Scattergood Friends School Committee

Approved Minutes - September 14, 1996

The School Committee met on Saturday, September 14, 1996, at 9:00 a.m. on the Scattergood Friends School campus.

The meeting opened with a period of silence. Members present: Burt Kisling, Dan Treadway, Richard Johnson, Lucy Hansen, Barb Garlinghouse, Wid Horner, Dana Harr, Ron Knight, Kay Meyer, Carol Spaulding, Clarence Perisho, Deborah Fisch, Elaine Hansen, Connie Clopton Schumm, Jim Cottingham, Bruce Rohwer, Joe Davison. Staff members present: Ken Hinshaw, Karla Hanson, Will Hardy, Nancy Ryan, Dena Miller.

The proposed minutes from the July 13 meeting were read and approved.

Because this meeting included both new and old committee members, introductions were made. Burt Kisling read the committee’s mission statement and talked briefly about the makeup of the committee and its subcommittees.

A two-page Financial Analysis about Foundation 2000 was distributed by Burt and briefly discussed. It was noted that there is a $250,000 cap in regard to funds for operations. The School Committee agreed that money collected after the campaign goal is met will be allocated at the discretion of the school committee, with the intent of increasing support for operations to help offset the cost of the new development program at the school.

Director’s Report: Ken Hinshaw presented the director’s report. We opened the year with 54 students, who have accepted their new academic challenge with much desire and very few complaints. Of the 54 students, 31 are first time Scattergoodians. With no new full-time staff members this year, it has been a very smooth transition. Several new part-time staff rounded out the hiring for the year. New students have been oriented to the Scattergood routine, including visits to the West Branch Friends Meeting and the Friends Church. A great deal of work was done around the campus over the summer. The dining room received a new floor, new ceiling and the stair-treads were replaced to name only a few projects. The boys dorm is not yet completed, but Will Hardy is coordinating the efforts of students, staff and volunteers to see the project through to completion. On the farm, almost daily produce sales kept people busy over the summer. Bruce and Carol Rohwer have provided two horses for recreational use by staff and students. In the area of development, Nancy Ryan continued making requests for funds from corporate and foundation sources, as well as making visits to friends of the school.

The proposed budget and most recent financial reports were distributed and reviewed. Ken noted that income and expenses for the first two months of the fiscal year were in line with the preliminary budget figures. The committee accepted the 1996-97 budget proposal.

Subcommittee Reports: These reports included self-evaluations for the past year.

Facilities - Ron Knight reported that the work on the dorm “was the facilities report.” With 21 boys in the dorm, there is a little less pressure to complete the dorm as quickly. An afternoon project class with boys and one girl has been working on completing the inside of the dorm. At present it looks like the dorm will be completed slightly below budget at $97,800, rather than $100,000.

Farm - Bruce Rohwer’s written report indicated that the past year has seen a lot of changes on the farm. Belle Hinshaw began her duties as farm manager; the gardens got larger and more productive due to a new irrigation system; the fields were planted with soybeans instead of corn. The upcoming year looks promising with plans to expand various livestock operations and increasing student involvement. Nancy Ryan is also planning on including the farm in her development efforts.

Spiritual Life - Barb Garlinghouse distributed her written report and talked about how this committee was not extensively active this year, however, it was noted that the committees efforts made the retreat such a success last spring. It was noted that the Friends-in-Residence program is becoming a vital part of spiritual life thanks to the efforts of Ardith Tjossem.

Development - Nancy Ryan presented the report in George Welsh’s absence. The campaign continued to move along despite the transition of directors. The sum of $1,678,341 has been received in gifts, pledges, and assurances of continuing support. There remains great confidence that the goal of $1,875,000 will be met, although taking longer than originally hoped. Anticipating the attainment of the goal, the second phase of the campaign needs to be defined. The Development Subcommittee proposed the abolishment of the Development Committee, with a more broadly-based Advancement Council to take its place. The School Committee decided that the Development Committee should continue, with the expectation that its members will work cooperatively with the Advancement Council. The Advancement Council will be an advisory group consisting of a larger group of people, who will focus primarily on developing a strong network to provide maximum support for the school. The school committee agreed to continue with the current Development Subcommittee structure, and accepted the creation of the Advancement Council.

Nominating - Kay Meyer distributed a list of the new subcommittee members. Just a couple of changes were made and are indicated on the 1996-97 school directory included with this mailing. Lucy Hansen and Deb Fisch will be on a one-time “naming committee” to get names of people interested in being on the nominating committee for this year. They will report their findings at the November meeting.

Instruction - Connie Clopton Schumm reported that all of the seniors were accepted into four year colleges, thus meeting the state of Iowa accreditation requirements. This committee was very active last year with updating graduation requirements and documents containing curriculum/instruction information. The upcoming year will require a good deal of committee support for the ISACS accreditation process. Library, international students and learning disabled students will also be addressed during the 1996-97 school year.

Consultation - Jim Cottingham prepared the report which was read by Dan Treadway. The audit review for the 1995-96 fiscal year was reviewed and accepted. The current year budget was also reviewed by this subcommittee prior to the school committee meeting. The projected budget discussed at the July meeting has been decreased due to the unexpected withdrawal of three full-pay students. Expenses for the new development program will be approximately $50,000 annually and it was noted that this places a burden on the operating budget of the school. To help offset the cost of this program, it was agreed that interest income from pre-paid pledges would be used for this purpose, and the Scattergood Friends School Foundation would distribute more earnings to the school. After some cuts in the operating budget there remains a gap of $20,000 in needed support in order to have a balanced operating budget this year. The new format of the financial reports were enthusiatically accepted by the school committee. Draft copies of the school’s new purchasing policies will be mailed to Committee members when work is completed.

Burt distributed a Foundation Financial Report for the 1995-96 fiscal year. A brief discussion followed on the basic question of the decision-making regarding investment in Scattergood’s long term security versus near-term investment is the school’s facililties and program.

The meeting adjourned at 2:10 p.m.

Recording Clerk, Karla Hanson