Saint Theresa Parish Board of Education Minutes

Opening

q       Prayer – 5:47. Beth led the prayer.

q       Approval of April minutes – 5:50. In the Parish Administration section: Jerry Gumpert’s first name begins with the letter “J.” Geri moved approval of the amended April minutes, which was seconded by Jean and approved by the Board.

q       Changes to Agenda – 5:52. Move Athletic Director earlier on the agenda.

Athletic Director – 5:53.  Pete Halaczkiewicz introduced himself to the Board, spoke about his background, and said that he wanted to make a difference at St. Theresa. He gave his list of goals: better organization, including improved structure, coordinators, coaches and parent reps; improved compliance with policies, specifically training and background checks and proper paperwork for students, especially student physicals; improved communication, with schedules and newsletters on the school website, prompt response to phone calls and pre-season parent-coach meetings; increased involvement of athletes, parents and parishioners, camps for younger students, parent clubs and advance volunteer scheduling; creation of a family atmosphere, stressing of a winning attitude-not wins, early implementation of athletics with children for the purpose of fostering positive attitudes; working with the other athletic directors in the leagues for better organization and structure; increase school spirit, including implementation of spirit-wear, a yearly motto voted on by the student body and continue working with Barb Woods on a fight song and bring in volunteer guest speakers for the purpose of promoting Christian fellowship and faith in athletics; and help improve school facilities. He read his mission statement for the Board: “Our mission as an athletic department based on Catholic education is to provide each member of St. Theresa Parish an opportunity to participate in recreational and competitive athletics through leagues, open gyms and educational programs within a safe, family-oriented environment. Our goal is to improve the health and wellness of the school and parish community, promote a healthy lifestyle among its members and provide those members with the best possible facilities to use while participating in parish activities.” Pete took questions from the Board. There was discussion of the possibility of a diocesan athletic director and organization of a diocesan league. He gave contact info to the Board and invited future inquiries.

ADMINISTRATOR REPORTS

o       Faith Formation – 6:20.  Kathy distributed her report. Wednesday Faith Formation session had ended for the year, as had the Generations of Faith festivals, which were well-attended. A parent evaluation was conducted for Wednesday in April, the results of which included: general satisfaction with the blended approach of Wednesday evening classroom sessions combined with Generations of Faith and willingness to continue the approach; some concern in one instance of the amount of time in a classroom session reading from books; concern from parents of young children about ending time of Wednesday night sessions with a request for earlier start times. The final concern was being taken into consideration. Next year’s schedule was in development and registration would be in August. Catechists for kindergarten, third and fourth grade would not be returning next year. Vacation Bible School would take place June 18-21, from 9-11:30 a.m. The parish Lifelong Faith Formation Council met April 19 with six members present. Kathy and Barb Woods had attended the diocesan catechetical leaders meeting that day in Atlantic. Kathy took questions. Vacation Bible School registration would be available through the parish and school and there was discussion of the parent evaluation.

o       Parish – 6:26.  Bob said everything was running smoothly. The retaining wall by the chu8rch down and bids were coming in for its repair. Work on the air conditioning in the parish hall kitchen had started that day and should be done by the end of the week. Bob stressed the need for parishioners that were booking time in parish facilities to take into account the entire time needed when making the request. School tuition billing would not be handled through Parishsoft next year due to the inability to issue statements with the program, and statements are required by the diocese. There was discussion proposed improvement projects for the community center with relation to budget planning for the parish and the PTC. The PTC had voted the previous night to devote $17,000 in Stampede funds next year for sound improvement in the community center.

o       Finance – 6:33.  Paul distributed his report to members of the Board. The same issues remained that have been present in the past. The school was behind in tuition, childcare was behind on fees. Expenses were higher than anticipated in childcare due to salaries. The reduction from the departure of one co-director had not panned out as was previously thought. The hot lunch program continued to be where it needed to be, and the bus program was experiencing low rider-ship. Tuition was $41,000 behind budget. The Finance Council wants to investigate the tuition variance. There was discussion of tuition, enrollment and billing. There was also discussion of Scrip/Trip administration issues and non-payment of tuition. Bob was in the analyzing the non-payment situation. Beth requested specific figures for the next month’s Board of Ed meeting. *Bob would provide this.* The overall budget deficit was $112,000. Paul said that the parish had been generous in subsidizing school budget shortfalls and the Finance Council was concerned that whatever was causing any deficit was not identified and addressed. He said that ongoing, the hot lunch and childcare programs would be held to budget, and that anything out of the ordinary that emerges and is controllable, would need to be brought to the Board and then to the Finance Council for a formal adjustment of the budget. There was continued discussion of the budget and the Board’s role in administration of the budget. *Ellen would look into getting previous childcare budget numbers for comparison.* Paul said the structure for childcare had changed and would affect the comparison. **Jean would review the previous childcare numbers with Paul.* There was discussion of childcare staff processes. *Bob would get the number of families not on the ACH system that were behind on tuition.*

o       School – 7:06.  Ellen distributed her report and ITBS results. The speech and debate team had done well at a Dowling Catholic competition. Enrollment for the coming year was at 271. The report listed St. Theresa alumni who had been honored at a Dowling Catholic honors assembly. There was no word on the F.A.I.R. applications yet. The ITBS goal for reading and math had been met, where the goal for science had not. There was discussion of shifting results between proficiency levels and how current results compared with those past. Analysis was being done on students who placed less than proficient for the purpose of helping them achieve. Results would be sent home to parents later in the week. *Ellen would find out whether the pool of comparison could be changed.* Ellen read a letter of resignation for Gwen Listor. Interviews for the open teaching positions would start the following day and run into the following week. It was also teacher appreciation week.

Board Policy Revision – 7:28. Copies of the Board of Ed policies had been distributed. *The Board would review the policies for possible revision where necessary.* The meeting date would be updated. *Ellen would locate the by-laws and constitution for review by the Board.* There was discussion of new member installation. Three candidates were under consideration for three openings on the Board. *Beth would handle contacting the three candidates regarding becoming Board members.* A new Board president would need to be elected. Geri moved to extend a contract for the coming year to Ellen, which was seconded by Paul and approved by the Board. *Father Larry is handing the specifics with Kathy’s contract.*

Algebra – 7:35.  St. Theresa is currently under the diocesan agreement with other schools for advanced algebra. There was discussion of specifics of making St. Theresa an advanced algebra site. *Ellen would contact Dr. Budnik at the diocese and email the Board his response.*

School Improvement Advisory Committee – 7:53.  The committee would meet the following Monday. There would be some new membership comprised of parents, alumni and students. Ellen had asked for volunteers from the parish. Nov. 8 and 9 would be the dates for the visit to St. Theresa from the state department of education.

Report on Action Items from April – 7:53.  Beth had attended the PTC meeting the prior night. Stampede funds were allocated for the community center and the group was considering cages for storage in the closets in the Community Center. Re-doing the floor in the Community Center had been put on hold. There was talk of going wireless at St. Theresa and procuring laptops for a mobile computer lab for middle school students. The current lab is in constant use with overlap. The Parent Advisory Committee was finished m

o       May ACTION ITEMS - *Bob would provide a figure for the amount of unpaid tuition. *Ellen would look into getting previous childcare budget numbers for comparison. *Jean would review the previous childcare numbers with Paul. *Bob would get the number of families not on the ACH system that were behind on tuition. *Ellen would find out whether the pool of comparison could be changed (ITBS). *The Board would review the policies for possible revision where necessary.  *Ellen would locate the by-laws and constitution for review by the Board. *Beth would handle contacting the three candidates regarding becoming Board members. *Father Larry is handing the specifics with Kathy’s contract. *Ellen would contact Dr. Budnik at the diocese and email the Board his response.

Executive Session–  7:56. The Board adjourned to Executive Session