Living School
Minutes
Governance Committee Meeting
Date and Time
Tuesday August 20, 2019 at 6:00 PM
Location
Living School, 6003 Bullard Ave., New Orleans, LA 70128
All are welcome at Living School Board Meetings. Translation is available with 24 hours notice. Public comment is welcome on any item on the agenda. Members of the public wishing to comment, may raise their hand and be recognized by the Board or Committee Chair to speak for up to 2 minutes per person, per agenda item. On any matter up for a vote, public comment must be heard prior to taking the Board's vote. For members of the public wishing to address the Board for longer than 2 minutes on any given agenda item, please give the Board Chair at least 24 hours notice to be added to the agenda.
Committee Members Present
I. King-Robins, T. Millard
Committee Members Absent
D. Lister
Guests Present
S. Pasternak
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance and Guests
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
I. King-Robins called a meeting of the Governance Committee Committee of Living School to order on Tuesday Aug 20, 2019 at 6:08 PM.
C.
Approve Minutes
T. Millard made a motion to approve minutes from the Governance Committee Meeting on 04-19-19 Governance Committee Meeting on 04-19-19.
I. King-Robins seconded the motion.
The committee VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
II. Governance
A.
Review Committee Goals from June 2019 Retreat
The committee reviewed the goals.
B.
Goal 1: Clarify Board recruitment & composition strategy
Guiding Questions
- Do we have any board gaps that we need to fill immediately? We will have 11 members, goal is to be at 15 to better support committee work. We need a treasurer- we can ask Alfredo for recommendations. We have two candidates that have shown interest.
- When will our next round of board terms be ending? Mark Hash (Sept), Mark Lister (September) and India King Robins (June) are out in 2020. The Governance Committee will need to be strategic about clarifying interest in Board Chair and Vice Chair.
- Do we want to develop a "recruitment" and "onboarding" season for new board members? (refer to board committee positions in bylaws) According to the bylaws, onboarding can happen at any time. Since board member terms stagger, we can stagger membership.
- Do we want to try new members out on committees first? Yes, all new members will be asked to join on a trial period for 6-month in which they serve on a committee with the expectation of strong engagement and participation. Exception will be made when a new member is recruited to fill an officer position. This needs to be added to the bylaws. Tris will work on drafting this.
- How do we respond to inquiries for joining the board? Stefin forwards the request to the the governance committee; governance committee administers a survey; if views are in line with the school; governance committee representative and Stefin meet with candidate; governance committee emails a request to join the board for a trial period. India will work on drafting this. (Questions: have you had prior school board experience, what value/assets would you provide to the board, etc.)
- Do we have any board gaps that we need to fill immediately? We will have 11 members, goal is to be at 15 to better support committee work. We need a treasurer- we can ask Alfredo for recommendations. We have two candidates that have shown interest.
- When will our next round of board terms be ending? Mark Hash (Sept), Mark Lister (September) and India King Robins (June) are out in 2020. The Governance Committee will need to be strategic about clarifying interest in Board Chair and Vice Chair.
- Do we want to develop a "recruitment" and "onboarding" season for new board members? (refer to board committee positions in bylaws) According to the bylaws, onboarding can happen at any time. Since board member terms stagger, we can stagger membership.
- Do we want to try new members out on committees first? Yes, all new members will be asked to join on a trial period for 6-month in which they serve on a committee with the expectation of strong engagement and participation. Exception will be made when a new member is recruited to fill an officer position. This needs to be added to the bylaws. Tris will work on drafting this.
- How do we respond to inquiries for joining the board? Stefin forwards the request to the the governance committee; governance committee administers a survey; if views are in line with the school; governance committee representative and Stefin meet with candidate; governance committee emails a request to join the board for a trial period. India will work on drafting this. (Questions: have you had prior school board experience, what value/assets would you provide to the board, etc.)
C.
Goal 2: Implement & improve Board development plan
The committee will address this topic at the next meeting.
D.
Goal 3: Improve communications
The committee will address this topic at the next meeting.
III. Closing Items
A.
Adjourn Meeting
T. Millard made a motion to adjourn the meeting.
I. King-Robins seconded the motion.
The committee 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 7:00 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
I. King-Robins