Lowcountry Montessori School
Minutes
Board meeting
Date and Time
Thursday April 27, 2023 at 5:30 PM
Location
Lowcountry Montessori School
Directors Present
C. Garnes, G. Alexander, J. Dameworth, J. Ephland, J. Poole, L. Young, S. Boggs
Directors Absent
None
Guests Present
A. Horn, Alyssa Blitch, Denise Aira, S. Fox
I. Opening Items
A.
Determination of Quorum
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
C.
Reading of the Mission Statement
D.
Approval of Agenda
E.
Statement of Compliance with FOIA
II. Consent Agenda
A.
Approve minutes from 03/23/2023 Regular board meeting.
III. Public Comment
A.
Public comment period, limited to 3 minutes per person.
Jennifer Poole, student parent, raised concerns and questions regarding the senior trips. She felt that the planning was disorganized and wished for staff to address the frequent changes to the trip plans. Staff briefly replied that they did have many issues with the trip planning and that many lessons were learned; they insisted that the process would be more streamlined moving forward.
IV. Committee Reports
A.
Finance Report
Alyssa Blitch from Prestige provided the finance statements for period ending 3/31/2023 and reviewed some items of note. Ms. Blitch advised that they were reviewing the coding of several line items, which appeared to be misrepresenting some expense and income lines. The budget for FY2024 has been drafted and will be formally presented at the May Board meeting. No action was taken.
B.
Governance
C.
Facilities
Director Horn provided an update on Facilities, as provided to her by Martha Watkins. Required maintenance was being done, rather than replacement, due to high price quotes and current available funds. Many projects were being undertaken by existing staff rather than outsourced for savings. No action was taken.
V. New Business
A.
Vote on Finacial
Director Horn provided the Board with the most recent cost of the school project, which had gone up by $55,307.74.
B.
Discussion of School Bus
Jennifer Poole stated that she had located a school bus for sale locally and inquired whether this would be a worthwhile purchase for the school. Discussion ensued regarding the possible uses for the school bus, as well as legal requirements that must be satisfied. School administration expressed interest in buying a new bus to ensured compliance with state statutes and also ensure that maintenance was manageable. Several Board members also expressed an interest in pursuing the purchase of a school bus. Boardmember Poole advised that she will do additional research and bring it back to the Board for review. No action taken.
C.
Teacher Appreciation
Jennifer Poole advised that May 8-12 was Teacher Appreciation Week. School administration shared their plans for honoring the teachers during the week and the Board expressed an interest in organizing a Friday luncheon for May 12. Boardmembers will be collecting possible donations for raffle during the lunch and will be planning the food and locale for the occasion. No action taken.
VI. Executive Session
A.
Executive Session
VII. Other Business
A.
Vote on matters from Executive Session, if required
Motion made to offer a contract for employment to Director Amy Horn for a period ending 6/30/2024 which includes a 5% salary increase
Table Approval of Minutes from 3-22-2023