Lowcountry Montessori School
Minutes
Board Meeting
Date and Time
Thursday October 22, 2020 at 5:30 PM
Location
Conference : https://meet.google.com/ojp-hamt-tgr
Call-in : (US) +1 240-776-5768 PIN: 391 768 337#
The mission of Lowcountry Montessori School is to provide an authentic Montessori education building a foundation for lifelong learning.
Directors Present
A. Moody (remote), G. Alexander, J. Dameworth (remote), P. Chester (remote), S. Lemstrom (remote), S. Meyer (remote), T. Vande Burgt (remote)
Directors Absent
D. Fent, K. Recchia
Directors who arrived after the meeting opened
G. Alexander
Guests Present
A. Horn (remote), M. Zappia (remote), Michelle Jones (remote), S. Fox (remote), Taylor Lloyd (remote)
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance and Guests
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
A. Moody called a meeting of the board of directors of Lowcountry Montessori School to order on Thursday Oct 22, 2020 at 5:33 PM.
C.
Reading of the Mission Statement
D.
Approval of Agenda
Agenda approved by unanimous consent.
E.
Statement of Compliance with FOIA
II. Consent Agenda
A.
Approve Minutes from Previous Meeting (9/24)
A. Moody made a motion to approve the minutes from Board Meeting on 09-24-20.
T. Vande Burgt seconded the motion.
Consent agenda approved as a whole by unanimous consent.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
B.
Approve minutes from 10/5 special board meeting
A. Moody made a motion to approve the minutes from Special Board Meeting on 10-05-20.
T. Vande Burgt seconded the motion.
Consent agenda approved as a whole by unanimous consent.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
C.
Approve minutes from 10/8 special board meeting
A. Moody made a motion to approve the minutes from Special Board Meeting on 10-08-20.
T. Vande Burgt seconded the motion.
Consent agenda approved as a whole by unanimous consent.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
D.
Approve Minutes from the Facilities Committee
E.
Approve Minutes from the Finance Committee Meeting
F.
Approve Minutes from the Governance Committee Meeting
G.
Approve Minutes from the Academic Excellence Committee
III. Public Comment
A.
Public comment period, limited to 3 minutes per person.
No public comment to record.
IV. New Business
A.
Audit presentation and approval
Michelle Jones of Elliott Davis presented a draft of the FY19-20 audit. Questions involving treatment of PPP loan will be marked for follow-up discussion.
V. Director's Report
A.
October Update
Current enrollment at 327 students, with seats being offered and advertising continuing. School will switch to hybrid model on Monday, 10/26, given the improvement in DHEC COVID numbers for Beaufort County. Approximately 60% of students will be returning to in-person learning under the hybrid model.
VI. Committee Reports
A.
Finance
S. Lemstrom made a motion to approve the September financial reports.
T. Vande Burgt seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
Revenues will be adjusted after 45-day count. Cash on hand and other metrics look normal for this point in the year.
B.
Facilities
No committee meeting this month, but there is agreement that the financial policy sections pertaining to subcontracting, related parties, and bonuses need to be clarified in the employee handbook (which will be revised with those updates).
C.
Governance
The slate of candidates for this year's board election will be presented in November. Election will be held in December.
D.
Academic Excellence
Next meeting to be held Friday, 10/23.
E.
Fundraising
VII. Unfinished Business
A.
Update on USDA loans
Closing on phase 1 scheduled for Friday, 10/23. The delay on the Phase 2 letter of conditions will ultimately lead to a better interest rate. No firm date for presentation of letter of conditions at this time.
B.
Vote to approve resumption of architectural design process.
T. Vande Burgt made a motion to approve payment of up to $45,000 for Liollio Architecture to continue design process upon successful closing of USDA Phase 1 loan.
P. Chester seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
G. Alexander arrived.
C.
COVID-19 response
VIII. Executive Session
A.
Executive Session
No executive session for this meeting.
IX. Closing Items
A.
Adjourn Meeting
Board chair reminder: next meeting is one week early, on Nov. 19, to account for holiday.
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 7:04 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
A. Moody