Scattergood Friends School Committee

Approved Minutes – May 16, 1998

The School Committee met on Saturday, May 16, 1998 at 9:00 am on the Scattergood Friends School campus.

The meeting opened with a period of silence. Members present included: Burt Kisling, Lucy Hansen, Dan Treadway, Kathy Standing-Cordero, Bruce Rohwer, Ron Knight, Kent Luetke-Stahlman, George Welch, Bob Rye, Joe Davison, Jim Cottingham, Richard Johnson, Alice Hampton. Staff members present included: Ken Hinshaw, Karla Hanson, Nancy Ryan, Dena Miller, Lyn Cope-Robinson, Joanne Scott.

The meeting opened at 9:00 with a moment of silence. The February 21 minutes were reviewed and one change was made in the section about going into executive session on page 3 of the minutes (See attached). This prompted a discussion on how to record minutes while in executive session and it was decided to re-visit this issue when a replacement is found for Karla Hanson, who will not be taking minutes following this meeting. Ken felt assured that a replacement will be in place by the July meeting. An official minute will have to be given to give this person permission to act as SFSC recording clerk, as well as legal secretary for the school.

The minutes from the March 14 Long Range Planning Retreat were reviewed and approved. Burt thanked everyone for their enthusiastic participation in the retreat. This prompted a long discussion of long range planning. Burt distributed the Reck Niebuhr report from the retreat and talked about the different chapters and how Chapter #3 (The Academic Plan) is the underlying premise of the school committee’s work. The committee reviewed who has responsibility of each chapter. The SFSC approved the Reck Niebuhr report and will take appropriate actions as outlined in it. Burt then distributed a draft of the SFSC governance policy chapter of the Long Range Planning. A technology committee has been formed with Kent Luetke-Stahlman, Jeff Kisling, Walter Sparks, and Dave Rossell. Being convenor of the Instruction Committee, it is important that they keep Richard Johnson informed of their activities. Kent brought copies of technology information for anyone interested. This information has already been sent to the Technology Committee.

The retreat brought out much useful information. From the Development side of LRP, we need a good base of supporters within the Quaker community. It is also necessary for us to plant the seed of thought about Scattergood and to maintain a future base of students which leads to a financial base as well. The group proposed starting a “Quaker Family Network” (Kathy, Lucy, and Alice). Nancy Ryan talked about “giving back” to Scattergood. It was suggested that we set up an e-mail forum to bring up queries for discussion within the Quaker meetings.

Ron Knight stressed the importance of Committee members to promptly respond to the questionnaires which will be part of Facilities LRP strategy.

ISACS visiting team was here the 1^st week of March. A summary listing of the recommendations was handed out. The ISACS board decided that, pending the full audit and the school’s response to their recommendation on safety issues, we will receive full accreditation. Each of the 60 recommendations needs to be addressed by March 1999 using the forms they provided. While it’s easy to concentrate on only their recommendations for change, we must also remember that many good things were said about the school, too.

Other discussion continued as a result of the ISACS report. The group talked about tracking the graduates and seeing how well we are preparing them. We have started to get release forms from seniors so that we can request academic records from their colleges.

There was considerable discussion about having a counselor on staff. The school did have an intern from the psychology department from University of Iowa in the 1980’s. Recently the school has been making arrangements for students to see off-campus counselors. It was suggested that we look into the possibility of sharing a counselor with West Branch High School. ISACS also recommended getting a school nurse. Kent asked Joanne Scott, current Health Coordinator, to write a recommendation of what she thinks would improve the health care system of the school.

The issue of complying with ADA regulations was also discussed. Ken will check with the school’s legal counsel to see how it applies to private schools. It could mean that we must be able to accommodate students with special physical needs. The financial implications were discussed. Bruce talked about how important it is to have a 5-year plan in place to make sure funding is available in the event that we must make the entire campus ADA accessible.

ISACS also recommended that Scattergood Friends School consider incorporating as a separate operating body from IYM. This would ensure that liability issues do not ultimately fall on the shoulders of IYM members. No action was taken on this recommendation.

Recruitment of students of color was discussed. Kent recommended using the FGC connection for getting more students.

Nominating Committee: George Welch presented the report in Deb’s absence. The committee has met and has a written proposal ready for IYM to consider appointing new SFSC members. It was noted that Jim Cottingham and Dana Harr will not be on the committee next year. It was proposed that term limits of school committee members be eliminated by changing item 1.3 Terms of Appointment in Section #1 Membership, to the following. This change was recommended by the Nominating Committee. Section #1 Membership. Item 1.3 Terms of Appointment. All members will serve three (3) year appointments and can be reappointed. There will be no limit to the number of terms members may be reappointed. The terms will remain staggered as they are now so that all terms do not end the same year. Co-opted members shall be appointed for a specific time period not to exceed three years and may be reappointed. At the next regular or special meeting of the school committee, the proposed change shall be on the agenda and if approved will go into effect immediately.

The SFSC committee broke for Brunch at 10:30. Following brunch the committee met with the graduating seniors, who gave brief introductions and told of their future college plans. The Class of 1998 includes Keith Rohwer, Pauline Hart, Cole Stamper, John Scott, Jeb Wiseley, Nick Pizey, Harold Jamison and Jordan Kauffman.

Admissions Report: The Committee reviewed the report and discussed briefly the trends in visits and calls for information. Ken is hopeful that we will have full enrollment again next year, despite the fact that we are losing several current students. The students leaving have decided to try different schooling options (ie: public school, drama school), and are not departing because they are disgruntled with Scattergood.

Report to IYM: Please let Ken know if you have specific items that should be included in this report. Burt will also be giving IYM an update of LRP. Reports should be sent to Lucy (FUM), Bob (NYM), and Joe (ILYM) or the clerks of other early meetings as soon as the preliminary draft is available.

Director’s Report: Ken presented this report. He discussed the need to make marketing the school a major focus for the coming year. Without more tuition revenue the school will continue to struggle to stay within budget.

Consultation: No written report. The consultation committee met on 5/15/98 and recommended that the school purchase disability insurance for its employees. This policy would pay approximately 66% of the employee’s salary in the event of short or long term disability. The SFSC agreed the Scattergood Friends School should purchase the disability insurance for all full-time and full-time equivalent employees beginning with the 1998-99 fiscal year. The consultation committee also discussed the wording of the school’s statement of non-discrimination in hiring. The SFSC approved the following statement, “Scattergood Friends School does not discriminate in hiring, promotion, or termination of employment on the basis of race, sex, color, religion, age, sexual orientation, or because of national or ethnic origin.”

Burt talked about some auditing concerns. One of these is the bank signature cards, which give permission for employees to sign Scattergood Friends School checks. The SFSC approved the following people as official check signers for the school: Ken Hinshaw, Jan Luchini, James O’Gorman, Burt Kisling, and the clerk of the consultation committee. Belle Hinshaw was also approved to sign on behalf of the farm account. Burt will send a letter to the bank to inform them of the changes and to let them know that signature cards will arrive shortly.

Staff, student, parent and committee handbooks will be given immediate attention so that they are available to incoming students and staff for the 98-99 school year. Any and all changes made to staff and school committee handbooks will be reviewed and approved by the school committee no later than the July meeting to ensure that these will be available by fall. Changes in policy in the student and parent handbooks also have to be reviewed by the School Committee. The school will implement a policy for parents, staff and students to sign a form when they receive a copy of their handbook to ensure that everyone has received the necessary information.

Facilities: The facilities committee met on 5/14/98 and recommends that the Committee approve the items as outlined in the Director’s report. The SFSC approved the addition of funds for removal of trees ($2,600), sound engineer visit ($897), and re-coding of mattress purchases ($1,422), and increase in Cottage siding by ($3,000) to the capital budget for this year.

Instruction Committee: Richard Johnson distributed the written report. The school committee approved the school’s decision that SFS not give credit for home schooling students during the summer, unless a parent is willing to legitimize the process by going through the proper steps with their school district.

Farm Committee: No report.

Development Report: Bruce Rohwer gave an oral report. Copies of the new video are available for Committee members to take to show Friends and prospective students. Please make sure the videos are returned to Dena Miller when you are done with them. The phonathon was a huge success this year, raising $25,723.00.

Burt recommended that we invite Reck Niebuhr to attend IYM and give his presentation to those who attend, and this was endorsed by the committee. Burt also talked about having Committee training again next year, however, taking at least a full day of time other than committee meeting time to properly complete the training. We will address this at the July meeting as well as set dates for the ‘98-99 Committee meetings.

1998-99 Capital Plan Proposal: The Committee reviewed the proposed capital plan. The SFSC approved the following projects: computer network/USF support, sidewalk replacements, student lounge improvements, sound and site walls, staff housing improvements, outdoor lighting/signs, kitchen fire protection, and art building improvements. The estimated cost of these projects is $61,000. The remaining items on the list will be re-addressed at the July meeting.

The Committee adjourned at approximately 4:00 pm.

Karla Hanson, Recording Clerk