Scattergood Friends School Committee

Approved Minutes - July 12, 1997

The School Committee met on Saturday, July 12, 1997, at 9:00 am at the Friends Meeting House in Des Moines.

The meeting opened with a period of silence. Members present included: Burt Kisling, Lucy Hansen, Dana Harr, Dan Treadway, Jim Cottingham, Deb Fisch Staff members present included: Ken Hinshaw, Nancy Ryan, Karla Hanson and guest, Reck Neibuhr

The May minutes were reviewed and approved.

The agenda was reviewed and changed due to the limited number of committee members who were able to attend this meeting. The Scattergood Foundation discussion with Wilmer Tjossem will take place in November. This will allow the new members time to get oriented with the system. The Director Evaluation will take place on the Scattergood campus during Iowa Yearly Meeting. The self-evaluation was reviewed at this meeting.

Burt reported that John Neff had resigned from the School Committee. The Committee regretfully accepts the resignation of John Neff, who was also convenor of the facilities committee.

Academics: Commencement was once again a memorable day. The campus was beautiful, the weather cooperative, and the mood festive. Hans Niehus took a group of 4 students to the boundary waters for a month-long canoe trip following graduation. Scattergood was represented by Maryellen Lamson, Nancy Ryan, John Scott and Joanne Scott at the International Quaker Education Conference at Westtown. End-of-year evaluations done by students were exceptionally positive. The instruction committee met on July 7 to discuss the upcoming work needed for the ISACS accreditation.

Spiritual Life: The feeling on campus remains very positive about the school. There were a few problems with rule breaking at the end of the year, and they were dealt with promptly. Students and staff enjoyed the activities during the last week and the weather cooperated making Arts Fest a wonderful to sit outside, enjoy the live music, fencing and Aikido demonstrations, and the pleasant conversation with friends and family.

Facilities: As a result of the resignation of convenor, John Neff, Larry Marsh has agreed to temporary take over this spot. Lots of work has been going into grounds work this summer and the campus has never looked better. Bids continue to be received for approved Capital projects. Replacing the existing phone system seems to be more complicated and costly than originally anticipated. The work on the east entrance of the science building has been awarded to Roger Laughlin. Cleary Builders will put up the new garage between the old and new gym sometime this fall. Advertising was done for a part-time maintenance assistant.

Farm: The farm is busy with the garden and is again selling produce to New Pioneer Co-op in Iowa City. Jill Garrett has joined Belle as farm assistant and 1996 graduate, Erin Lane, is also helping on the farm this summer. Projects continue around making the farm profitable and attractive.

Finances: Jan Luchini, business manager, did excellent work again this year managing the operation budget. The fiscal year ended at 100% spent and 99% income received for the projected expense budget. There was an operating loss of $8,000, which is $12,000 less than anticipated. An additional $19,000 was made available to school due to reaching the Campaign 2000 goal of $1,875,000. Burt stressed that even though the first part of the campaign is over, we cannt give the impression that our fundraising effort are over.

The proposed budget was reviewed. The consultation committee was unable to have a meeting prior to this meeting, therefore, it will not be put on the table for approval until the September meeting.

Development: Dan Treadway presented the Development Report. The Advancement Council has met and the primary work will be to support advancement efforts at the school. Work is in progress on the Scattergood website (http:\\www.scattergood.org). Concentrating on spreading the good news about the success of Scattergood is also a major focus. Reck Niebuhr has been very helpful in giving this subcommittee direction and guidance.

Admissions & Enrollment: All students who finished the year at Scattergood were invited to return next year and we are anticipating opening the school year with full enrollment. Ken commended Dena Miller for her excellent work in admissions.

Staffing: All but four staff will be returning next year. Five new staff members have been hired (John and Joanne Scott, Kara Hartzler, David Rossell, and Jill Garrett). Hiring is almost complete and it should be another good year with a very experienced and strong group returning to work at Scattergood.

Nominating: Deb Fisch presented the Nominating Committee report. IYM will be asked to move Dan Treadway and Ron Knight from co-opted members to full members. The nominating committee will present a report to IYM suggesting that the following people be asked to serve on the School Committee: Alice Hampton, Kathy Cordero, Kent Luetke-Stahlman and George Welch. Burt commended Deb and the rest of the nominating committee for doing such an excellent job in recruiting new members.

Report to Yearly Meeting: Ken presented a draft of the Report to Yearly Meeting and a discussion followed. Some suggestions were made about including information about visitors and the positive peer pressure. A final copy will be sent to Burt Kisling prior to IYM.

Friends Board Training: Deb Fisch presented information about from the Friends Board Training and Support Project. The cost of having a presenter come from Philadelphia is $75/hour or $600/day, plus a contribution to the travel expenses. A program can be specially tailored to our needs. The School Committee agreed that Friends Board Training is necessary and will take place this fall. The cost of this will be included in the 1997-98 budget. Ken Hinshaw suggested that this training take place on a regularly scheduled meeting date to reduce the amount of travel necessary to committee members. The Scattergood Trustees will also be invited to attend the program.

Yearly Meeting Contribution: Lucy Hansen presented a history of the IYM contribution to SFS. In 1989 IYM contributed $15,000 and has gradually increased that amount to the current $22,000. The committee agreed to ask for $28,000 this year, however, it was later decided to ask for the same contribution as last year - $22,000. Burt Kisling was to write the request and have Dana and Deb review it.

The committee went into executive session at 1:45 pm and later Ken was called back to review the Director’s Self Evaluation.

Special thanks to Burt for providing the meal and beverages for the meeting.

Karla Hanson

Recording Clerk