F.W. Parker Charter Essential School
Minutes
Governance Committee Meeting
Date and Time
Tuesday December 3, 2024 at 7:30 AM
Committee Members Present
B. Harrigan, F. Fernau (remote), J. Fredericksen (remote), M. Lindsey, N. Odekirk Hatlevig (remote), P. Gordon (remote)
Committee Members Absent
M. Edgar
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
C.
Approve Minutes
II. Governance
A.
Review of Bylaws and DESE approval process
B.
Recruitment Updates
The committee reviewed the names of potential trustees referred by other trustees at the November meeting.
Nicole shared a reminder that areas of particular interest include people with skills or expertise in finance, facilities, and law. She also noted that Matt's second term is ending, and the new trustee slate will need to include a faculty member.
Matt and Brian shared that there is a faculty member who stepped forward last year who should be strongly considered. Matt will also share that he will not be continuing on the Board with the rest of the faculty in the new year and request interested faculty members to reach out.
The committee identified several potential leads for candidates from the referrals from the Board and Nicole will reach out for contact information and an introduction to begin exploring those potential candidates.
C.
Create and Implement Midyear Board Survey
The committee postponed discussion of this item to January
D.
Mentors for new Trustees
Nicole shared that each new trustee has been assigned and connected with a mentor.
The committee shared their observations of Parker's current bylaws and areas that might warrant revisions or changes.
The committee identified that there are a range of typographical and spacing issues that could be corrected within multiple sections of the bylaws.
Fletcher identified several areas in section 2 that may require attention based on the DESE checklist and whether Parker's bylaws fully capture the language suggested by the checklist.
Pam inquired whether the bylaws accurately reflect the ability for remote participation.
Matt noted the version of the bylaws on Parker's website were not the most recent version and the most recent bylaws do allow for remote participants.
The question was raised about updating language related to the title of "Principal" instead of "Head of School."
Brian noted there is ongoing discussion about the organizational leadership structure and positions for Parker and the committee should wait until those discussions happen at the Board before proactively making changes to the bylaws.