Scattergood Friends School Committee

Approved Minutes – September 20, 1997

The School Committee met on Saturday, September 20, 1997, 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, Alice Hampton, Kathy Cordero, Bruce Rohwer, Richard Johnson, Ron Knight, Deborah Fisch, Kent Luetke-Stahlman, Kay Meyer. Staff members present included: Ken Hinshaw, Karla Hanson, Nancy Ryan, Dena Miller.

Karla Hanson read the minutes from the July meeting. Minor changes were made and the minutes were approved by the committee. It was decided after the July meeting not to ask for an increase in contribution from IYM until after the Capital Campaign is over.

Board training has been tentatively set for the November meeting. We will meet at 9 am for regular agenda items and try to complete our business before brunch. Following brunch, four hours will be dedicated to board training. Burt stressed the importance of full participation and attendance by committee members.

New members (Kathy Cordero, Kent Luetke-Stahlman, Alice Hampton) were welcomed and introductions were made. Introductions were later done in the social room with staff members. Burt reviewed policies and procedures of the committee and subcommittees. The standard agenda items were reviewed and committee members were reminded to let Burt know prior to the meeting of additional agenda items.

Nominating Committee: Deb Fisch gave out a report giving the names of new committee members and their subcommittee appointments. Deb would like to continue receiving names of potential committee members, including their ability and willingness to serve on subcommittees. The nominating committee recognizes the need to diversify, however, the contacts suggested at last meeting have declined to serve on the committee at this time. The SFSC asked Lucy Hansen and Bruce Rohwer to nominate the nominating committee for next year.

Admissions: Director of Admissions, Dena Miller, presented the admissions report and talked briefly about the increased number of admissions inquires and interviews. The 1997-98 school year opened with 62 students admitted – 28 boys and 34 girls. Committee members were encouraged to take admissions packets home with them and give them to prospective families. The committee acknowledges the great work being done by Dena in the admissions department.

Director’s Report: Ken Hinshaw presented the director’s report. (See report) Discussion followed about the high level of positive peer pressure and the encouragement students give to each other to make wise decisions. With the implementation of the new phone system, parents will be given the option to purchase a voice mail plan from the West Liberty Phone Company at a cost of $3/month. This should alleviate some of the problems of getting through to the students. The phone system listed on the capital plan is $10,000, however, it came in at $11,381. The SFSC approved the increase in amount for the new phone system. A marble slab which had been around the main for many years has been engraved with the Scattergood logo. The SFSC approved the installation of the marble sign at the main entrance of campus. Future plans include trimming it with cedar and installing lights.

Facilities: Kay Meyer presented the report. This committee continues to play an active roll at Scattergood. Projects currently in the works include: installation of a new phone system, completing summer capital projects (new science building entrance, boys dorm back entry and new sidewalk) and research on sound abatement. Past director, Leonore Goodenow continues to be a voice for Scattergood and she has expressed interest in helping find the appropriate people and/or resources to complete this project.

Spiritual Life: No report

Consultation: With Maryellen Lamson out for an undetermined amount of time because of illness, the topic of providing disability insurance was discussed. The SFSC agreed that business manager, Jan Luchini, should look into the costs and policies of disability insurance available and report back to the Committee. The consultation committee met and reviewed the proposed budget prior to this meeting. After reviewing the 1997-98 Budget, the SFSC gave its approval to the budget as presented. This committee has been a moving factor in the decision-making processes at Scattergood and their efforts were commended by the SFSC.

Instruction: Because of the changes in subcommittee members, this committee is being almost completely “refaced.” The ISACS accreditation process will continue to be the major priority for this committee. They will also be completing the curriculum guide.

Development: Dan presented the report. This subcommittee has been very active in the past year, especially with the implementation of the Advancement Council and the continued work on the next phase of the Capital campaign. Nancy talked about the reasons why we need to carefully choose our funding sources to find those special matches of expertise and funds. Burt talked about the Smith farm being for sale. It’s in the federal reserve program at this time so we had an annual income because of that. It’s listed by the Foundation at $126,000. The money received from the sale of the farm will be placed in the endowment, but the School Committee may recommend that income beyond this amount be used to pay off some of the school’s debt. The committee will discuss this further at a later date.

Karla Hanson

Recording Clerk