Scattergood Friends School Committee

Approved Minutes - May 18, 1996

 

 

The School Committee met on Saturday,  May 18,1996, at 8:30 a.m. on the Scattergood Friends School Campus in West Branch, Iowa.

 

The meeting opened with a period of silence, followed by  a review of the agenda.  Members present:  George Welch, Connie Clopton-Schumm, Burt Kisling, Ron Knight, Dan Treadway, Nancy Peterson, Paul Buckley, Barb Garlinghouse, Dana Harr, Clarence Perisho.  Staff members present:  Ken Hinshaw, Karla Hanson, Ardith Tjossem, Jan Luchini, Dena Miller, Will Hardy, Maryellen Ryan, Nick Lavine, Nancy Ryan

 

Minutes:  Karla Hanson read the minutes from the March meeting.   One change was noted in the admissions section and has been made to the attached approved March minutes.

 

Changes to the agenda were as follows:  Item 3.e. Appoint two new nominating committee members was postponed until the September meeting.  Burt suggested that this may be an appropriate time for committees to do self-evaluations as they can be shared with the new members.   Item 3f  - Prepare annual report to Yearly Meeting was discussed briefly and Ken agreed to prepare the report.  A draft will be sent to committee members for review prior to the July 13 school committee meeting.

 

Director’s Report:  Ken Hinshaw presented the director’s report.  All seniors have been accepted into colleges, meeting the State of Iowa accreditation requirements for the school.  Seniors were present briefly to introduce themselves, tell how long they have been at Scattergood and  about which college or university they will be attending.  Erin Lane was thanked for her part in helping with the Foundation 2000 Campaign.

 

It has been a lively community lately with the onset of spring and the return of the Mexico Trip students and staff.  Unfortunately, with the nicer weather some students have been unable to avoid the temptation to smoke cigarettes and several are presently campused because of this.  Friends-In-Residence who joined the community included Olive and Warren Wilson, Carolyn and Allen Treadway, and Linda Coffin.  Staff, student and parent handbook revisions are underway for the upcoming school year. 

 

This is a busy time for the farm with baby pigs filling the barn and seedlings filling the sunroom.  Belle is teaching a Horticulture class this block.  The students, along with Nancy MacGregor (teacher Lyn MacGregor’s sister), have been busy helping get the garden ready for summer. 

 

Will Hardy has been hard at work since his return from Mexico.  The new interstate signs have been completed.  One has been put up near the soccer field.  Work continues around finalizing costs and scheduling the boys dorm expansion.  During a recent thunderstorm, a transformer was damaged resulting in loss of power (including phones and alarm systems) in the science building, main, and Berquist house.  The storms reminded us of the immediate need to repair a very leaky roof in the main.  The meeting house is in the process of being scraped and repainted.  Students took a day off from classes recently and spent a day working on improving the campus.  Luckily the weather was nice and much work was accomplished.

 

The budget continues to track well and we are expecting to almost break even for the year.  Personnel costs will be more than originally budgeted due to the cost of staffing the Director of  Development position.  Ken and Jan met with West Branch State Bank officials to discuss the cash flow situation for the months ahead.  The bank is willing to increase the school’s line of credit by $25,000.00, but that additional credit beyond what Scattergood has had previously would require additional assets to be used as collateral.

 

Nancy Ryan has jumped right into her duties as Director of Development.  She has already met with several Meetings, donors and friends of the school.  Work continues around developing new ways to represent Scattergood and improving existing foundation contacts and school databases.

 

Forty students are presently enrolled at Scattergood.  We anticipate 25 students will return next year and have already accepted 14, three of whom are from Friends backgrounds.  We are hoping the begin the ‘96-97 school year with around 55-60 students. The caliber of inquiring students seems to be much better this year.  Five inquiries have resulted from the Unitarian World ad.   Advertising continues with a new ad in Sunset Magazine, a booth at the Iowa City Arts Fest, and students participating in discussions at several yearly meetings.  Dana Harr suggested someone contact the Urban Dreams coordinator in Des Moines.  This group works with students who have a strong desire to excel.

 

Staffing:  Five staff members (Josh Goren, Jim Mills, Hilda Rasmussen, Susannah Middaugh and Tom Wisshack) will not be returning next year.  Maryellen Ryan has been promoted to Academic Coordinator.  She was previously the registrar, however, her duties are such that the new title is appropriate.

 

Instruction Committee:  Connie presented the report which included the following:

1.         Changes to graduation requirements which allow more flexible schedules because of the

            current range of student abilities.

2.         Sports and band sharing was approved by the West Branch school board, and is now being      evaluated by the state athletic association. 

3.         ISACS is being pursued as an additional accreditation organization.  We already meet

            some of the guidelines and Maryellen discussed the benefits including a support network

            for staff, a link between other private schools, and grant application opportunities.  The cost will             be approximately $1,250.00 

 

The school committee approved all of the above recommendations made by the instruction committee. 

 

Spiritual Life Committee:  Barb Garlinghouse reported that there was no formal report this month, but did discuss briefly the results from the retreat survey.

 

Farm Committee:  Bruce Rohwer was absent, so there was no formal report.  Ken noted that this year the farm will produce soy beans instead of corn.

 

Consultation Committee­  George Welch presented the report for Jim Cottingham.

1.         Mailing lists of our supporters, staff and students are occasionally requested.  The committee

            agreed that the lists are only available to those who are agents of the school or those

            who are working on behalf of the school, as approved by the Director. 

2.         The high cost of family insurance plans was discussed.  The committee agreed that if an

            employee’s spouse has insurance available through his/her employer, Scattergood will

            not pay for a family plan.  Existing employees will be grandfathered into the next enrollment

            period.

3.         The committee approved the purchase of a computer for the Director of Development.  The

            cost is not to exceed $3,000.00.

4.         The committee granted Kenneth Hinshaw the authority to spend, in case of emergency, up to $2,000.00 between school committee meetings for capital expenses without prior approval          from the committee.

 

The amount of credit originally obtained from West Branch Bank was discussed. The original $75,000 was to be paid back within one year.  The bank has agreed that this can be extended.  The committee agreed to pay this back by June 30, 1999, and to increase the line of credit by $25,000.00.

 

Facilities Report:  The boys dorm expansion will put a two-story, 28’ x 34’ addition to the south of the existing structure.  Three new dorm rooms will be added to the first floor, with a lounge on the second.  The dorm exterior will look about the same with the exception of a gable roof.  The exterior is expected to be completed by August and the interior sometime shortly after that.  If the interior is not complete by the time students arrive next fall, they will have the opportunity to work on this project. This expansion is necessary to increase our number of students to 60-65. The school committee approved the start of the boys dorm project at a cost of up to $100,000 for expansion and renovation.

 

The red van engine needs to be replaced.  It will cost $3,000 to put in a rebuilt engine.  The committee agreed that the school may purchase a rebuilt van engine for $2,000-$3,000.

 

Development Report:  No activity since last meeting, however, George and Nancy Ryan will meet before the next committee meeting.

 

The nominating committee was reminded to get names of committee members for next year.

 

At approximately 2:00 p.m. the committee went into executive session to discuss the evaluation of the director.

 

The School Committee adjourned at 2:30 p.m.                                      Karla Hanson

                                                                                                                        Recording Clerk