Scattergood Friends School Committee

Approved Minutes - November 21, 1998

The School Committee met on Saturday, November 21, 1998 at 8:30 a.m. at Scattergood Friends School.

The meeting opened with a period of silence. Members present included Burt Kisling, Jeff Kisling, George Welch, Barclay Kuhn, Dan Treadway, Deb Fisch, Janet Lemmerman, Lucy Hansen, Alice Hampton, Kathy Standing-Cordero, Joe Davison, Donnie Morehouse and Richard Johnson. Staff members present included Ken Hinshaw and Nancy Ryan. Guest Laura Melly who led our board training sessions at the close of this meeting was also present.

Lucy Hansen has been asked to take minutes for this meeting in the absence of Kara Hartzler.

We were made aware of some of the problems at Olney Friends School and of the meeting today concerning the future of that school in Ohio Yearly Meeting.

The minutes from the September 12 meeting were read and reviewed. The wording of a sentence under Director's Report was changed to read "It was agreed that a copy of the video be given to each monthly meeting and the representatives from other Yearly Meetings on the school committee," and it was put in bold type to show we approved it. The following sentence was added to the paragraph saying we adjourned for brunch and met staff; "Burt commented to the staff on the following; Long Range Planning - Your input is needed, the school committee is interested in your views and opinions. Scattergood Friends School Committee Meetings - We encourage your attendance to aat least one or more committee meetings per year. We want to get to know you and to hear about your goals and results you have had. Subcommittees - We have asked Ken to appoint one staff person and one student to serve on the following school committee subcommittees: Spiritual Life, Instruction, Farm and Facilities. We encourage you to let Ken know of your interests." Under Long Range Planning, the end of a sentence was changed to read "...to direct any input to clerks of the subcommittees." It was also noted that in the July committee meeting, we had

agreed to use existing staff and student handbooks and the new ones were to be developed with the input and approval of the school committee.

Lucy Hansen reported that she and Bruce Rohwer (the Naming Committee) had asked Ron Knight, George Welch and Donnie Morehouse if they would be willing to serve on the Nominating Committee. The School Committee approved the membership of the new Nominating Committee to be Ron Knight, George Welch and Donnie Morehouse.

The location of the July 17, 1999 School Committee meeting was discussed and it was agreed that it would be held at the school. It was noted that there are now several members traveling from Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana so the old custom of having the July meeting in Des Moines, to give the members from central and northern Iowa a break on travel distances, would not be fair to those to the east of Iowa.

The date for the January 1999 meeting was discussed, noting that it should not be too close to the beginning of the second semester. Some members had a conflict on the original date set for the meeting. It was agreed that we would meet on January 30, 1999 at the school, a change from the 23rd.

Nominating Committee: Deb handed out the report from their meeting on appointing a Human Resources Committee. They recommend appointing some people from the Yearly Meeting to this subcommittee to prevent some members of the school committee from carrying too much of a burden. It was approved that the following people would form the Human Resources Subcommittee: Barclay Kuhn, clerk, Janet Lemmerman, Richard Johnson (who would be released from the Consultation Committee), Martha Davis (co-opted to serve on this committee, from Decorah meeting), and Martha Hampton (co-opted to serve on this committee, from Whittier meeting). A description of the purpose and responsibilities of the new subcommittee which was approved at the September meeting was also handed out. The Consultation Committee will no longer be responsible for personnel matters, grievances brought by staff, and resolution of grievances. They will also oversee the updating of the student and the staff handbooks. Ken expressed confusion over who was responsible for the handbooks. There are many things in the student handbook that the school committee does not need to be involved with. However, there are many things in both handbooks which the school committee does need to know of and approve since they can be used as legal documents.

Director's Report: The report was handed out and read by Ken. The Admissions Report was also handed out. It was noted that with such a large senior class, a lot of work in admissions will need to be done. Two new students have been admitted for second semester. Ken reported that two students had been expelled for major rules violations this semester but noted how different the community

is in comparison to ten years ago. It is a very different community now, much improved. Ken offered his praise and appreciation of both new and returning staff and the great job they are doing.

Ken gave an update on the school's efforts to find a 15 passenger van. It turns out there is a state law requiring schools to transport nine or more students in a school bus. Iowa standards are more strict than the federal laws on safety features. The licensing requirements for the 18-20 passenger buses are easier than for the larger ones, and some staff will have to fulfill them. As much as

$40,000 will be needed to buy one, though Will Hardy is still doing research. The School Committee approves the purchase of a school bus to meet state laws in the transporting of students.

The school has begun to accept Master Card and Visa as methods of payment for people making donations and payments to the school. This should make it easier for some to donate and may attract donors we wouldn't otherwise get. The fee paid to the credit card companies is 3.6% per transaction, paid by the school out of the payments. The School Committee approves Ken Hinshaw, as Director of Scattergood Friends School, to sign the terms of agreement for use of the Master Card and Visa payment options.

The school needs to have a line of credit at Mercantile Bank (West Branch) to cover operating expenses during low cash flow periods. The School Committee approves a $75,000 short-term loan/line of credit at Mercantile Bank.

The school is looking into the possibility of using the services of a direct marketing firm to get professionally produced brochures, books and other information for a targeted audience. They could also provide advice about when and where to place ads, do mailings etc. Specific mailing lists can be purchased as well. The first quote was for $46,000 which could be paid over two

to three years, interest free, and could be part of the promotions budget. There are other companies to look at and other details to work out before the school would decide to use such a company. The School Committee approves the idea of paying for the services of a direct marketing company over 2-3 years.

Copies of the new issue of Scattergood News were handed out and the comments on page 5 from recent graduates were pointed out. Very positive comments, in general, on how much they had learned while at Scattergood.

Beginning in January, the school begins program underwriting on public radio station KUNI. One ad is 21 words long and the other runs 30 seconds. The school may also take part in the Iowa Public Television fund raising festival in Des Moines by providing students and staff to answer the telephones.

The financial statement was handed out. The school is relatively on schedule for this time of year, noting that fuel expenses were high because of advance purchasing at low prices and professional services were high because of the complete audit. There were no exceptions noted by the auditors and everything is in good order.

Consultation Committee: The report was handed out and read. A tuition rate increase was discussed. It was noted that Scattergood's tuition is still much lower than other boarding schools and an increase is needed to keep in step with them as well as to increase income. The policy of not raising the tuition for a student over the number of years they are at Scattergood will not be

continued. The School Committee approves raising full tuition to $16,000 and five day student tuition to $14,000. Day student tuition would remain unchanged at $9,000. Tuition rates will need to increase some each year to keep up with expenses as well as rates charged by other boarding schools.

Development Committee: The report was handed out and read. The annual fall appeal letter has gone out and generated some new responses. Other mailings are being done in order to get the Invest in the Future brochure to everyone. The Quaker Family Network group has met on the phone and is working to establish contacts with each monthly meeting with the help of Burt. Nancy has done some traveling this fall to meet with people and went with Ken to the ISACS conference. The new car has been a lemon and the dealership is working on getting a replacement.

There was a discussion about QuakerNet and where it should be located. The security issues of having personal information on the Internet were raised, especially on the school's web site since it is advertised. We may want the Scattergood News edited before putting some photos, names, addresses and other things on the Internet. It may also not be appropriate to have draft reports there. Maybe password access would be a way to keep some information less accessible. There needs to be a discussion with the tech committee and others concerning the appropriateness of some computer uses by the school committee. Not everyone has access to a computer. The 'sense of meeting' and other Quaker practices used in meetings are not well suited to computer use.

Instruction Committee: There was no written report, but Richard noted that he was pleased there is a student/staff committee working on the guidelines for independent study. There is a draft of the Long Range Plan chapter 3 concerning Instruction in the works and it should be out soon.

Farm Committee: The committee's 1998 self-assessment written for the September meeting was read (there was not time to give it at the September meeting), saying it "was not as active as it maybe could have been this past year. We did attempt to put together a list of projects that would be capital improvements for the farm. This, however, is not a substitute for a long range plan which is still in need of completion." Lucy went on to say that the committee has discussed things on e-mail and met with Ken and Belle since then. The farm committee came to the conclusion that there needed to be a chapter in the school's Long Range Plan concerning the farm since it is such a major part of the school and the other chapters do not discuss it. Ken wrote a draft which was handed out, and comments from others are welcomed.

Facilities Committee: Staff housing options have been under discussion. A new duplex would be the most flexible for use by a variety of people and a location in the old orchard area looks to be the most feasible. Two architects, Roger Laughlin and Nels Larson, have been asked to look at the project. A survey was given to staff and others asking for ideas to improve the academic program,

needs for the campus etc. with an emphasis on long range planning and technology.

March Retreat: Two and three years ago, the school committee members would spend Friday of the retreat weekend going to classes and crews with students and meeting with staff. It is a good way of becoming familiar with campus life and getting to know the students and it was suggested that we do that again this year. The committee would also have the opportunity to look at all the ISACS

recommendations/accomplishments at once, since the report is due in March.

ISACS Progress: The full audit is complete and has been sent to ISACS. Health and safety concerns raised by the visiting team have been addressed. The school is now fully accredited by ISACS for seven years when the process starts over. Now that the school is accredited, it can become a member of other boarding school associations (National Association of Independent Schools and Midwest Boarding School Association for starters). March is their deadline for

addressing the 60 recommendations they gave the school. The school does not necessarily have to agree with or do them all, but they must be addressed and a case for or against made. Ken notes that it is a very useful exercise in planning. The ISACS conference a few weeks ago was very good.

Other Topics: School Committee members were reminded to turn in their mileage reimbursement forms. If you later give Scattergood any of the money the school had given you as a reimbursement for travel and lodging, it counts as a donation designated to the administrative costs of running Scattergood. And in terms of fundraising, it is important that all school committee members be

contributors to the school.

The clerk brought copies of an excerpt from the book "Moving Violation" by John Hockenberry. Dana Harr sent them with a request that we read and discuss it since it deals with her concerns about disabilities not being accommodated well by the school.

Five Year Budget Projections: Ken handed out the draft of chapter five of the Long Range Plan concerning budget projections. Historical trends are not adequate in projecting future needs, especially for salaries. An increase in payroll expenses of 10% per year for five years to bring salaries in line with other Iowa schools demands much increased donations in the near future,

especially to the endowment fund. Depreciation expense adds greatly to the expense budget and the school needs to start funding it so we have the money to repair and replace items in the future. It was noted that it will be useful for Iowa Yearly Meeting to see these budget projections.

Everyone was thanked for all their efforts in long range planning for the school. Much of it has never been done at Scattergood before.

The meeting closed with a moment of silence at 12:05 p.m. The afternoon and following morning were used for board training, led by Laura Melly.

Lucy Hansen, Recording Clerk