RETREAT board meeting, 7:00pm, Saturday, 9/24/05
Minutes: approved
Members in attendance: Steve Schaefer (chair); Gordon
Members not in attendance: n/a
Administration: Mr. Adair
:: Opened in prayer
:: Board retreat:
:: Agenda Item #2:
- Discussion of how to have discussions in a board meeting that is full of guests
- Separate out general and executive session
- Invitations to staff and parents, all are equal
:: Agenda Item #3:
- Discussion of prospective board members.
- Discussed agreement (or a lack thereof) with the statement of faith specifically.
- Tabled until Mr Hatcher arrives
- Discussion restarted: statement of faith issue continued
- Follow-up with: make appointment for Chris and Todd to talk further about their issues.
- Also talked about Eric's inclusion on the board and it's validity based on statement of faith of
- Discussion of bylaws and they needing to possibly be amended as it regards board membership
- Discussion about next steps: Mr. Hatcher made motion to, by 5.5 in bylaws, interviews with both Chris and Todd, and determine who will be appointed to the elected seat that runs through June 2007. Seconded by Mr.
- Secretary to set up interview times with both candidates.
:: Agenda Item #4:
- Curriculum/philosophy committee discussion. Mr Schaefer gave introduction
- Discussion followed:
- Could the bylaws be changed to allow faculty who may not be parents onto a committee?
- Propose the below change to the bylaws at the next regular board meeting (October 24 – be sure to publish changed meeting time to all parents and faculty)
Article 7, Section 2: The committee member must be a staff member or parent of a child who is attending, or is planning to attend, the School. The member must subscribe to Articles I and II of these Bylaws, and must regularly attend a local evangelical church. Committee membership is subject to Board approval that the staff member or parent meets the above qualifications. The mechanism for approval will be a signed statement asserting the above qualifications.
- Invite Scott Forrester back to committee
- Discussion of the current membership
- Discussion of Kitty's request to be a part of the committee. She's already involved in many different things at the school. Should we keep her focused in other areas?
- Balanced representation on the committee
- Mr. Schaefer requests to chair the philosophy committee
- Mr. Boston made a motion to make Mr. Schaefer Chair of the philosophy committee. Mr.
:: Agenda Item #5:
- Discussion of proposal given to the board for Dev II's ideas for development
- Amend to have a 3rd possible event later in the year…(i.e., November, January and March)
- Amend to allow a $500/student credit for one month for families who recommend new students into the school
- Discussion followed about $500 vs. one month free or any other incentive or no incentive
- Amend to say that every family that is brought in, $500 per family incentive is given that attends
- Mr. Adair raised concern about 3 meetings on infrastructure could be difficult.
:: Agenda Item #6:
- Discussion on the ideas of trivium nights.
- Personalize and have a group of dads at Board houses?
- Talked about having one big school event, board sponsored, Mr. Hatcher presents. All parents invited.
- Then have personal contacts with specific families, in board homes with parents that may not have made it to the meeting
- Other ideas: newsletter that speaks specifically from the board that talks about classical and Christian
- Another idea for students to create their own newsletter or communication
- Decision: Mr. Hatcher to do presentation from school. Board to host smaller meetings throughout year. Board to work out system of regular communication to families and staff. Mr. Adair to think about ways that school (students) can present information to families and faculty.
:: Agenda Item #7:
- Discussion: God is good. Our facility needs started discussion by Steve, how do we work with 71 new students?
- Ongoing discussions with Christ Covenant church, discussion about split campus as a possibility, more students could mean we could afford portables, etc.
- Task Frank Young with options for portables for September '06 and the possibility of
- Possibly be a board communication to the constituents about facility development
:: Agenda Item #8:
- Discussion of what the current perception of the board of the school
- Perceptions: lack of confidence re: future stability; church-centric issues, school events and alcohol/cigars
- Regular communication and openness to parents
:: Agenda Item #9:
- Gene Liechty: Do we need or want a Development director? How do we communicate with press?
- Discussion followed about how we go about doing that.
- Mr.
- Dev II to possibly be tasked with communicating to local community papers about the school
:: Agenda Item #10:
- Branding discussion
- Mr. Boston to develop a brand document to present to the board
- Mr. Adair to consider an appropriate person to administrate the policing of the brand.
:: Agenda Item #11:
- Discussion of school community: what is a school community?
- Student inclusion by parents
- Teachers reaching out to parents
- Dev II efforts ongoing
- Faculty-to-faculty relationships: Administration's task, seems things are fine
- Faculty-to-parent relationships: are faculty reaching out to build relationship and loyalty to school?
- Define what successful community development looks like. Can be a standing agenda item.
:: Agenda Item #12:
- Brainstorm ideas of raising the $45K the board is responsible for.
- Building relationships with people that have money to contribute
- Friends and family promotions
- Gordon to talk to Chris Butaud (see agenda #9) about development
- Keep on regular agenda. Consider accountability between each other about developing relationships and keeping up new relationships.
:: Agenda Item #13:
- Not completed
:: Agenda Item #14:
- Not completed
:: Meeting adjourned: Ended in prayer at 1:50pm