Lowcountry Montessori School
Minutes
Board Meeting
Date and Time
Thursday January 28, 2021 at 5:30 PM
Location
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 (remote), J. Dameworth (remote), K. Recchia (remote), P. Chester (remote), S. Lemstrom (remote), T. Vande Burgt (remote)
Directors Absent
None
Guests Present
M. Zappia (remote), S. Fox (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 Jan 28, 2021 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 10/22/20 regular board meeting.
A. Moody made a motion to approve the minutes from Board Meeting on 10-22-20.
K. Recchia seconded the motion.
Consent agenda approved as a whole by unanimous consent (votes are recorded here due to the board meeting software not supporting consent agendas).
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
B.
Approve minutes from 11/19/20 regular board meeting.
A. Moody made a motion to approve the minutes from Board Meeting on 11-19-20.
K. Recchia seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
C.
Approve minutes from 12/7/2020 regular board meeting.
A. Moody made a motion to approve the minutes from Special Board Meeting on 12-07-20.
K. Recchia seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
D.
Approve minutes from 1/12/21 Facilities Committee meeting.
A. Moody made a motion to approve the minutes from Facilities Committee Meeting on 01-12-21.
K. Recchia seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
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 comments to record.
IV. Director's Report
A.
December/January Update
S. Fox provided report this month. Lottery to be held on 2/16 at 4:30 p.m. Current enrollment at 325. School had first COVID case in January and moved affected classrooms to virtual instruction until quarantine period passed.
New book group for parents beginning on Conscious Discipline.
V. Committee Reports
A.
Facilities
Committee reported on HVAC maintenance that required action under financial policy's emergency steps. One system replaced and external wiring repaired due to poor original installation and damage over time.
B.
Governance
Committee confirmed registrations for board training sessions and discussed recruitment and upcoming elections.
C.
Academic Excellence
No committee report (no meeting held).
D.
Fundraising
No committee report
E.
Finance
S. Lemstrom made a motion to approve the December financial reports.
T. Vande Burgt seconded the motion.
Discussed December financials and voted to approve reports. Budget amendment likely; waiting for additional data before presenting to board.
VI. Unfinished Business
A.
Update on new building
Upcoming meeting with Liollio engineers could offer first look at potential schematics. More to report in February. There are still some extra USDA funds pending.
VII. New Business
A.
Vote to approve addition of staff to school credit card account.
Proposed action will require modification to the existing financial policy and clarification of staff credit card usage policy (combining the two). Will be revisited at a later meeting.
B.
Vote to approve creation of Project Oversight and Planning Committee
This action doesn't require a board vote (board chair can create a subcommittee of the board, as per LMS bylaws). It was agreed a Project Oversight and Planning Committee would be beneficial and the committee will be created before the next full board meeting.
VIII. Executive Session
A.
Executive Session
No executive session held.
IX. Closing Items
A.
Adjourn Meeting
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 6:37 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
A. Moody