended, seconded by Geri and approved by the Board.

q       Changes to Agenda – 5:09 - add Steve’s school registration letter for discussion after School Report. Beth gave a reminder to sign up for VIRTUS training at St. Theresa Mar. 24, and for the upcoming Pastoral Plan for Catechesis meetings Mar. 15 at St. Francis Parish and Mar. 27 at All Saints Parish.

Open Forum - 5:10-None.

ADMINISTRATOR REPORTS

o       Faith Formation – 5:10- WFF was still in Lenten break and would resume in April. The  Generations of Faith program the prior evening was standing-room-only. John Gaffney had designed the presentation on the Triduum, which was received well. There was less of a meal then previous sessions, prayer, singing and videos. It was an intergenerational format, with first-grade and younger meeting separately during the lesson. A subsequent session was scheduled for Wed, Mar. 14. The last GOF festival for the year would be Sun, April 29 and Wed, May 2. They would be on Easter, Pentecost and the Trinity. This year’s overall theme had been the Creed, and next year’s would be the Sacraments. The parish Lifelong Faith Formation Council would be meeting with the diocesan Council for Catechesis on Mar. 15. Three high-chairs had been purchased and added to the parish hall for all to use. The sacrament of Confirmation on April 16 would include a Dowling Catholic student and a Carroll Kuemper student. Learning centers for First Eucharist was scheduled for Mar. 28, and the sacrament would be celebrated May 5 and 6. Kathy and John Gaffney had discussed changes in sacramental preparation, specifically promoting more family and parish community involvement. There was additional discussion of the success of the Generations of Faith festival.

o       Parish – 5:18 – A new diocesan policy for insurance subsidies from parishes was going into affect. The percentage of parish contribution to employees’ health insurance cost was increasing. This would be a big change in the diocese but not for St. Theresa, which had been really generous with employees. Some parishes would be looking at a $30-60K increase for next year. The policy would not affect St. Theresa for at least three years, and then incrementally. Health insurance rates would increase nine percent for the coming year. The increase budgeted for was 15 percent. $30K remained as the amount needed through parish investment. A budget correction had been needed pertaining to the cost of insurance, which had not been carried over from the previous budget.

o       Financial – 5:23- Paul had received the financial statement the previous day, and he had emailed communication on it with Bob and Ellen, as the Finance Council had not yet met for the month. The variance for School Administration had widened and although the total expenses got narrower, no net affect resulted for this month. An item in School Administration that was down approximately $8K reflected that school registrations had not yet been received. Registration paperwork had not yet gone out to parents, and the figure was not a concern. Feb. was a shorter month and Childcare fees were slightly under. The variance didn’t change much. Paul was trying to track something down in Hot Lunch numbers. Fees were lower than expected. Possible explanations included missed days due to conferences, weather, illnesses and field trips, as well as the director being out two days with no bank deposits those days. Paul would pass along any information that would be gleaned by the Finance Council. Overall the Bus was the same as last month, and nothing was noteworthy. The budget was heading in the right direction.

o       School – 5:29- Registration letters had gone out the previous Friday. The parish Social Concerns Committee Shamrock program was continuing. Saturday had been the Norwalk Solo and Ensemble Band Contest. Sixth-grade Future Problem Solvers attained second place in regional competition, and would advance to the state competition. There would be no school the following Friday, with teachers participating in the Echoes in Faith program, and Spring Break was the following week. Teachers would be working on different schedules for specials for the following year. Two practicum students would start at the school after Spring Break. Ellen detailed some items on the school calendar. A grant had been received from Prairie Meadows. Grandparents and Special Friends Day would be April 12. Ellen and her husband would attend the NCEA convention in Baltimore right after Easter.

o       Registration Letter- 5:36- Steve distributed a letter that included stewardship points that he indicated would have been important to include in the registration mailing. Ellen offered to send the letter to parents in the future. Steve expressed that stewardship should have been more emphasized with registration information. Registration had previously been a two-piece process and was now one piece. There was discussion of stewardship and tithing. The Board discussed of the difference between tuition and donations for the purpose of tax deductions, and the importance of being clear on registration paperwork. Also discussed was the best timing for making a clarification. There was discussion of minimum contribution amounts for parish tithing and how to approach families that were not tithing. Electronic tithing was discussed. Bob will get the number of families who were not tithing the minimum amount and were not in a prohibitive position to do so. Should the number be substantial, Bob, Steve and Jean would communicate about how to proceed.  

Teaching Contracts for 2007-08 – Moved to Executive Session.

o       Discussion of development of a parish vendor list policy for procurement -5:53- Steve had obtained quotes on a projector and had ended up with two projectors. Some other parishes have an online vendor list of parishioners for parish projects and parishioner use. Steve mentioned publishing what the parish spent on things not personnel-related, and stressed that he didn’t want to create busy-work or ruin established relationships. Bob would get a list of vendors by payment amount. The Board discussed how teachers request new equipment. Teachers don’t generally request big ticket items. Jean suggested creating ways to indirectly maximize what people are willing to do to support the parish and school, as opposed to asking directly for a handout. Ellen would compile a school wish-list for possible underwriting. Bob would check the calendar for possible dates to meet for discussion of vendor procurement. 

Report on Action Items from February- 6:05- The next meeting date was established. The new meeting time of 5:45 was established. There was discussion of the CTO and steps that needed to be taken to complete applications for families. Board members offered to help Ellen go through the list of prospective families from the open house. There was discussion of why home schooled students could not attend Catholic school for individual courses or electives, which was a diocesan policy. Paul Johnson was still working on the Plus-15 Program.

o       MARCH ACTION ITEMS - *Bob will get the number of families who were not tithing the minimum amount and were not in a prohibitive position to do so. Should the number be substantial, Bob, Steve and Jean would communicate about how to proceed. *Bob would get a list of vendors by payment amount. * Ellen would compile a school wish-list for possible underwriting. * Bob would check the calendar for possible dates to meet for discussion of vendor procurement. * Board members offered to help Ellen go through the list of prospective families from the open house.

Executive Session -6:14- Father Larry moved to go to Executive Session, seconded by Barb and approved by the Board.

                                          Next Meeting- 6:30 p.m. April , 2007