Lowcountry Montessori School
Minutes
Board Meeting
Date and Time
Thursday March 25, 2021 at 5:30 PM
Location
Google Meet: 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 (remote), J. Dameworth (remote), J. Ephland (remote), L. Young (remote), S. Boggs (remote)
Directors Absent
K. Recchia, P. Chester, S. Lemstrom, T. Vande Burgt
Guests Present
A. Horn (remote), 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 Mar 25, 2021 at 5:34 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 2/25/2021 regular board meeting.
A. Moody made a motion to approve the minutes from Board Meeting on 02-25-21.
G. Alexander seconded the motion.
Consent agenda and minutes contained within approved by unanimous consent. Board management software does not support proper documentation of a unanimous consent vote so this one has been added to ensure minutes are approved in the software.
III. New Board Member Welcome
A.
Welcoming Sydney Boggs, Janie Ephland, and Lari Young to the LMS board.
New and current board members, along with staff, introduced themselves.
IV. Public Comment
A.
Public comment period, limited to 3 minutes per person.
No public comments to record.
V. Director's Report
A.
March Update
A. Horn played a new video showcasing LMS's planned community center/expansion, and the video was well received. Current plan is to release video to community on Earth Day (4/22). J. Ephland and L. Young suggested a PR outreach effort to several local news organizations as well as social media promotion, and this will be followed up on by administration.
Current enrollment: 331. There is still a budget amendment for FY20-21 pending; this will be voted on once we have the official 135-day count.
Administration is working on an inclusivity statement and action items (based in part on AMS conference and SCPCSD support) and will share those with board when complete.
VI. Committee Reports
A.
Finance
J. Dameworth made a motion to approve the February financial reports.
J. Ephland seconded the motion.
T. Llloyd presented the February financials, which were mostly on-target although the lower than expected ADM count and COVID expenses have caused a deficit.
First reading of FY22 budget: Budget based on ADM estimate of 337, and includes some restructuring of budget categories to more accurately detail primary/kindergarten/elementary expenses. Proposed budget also includes impact of making pre-k program free. A. Moody requested more details on net cost of losing the pre-k program revenue (compared to early childhood program funding the school will receive). A. Moody also questioned a budget that is close to "break even;" T. Lloyd mentioned schools usually aim for a surplus of 2% and there will be some modifications to the proposed budget at the next finance meeting. A. Horn will distribute presentation on the proposed free pre-k program and bring more information to the April meeting.
B.
Facilities
There was no facilities committee meeting in March. A. Horn reported a new permaculture project that is taking shape, led by Samantha Campbell and Julia Diver. A. Moody encouraged new board members to visit the school campus to see the gardens/environment the school community has created.
C.
Governance
No governance committee meeting was held in March. A. Moody said there are two potential applicants for the board election, and reminded the board that everyone should be thinking about the officer elections in May.
After some discussion, A. Moody announced a shift to a "hybrid" meeting model for board meetings - members comfortable meeting in-person will meet at the school (while following proper protocols), and there will be a virtual meeting option for those who would prefer that format.
D.
Academic Excellence
No academic excellence committee meeting was held in March. Scheduling will be cleared up for the April meeting (making shift to 4:30 p.m. permanent).
E.
Fundraising
The fundraising committee met and viewed the new promotional video, and discussed fundraising efforts such as the Kind project.
F.
Project Oversight and Planning
No committee meeting in March - architect has been out of town and/or busy working on schematic adjustments for high school building.
VII. New Business
A.
Vote to approve 2021-22 school year calendar.
J. Dameworth made a motion to approve the 2021-22 school year calendar.
J. Ephland seconded the motion.
Board members reviewed the proposed calendar and had no suggestions or concerns.
VIII. Executive Session
A.
Executive Session
There was no executive session held at this meeting.
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 7:06 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
A. Moody