August 19, 2008

Frank Phillips gave his Heads Report:  he reminded trustees that the leaders of the PNAIS Self-Study will be at the school in September for a pre-visit, he announced that enrollment is now at 424, and updated the Board on Confucius Classroom projects, including Chinese language classes for the community, increased involvement with the local Chinese New Year festivities, and perhaps even an exchange program at some point.  Mr. Phillips also gave the Board an overview of the curriculum-mapping program; this is a large-scale project, and teachers will spend most of their in-service time working with a Rubicon consultant to explore ways to use curriculum maps to fine-tune or even overhaul curriculum.  He also announced that there will be 18 AP classes offered next year; we have added AP physics.  Andrea Reeder gave her Advancement report and announced that Peter and Joan Grant have agreed to be St. Mary’s Fund chairs this year and Stephen and Judy G. will be Auction chairs, with Ted and Jenny S. as co-chairs.  Susan Cain presented our updated Strategic Financial Plan; she revised financial aid estimates because of the significant increase in requests for aid, and she further updated it with revised budgetary information.  Frank Phillips then presented an interactive graphic report developed in-house that breaks down the cost per student of every program at the school and shows us where each dollar comes from and where it goes; it looks like it will be a fantastic tool for close analysis of program costs, decisions about fees, and so forth.  Committee on Trustees chair Laura Naumes presented another nominee for Board membership:  Larry Martin.  After brief discussion, Larry Martin was unanimously voted onto the Board; he will start attending meetings in September of this year.  Michelle Tresemer gave the Board an update on plans to revise the Merit Scholarship program; our first year was very successful, and she is looking at ways to fine-tune the program so that it brings in even more of the best and brightest in the community.  She also gave a detailed presentation on marketing; she has been carefully tracking inquiries and applications in an effort to determine which marketing strategies are most effective; she is poised to take fuller advantage of those strategies she has found to be most effective, especially internal marketing.  Frank Phillips then reported on capital expense budget requests for 08-09.  Because our budget is tight this year, he has gone through the requests and approved only those which are absolutely necessary; the rest will be deferred.  The Board then reviewed and approved a Conflict of Interest policy; this policy will be included in the Board minute book, and Board members will be asked to sign and initial annual affirmations of it.

Actions taken:

• The Board unanimously voted Larry Martin onto the Board of Trustees.
• The Board unanimously voted to adopt the Conflict of Interest Policy.

June 10, 2008

Frank Phillips announced that he had hired several new teachers to replace departing faculty; the hiring process for 08-09 is now complete.  He reported that Baccalaureate Mass and graduation both went very well, and there were many compliments from trustees.  Spring parent and student surveys are now online; parent response was weak but very positive, and student response was both strong and overwhelmingly positive.  Committee on Trustees chair Laura Naumes announced that Ron Hren has resigned from the Board, and she encouraged trustees to thank him for his service.  She reminded trustees to complete their online self-evaluations so that she can compile the results for the 09/08 meeting.  Catherine Dauterman announced details for the Strategic Planning committee, and trustees discussed the possibility of convening a marketing committee.

May 20, 2008

Frank Phillips reported on AP testing and announced several faculty departures and new hires for 2008-2009.  He announced that this year’s ISA testing showed that our 10th graders are performing well above students in the best international school systems.  Andrea Reeder gave St. Mary’s Fund updates and auction totals; she was pleased with the final numbers, considering the economic downturn.  Susan Cain reported for the finance committee and went over the IRS “best practices for non-profits.”  She said the school is in good shape and that we still need to adopt a conflict of interest policy and a whistleblower policy.  Committee on Trustees chair Laura Naumes presented two nominees for Board Membership:  Stephen O’Connell and Jeff DeBoer.  After her introduction and a brief discussion among Board members, both were unanimously voted onto the Board.  Jeff DeBoer will begin attending meetings this summer, and Steve O’Connell will join the Board in September.  Suzanne McGrath, the president of VCMI in Portland and a member of the OSU Foundation Board, gave a presentation on charitable remainder unitrusts and charitable gift annuities and talked to the Board about how the school could set up systems to accept more of these kinds of gifts.  Catherine Dauterman announced that the Board will be convening an ad hoc Strategic Planning Committee this summer to review, revise, and update the school’s strategic plan.  Interested Board members will meet several times over the summer to complete the job.

Actions taken: 

• The Board unanimously voted Stephen O’Connell onto the Board of Trustees.
• The Board unanimously voted Jeff DeBoer onto the Board of Trustees.

April 15, 2008

Frank Phillips reported that the Self-Study materials have all been assembled, and Vincent Comerchero and Alistair Hunter are preparing them for the visiting team.  The Chinese Ministry of Education has notified us that St. Mary’s is being considered for a Confucius Classroom, and if we are selected, we will be one of only five schools in the world to receive such a designation.  Frank Phillips also reported that he Police Department’s drug dog was on campus for another routine visit and once again found nothing.  He also reported that enrollment seems to be on track; we will know more when all the contracts are in.  Catherine Dauterman, Doug Irvine, and Susan Cain will be panelists for senior project presentations.  Andrea Reeder presented updates on the St. Mary’s Fund.  Parent participation is now up to 47%, and we now have 100% participation from the faculty and staff, 100% participation from the Development Committee, and 100% participation from the Board.  Frank Phillips updated the Board on the Merit Scholarship process:  the field has been narrowed to 15 finalists, and representatives from our sponsors – Harry & David, Asante, Providence, and Kids Unlimited – will meet on April 19th to choose the winner of the four-year scholarship.  Susan Cain reported on the March 31, 2008 financial statements:  most items are under budget for various reasons at this point, and, in short, we are in the black for the year.  Catherine Dauterman discussed several options for the Board section of the St. Mary’s website; the Board agreed to include executive summaries of minutes, profiles of Board members, Board articles from the Messenger, and a précis of the Strategic Plan.

February 19, 2008

Frank Phillips reminded the Board to clear their schedules for the PNAIS Self Study team visit next fall.  He reported on a meeting that he and Jim Meyer held with parents of seniors to clarity the school’s position on partying, rumors, the responsibilities of parents, and disciplinary policies of the school.  He also announced that the school has submitted an application to become a Confucius Institute through the Chinese Ministry of Education in Beijing.  He also reminded Board members about the spring musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and he announced that he has arranged speakers for several upcoming faculty meetings.  Andrea Reeder reported on the St. Mary’s Fund and encouraged everyone to attend the Auction Preview Party, which was rescheduled for February 20th because of snow.  Catherine Dauterman gave a short update on the Self-Study.

January 15, 2008

Frank Phillips reported on several Middle School events and invited Board members to watch the Chinese New Year’s Day parade – many St. Mary’s students and families will be participating – and a ceremony in the Callaway Library at which four St. Mary’s students will be presented with their Eagle Scout badges by US Representative Greg Walden.  He also told the Board that, since St. Mary’s will not be fielding a softball team this year and that Cascade Christian would like to rent our field for its season.  The Board agreed that we should do this.  Andrea Reeder updated the Board on St. Mary’s Fund numbers and reported great attendance at the alumni holiday party.  She urged all Board members to attend the upcoming Auction Preview Party and discussed Board gifts to the auction.  Frank Phillips reported on enrollment, and he said that there has so far not been many questions or concerns about next year’s tuition increase.  Laura Naumes reported that the Committee on Trustees will continue with regular Board evaluations, the Head of School evaluation, classroom visits, and PNAIS seminars as appropriate.  Susan Cain handed out copies of the revenue and expense report for the 6-month period ending on December 31, 2007.  Catherine Dauterman presented an updated version of the Strategic Plan.  She noted that the Board had completed a number of tasks, including the development plan, the Merit Scholar program, and the long-range maintenance plan, and the Board section of the PNAIS Self-Study.  Several items have been moved to later in the year because of scheduling conflicts, and several have been tabled due to the changing needs of the school.

December 18, 2007

Frank Phillips reported that the Medford Police Department drug-sniffing dogs have visited the school twice this year (by invitation and not because there was any trouble) and have found nothing on campus.  Frank also reported on several student volunteer and fundraising activities, including the Rotary InterAct Club, which raised money for St. Vincent de Paul, and the “Sun Oaks Leaf Suckers,” a group of St. Mary’s students who volunteer to clean out the gutters at Sun Oaks, in return for which Sun Oaks contributed $200 to St. Mary’s Sparrow family. Students are also participating in various book, food, and toy drives.  Frank also announced that Chris Johnson has taken charge of and addressed an important item on our Strategic Plan:  a long-range maintenance management and upgrade program.  Michelle Tresemer presented our Merit Scholarship program; based on conclusions drawn from the marketing study we completed last year, the school decided to offer a four-year scholarship based solely on merit and overseen by community sponsors, including Harry & David, Asante, Providence Medical, and Kids Unlimited.  Les Cracraft, our insurance broker from United Risk Solutions, gave a presentation on the health insurance crisis and explained how he helped us lower a substantial increase in premiums without compromising the coverage that we offer to faculty, staff, and administration.  Andrea Reeder reported on St. Mary’s Fund progress, and Frank Phillips presented our latest enrollment numbers.  Susan Cain then opened a discussion of tuition increases.  She proposed that the Board start approving tuition for the following year in December; if we do this, then we can send letters out ahead of contracts to announce the new tuition and hold meetings to answer any questions that parents might have.  Based on our projected budget, projected enrollment, and projected increases in health insurance coverage and other routine expenses, the Finance Committee proposed that the Board raise tuition to $10,250 for the 2008-2009 school year.

Actions taken:

• The Board unanimously voted to set tuition for the 2008-2009 school year at $10,250.
• The Board unanimously voted to institute the Merit Scholarship program.
• The Board unanimously voted to accept the preliminary budget for the 2008-2009 school year.

November 20, 2007

Frank Phillips reported that the Winterim idea was greeted with guarded enthusiasm by the faculty; we will revisit this idea once we are done with the Self-Study and other time-consuming projects.  He also discussed the parent and student surveys and encouraged Board members to take a look at the results and comments on line.  Katie Miller, who will take charge of summer school, gave a PowerPoint presentation on what she learned at the ISM conference.  She outlined a three-year plan to expand offerings, restructure compensation, recruit new teachers, and market more aggressively and systematically.  Jim Meyer talked to the Board about the pros and cons of student fund-raising; Frank Phillips and Andrea Reeder concurred with Jim that student fundraising is becoming increasingly difficult and time-consuming and might not further the mission of the school.  Frank Phillips presented current enrollment figures and noted that our most recent Open House was a great success, with 21 families in attendance.  Catherine Dauterman reported that the Committee on Trustees is in the process of recruiting two new trustees; she also distributed a Board profile and asked Board members to submit to Laura Naumes any names of people they knew who could help strengthen the Board’s profile by providing expertise in areas less well-represented in our current profile.  Catherine gave a short presentation on the idea of transparency; she explained that most independent school Boards do not hold open meetings because dividing the meeting into open and closed sessions makes the meetings very long and makes it harder to recruit effective Board members.  The Board discussed other ways to increase the transparency of the Board, specifically running regular columns in the Messenger and having a page on the school’s website.

October 16, 2007

Frank Phillips reported on the Teacher In-Service; 19 teachers went to Portland for the PNAIS All Schools Conference.  Progress reports via My Backpack were successful.  The school is planning international trips to Mexico, Italy, and China.  Alan and Debora McCreedy gave a presentation on Winterim/Interterm; they talked about what other schools have done and suggested possible benefits and drawbacks for such a program at St. Mary’s; more discussion of this idea will follow.  Andrea Reeder reported on St. Mary’s Fund progress and reported that Grandparents’ Day was a success with over 80 grandparents attending.  Susan Cain presented the audited financial statements for 2006-2007 and reported that when the Finance Committee met in executive session with the auditors there were no negative reports.  Catherine Dauterman went through this year’s section of the Strategic Plan and noted several changes.  She also led a discussion of the policy-setting, mission-centered role of the Board.

September 18, 2007

Frank Phillips reported on increased enrollment and increased participation in athletics.  He explained that all progress reports and report cards will be accessible via My BackPack and that paper copies will only be mailed if requested by parents.  The Board welcomed its newest member, Chuck Dibb.  Laura Naumes, Chair of the Committee on Trustees, reviewed last year’s Board Evaluation and explained the process for this year’s self-evaluation.  Andrea Reeder reported on Booster Club sponsorships and announced that solicitation for the St. Mary’s Fund is underway.  Susan Cain, Chair of the Finance Committee, presented the proposed 2007-2008 budget.  Frank Phillips proposed expanding the summer school program by appointing a summer school director and sending that person to an ISM conference on summer school management.  Frank Phillips gave an update on preparations for the PNAIS Self-Study.  Catherine Dauterman reviewed Board members’ roles and responsibilities.

Actions taken:

• The Board unanimously accepted the Restricted and Unrestricted Endowment Gift Policy.
• The Board unanimously approved the proposed 2007-2008 budget.
• The Board unanimously approved to go forward with the expansion of the summer school program.
• The Board unanimously approved the proposed Statement of Diversity.