Scattergood Friends School Committee

Approved Minutes - November 23, 1996

The School Committee met on Saturday, November 23, 1996, at 9:00 a.m. on the Scattergood Friends School campus.

The meeting opened with a period of silence. Members present: Burt Kisling, Nancy Peterson-McCoy, Dan Treadway, Richard Johnson, John Neff, Lucy Hansen, Deborah Fisch, Elaine Hansen, Wid Horner, Ron Knight, Connie Clopton-Schumm, Dana Harr, Jim Cottingham, Joe Davison. Staff members present: Ken Hinshaw, Karla Hanson, Nancy Ryan.

The proposed minutes from the September meeting were read and approved.

Director’s Report: Ken reported that the academic program continues to operate smoothly and most students are doing well. Academic Council meetings have been held to help those who are not achieving as much success. Maryellen Ryan continues to do an excellent job coordinating the efforts to become accredited by ISACS. A survey will be sent to everyone on the newsletter mailing list. It was stressed that it is very important for school committee members to complete and return these surveys.

Community and spiritual life on campus continue to be very positive aspects of Scattergood. Students enjoy the “Quaker Oat Notes” which are read during community meeting. This tradition was begun by Richard Johnson when he was on staff. The Friends-In-Residence program continues to be a vital part of our spiritual life. Representative Wayne Ford from DesMoines gave an uplifting presentation at community meeting. He also talked with Ken about improving minority recruiting of both staff and students.

The budget continues to track as planned. Advanced contracting for heating fuel has saved the school a considerable amount of money. Revenue is also about where we expected, however, with the loss of several students, we may fall short on the budgeted tuition revenue. Capital spending is also on track.

A Proposed Purchasing Policy was distributed for committee review and Ken asked that comments be directed to him about suggested changes or additions.

Nancy Ryan continues to actively seek donors. The fall newsletter contains an appeal for annual giving pledges. She recently spent time in Minneapolis visiting Friends School of Minnesota, which is expanding from an elementary school to a K-8. Dan Treadway suggested contacting the Friends School in Wichita, Kansas.

Three students have been accepted for second semester and three students left before the end of the first semester. Two left for personal reasons; the other was asked to leave after having difficulties living within the rules. Dena is working with local photographers to update printed publications and to create a new video about Scattergood life. Because tuition was raised last year, the committee accepted Ken’s recommendation to leave boarding tuition at $13,500 and day tuition for $9,000 for the 1997-98 school year.

Ron Knight reported that work continues on the boys’ dorm and on possible future projects. The school committee approved the hiring of a professional drywaller to complete the interior of the addition of the boys’ dorm. Other projects approved pending final costs of the dorm drywall finishing include: staff housing improvements (mostly bathrooms and some carpet replacement); installations of a washer and dryer in the girls’ dorm; and replacement of the MacIntosh computers in the library with newer used computers. The painting of the Berquist House fire escape in the spring was also approved.

The Long Range Planning committee was not active last year. There is a possibility of using this year’s retreat as a time to work on future plans. Ron Knight, Richard Johnson and Wid Horner will work on planning the retreat with the existing LRP subcommittee and report back in January.

Nominating Committee: Dana Harr will replace Kay Meyer as convenor. The responsibilities of the nominating committee were discussed and it was noted that it would be beneficial to have Deb and Kay on this committee. Each committee member should try to submit a name of someone who has a specific field of expertise which would be beneficial to the school.

Consultation Committee: Jim Cottingham presented the written report. The committee met prior to this meeting and reviewed the financial reports. Low cash flow in November and December will require short term borrowing from West Branch State Bank. High yields and high prices resulted in a profitable soybean crop this year. The farm is no longer indebted to the school. Ken has met with the Director’s Advisory Committee.

Instruction Committee: Connie Schumm reported that the committee met to discuss the ISACS accreditation process. The Instruction committee will play a vital role in this process. Maryellen Ryan will be the chairperson. Ken and Maryellen are creating a curriculum guide of the expectations and nature of academics at Scattergood. The Scattergood Friends School mission statement was reviewed and reapproved.

Spiritual Life Committee: No activity.

Farm Committee: Bruce, Lucy and Ken have met to talk about current farm activities. These were included in the director’s report. Nancy Ryan is compiling a list of potential donors specific to the farm.

Development Committee: Dan Treadway presented the report. Appoximately $10,000 was received as a gift of PQ stock, $50,00 from Shaw-North Foundation and $50,000 from Cowles Foundation. Nancy continues to work on development of the Advancement Council. The importance of 100% participation by committee members was discussed. Year-end is often a good time for donors as they are looking for tax deductions.

The meeting adjorned at 2:30 pm.

Karla Hanson

Recording Clerk