Lowcountry Montessori School
Minutes
Board Meeting
Date and Time
Thursday November 21, 2019 at 6:30 PM
Location
749 Broad River Dr., Beaufort, SC 29906
The mission of Lowcountry Montessori School is to provide an authentic Montessori education building a foundation for lifelong learning.
Directors Present
A. Moody, C. Lucas (remote), G. Alexander, J. Dameworth, K. Recchia (remote), P. Chester (remote), S. Lemstrom, T. Vande Burgt
Directors Absent
D. Fent
Directors who left before the meeting adjourned
C. Lucas
Guests Present
A. Horn, M. Zappia, S. Fox
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance and Guests
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
S. Lemstrom called a meeting of the board of directors of Lowcountry Montessori School to order on Thursday Nov 21, 2019 at 6:32 PM.
C.
Reading of the Mission Statement
D.
Approval of Agenda
T. Vande Burgt made a motion to Approve agenda.
G. Alexander seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
E.
Statement of Compliance with FOIA
F.
Approve Minutes from Previous Meeting
J. Dameworth made a motion to approve minutes from the Board Meeting on 10-24-19 Board Meeting on 10-24-19.
P. Chester seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
G.
Approve Minutes from Finance Committee Meeting
T. Vande Burgt made a motion to approve minutes from the Finance Committee Meeting on 11-19-19 Finance Committee Meeting on 11-19-19.
A. Moody seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
H.
Approve Minutes from Facilities Committee Meeting
C. Lucas made a motion to approve minutes from the November Facilities Committee on 11-04-19 November Facilities Committee on 11-04-19.
T. Vande Burgt seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
I.
Approve Minutes of the Academic Excellence Committee
A. Moody made a motion to approve minutes from the Academic Excellence Committee Meeting on 11-13-19 Academic Excellence Committee Meeting on 11-13-19.
J. Dameworth seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
J.
Approve minutes from Special Board Meeting
T. Vande Burgt made a motion to approve minutes from the Special Board Meeting on 11-07-19 Special Board Meeting on 11-07-19.
A. Moody seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
II. Public Comment
A.
Public comment period, limited to 3 minutes per person.
III. Director's Report
A.
November update.
Current enrollment at 368 students. Harvest Feast and silent auction Friday 11/22, with a good level of donations to the auction. Recently completed celebrations of learning - at lower levels, these are teacher-led conferences about student progress. The sessions are student-led conferences at higher levels and and help students with presentation skills. Completed first round of STAR assessments, and will test again in January and at the end of the academic year.
IV. Committee Reports
A.
Governance
T. Vande Burgt made a motion to move official meeting time to 5:30 p.m. for all subsequent meetings.
G. Alexander seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
Board members were reminded to fill out training surveys and check committee assignments. Reminder read to all present about conflict of interest policy (that all members have signed).
T. Vande Burgt made a motion to schedule board workshop on January 31st from 12 to 5 p.m.
J. Dameworth seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
B.
Academic Excellence
The board considered charter amendments regarding Spanish immersion, STAR assessments for growth over each academic year, an annual board questionnaire, and removing H-SAP from assessment tools.
A. Moody made a motion to approve all proposed charter amendments as written.
J. Dameworth seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| T. Vande Burgt |
Aye
|
| A. Moody |
Aye
|
| G. Alexander |
No
|
| P. Chester |
Aye
|
| D. Fent |
Absent
|
| C. Lucas |
Aye
|
| S. Lemstrom |
Aye
|
| J. Dameworth |
Aye
|
| K. Recchia |
Aye
|
C.
Finance
The board will be discussing the full annual audit more at next meeting. There are no major questions or issues from auditors. The board received an update on YTD financial projections and reviewed a budget amendment related to adjustments based on 45-day count, grant revenues and expenses, and USDA loan expenses.
The finance committee investigated allegations of improper credit card usage and found no such expenditures of school funds. The committee will continue a review of expenditures to ensure there has been on misuse of funds.
The finance committee investigated allegations of improper credit card usage and found no such expenditures of school funds. The committee will continue a review of expenditures to ensure there has been on misuse of funds.
G. Alexander made a motion to table the budget amendment vote until next meeting.
T. Vande Burgt seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
T. Vande Burgt made a motion to approve October financials.
A. Moody seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
D.
Fundraising
Reminder to support silent auction at Harvest Feast (11/22)
E.
Facilities
The board received updates on continued playground development, necessary DSS approvals, and overall facilities support funding.
V. Old Business
A.
Easement Update
The easement issue has been tabled because of complications detailed by architect (zoning complications, etc.). Might be reconsidered in post-construction phase.
B.
USDA Update
No new updates since special meeting; no changes in status. Board was advised that a sit-down meeting with USDA staff will be necessary upon loan approval.
C.
Architect Contract
T. Vande Burgt made a motion to table vote on architect contract.
G. Alexander seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
VI. Executive Session
A.
Executive Session
G. Alexander made a motion to enter executive session.
J. Dameworth seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
C. Lucas left.
G. Alexander made a motion to leave executive session.
T. Vande Burgt seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
B.
Discuss Contractual Matter
C.
Discuss Parent/Student Concern
D.
Discuss potential legal issue
VII. Other Business
A.
Vote on matters from Executive Session, if required
T. Vande Burgt made a motion to table the vote on a final approval of a contract for a third party investigator, pending further research.
A. Moody seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
VIII. Closing Items
A.
Adjourn Meeting
S. Lemstrom made a motion to adjourn the meeting.
A. Moody seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 10:00 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
A. Moody
Savannah Thomas spoke of concerns about communication with teachers as well as teacher qualifications/certification.
Deb Wright expressed concerns about mandatory reporting policies, staff information sharing, and teacher training policies.
Kyle Wright expressed concern about the response to her child being left attended on two occasions, restating her request for a thorough review of the incidents and suggesting replacement of the LMS leadership team.
Kyle <last name illegible> expressed concern over administrators' ethics and integrity; also voiced questions about overall about quality of education at LMS.
<guest> relayed her positive impression of the school, and stated that she doesn't question school safety at LMS