Menlo Park Academy Governing Board
Minutes
Board Retreat
Date and Time
Saturday July 8, 2017 at 8:30 AM
Location
6516 Detroit Avenue, Cleveland
OUR MISSION: Menlo Park Academy is a public school that develops the potential of gifted learners through an exemplary program of rewarding experiences that nurtures the whole child.
Directors Present
Cathie Leimbach, Richard Hronek, Teri Harrison
Directors Absent
Fraser Hamilton Sr, Melissa Vlasak
Guests Present
Cella Gallagher, Doug Thompson, Jennifer Ingraham, Julie Ganim, Melissa McCarthy, Stacy Stuhldreher, Suzanne McFarland
I. Opening Items
A.
Welcome / Breakfast
B.
Record Attendance and Guests
C.
Call the Meeting to Order
Teri Harrison called a meeting to order on Saturday Jul 8, 2017 at 9:01 AM.
II. Action Items
A.
Temp. Admin
The board asked Julie Ganim to provide the expected cost per hour for the proposed Kelly Services accounting clerk and the tasks she would be doing that justified a higher hourly rate than our most recent temporary administrative support person.
B.
Recruitment Support
Richard Hronek made a motion to authorize Julie Ganim to sign a contract with the Bloomwell Group to assist with MPA enrollment growth for up to $16,500.
Cathie Leimbach seconded the motion.
The team VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
C.
Transition Support
Cathie Leimbach made a motion to authorize Teri Harrison to sign a contract for up to $3,200 plus mileage at the current IRS business mileage rate with ngsa Consulting LLC to support Stacy's Stuhldreher's onboarding as School Director, to update the staff and student-parent handbooks, and document internal communication and procedures.
Richard Hronek seconded the motion.
The team VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
III. Future Planning
A.
16-17 Survey Results
- Suzanne McFarland highlighted some of the results of the teacher, parent, and student end-of-year surveys.
- An attendee suggested that the Board consider increasing the student materials and technology fees for the 2018-2019 school year.
- It was suggested that at the July 20 Board meeting the Board consider modifying the mission such as changing the word 'develops' to 'ignites' and the word 'learners' to 'children' or 'students'.
- Those present suggested several areas for improvement at MPA in the coming year. These will be summarized and circulated to the Board and staff.
Doug Thompson left.
B.
Charter School Board Governance
- Teri Harrison referenced documents she had circulated in advance of the meeting.
C.
Board-Staff Communications
- There was discussion about internal communication at MPA and the need to ensure people are held accountable. At the July 20 meeting the Board will discuss board communication policies.
D.
Succession Planning
E.
Board Committees
- There was discussion about clarifying the role of committees such as reviewing operational progress in more depth than the whole board does, providing dashboard reports to the board, holding information discussed at committee meetings confidential, and whether staff operational reports are provided to the board through the committee or senior staff. It was suggested that MPA would benefit from onboarding training of all board committee members.
F.
Lunch / Table Topics
G.
Administrative Roles
The attendees discussed the possibility of amending the organization chart to not have an Executive Director for the 2017-2018 school year but to hire an Administrative Director who would oversee Operations and Advancement, would delegate day-to-day oversight of Operations to an Operations Manager, and would be directly involved in day-to-day management and active in the tasks of Advancement.
Motion to proceed with interviewing and selecting an Administrative Director was moved by Cathie Leimbach and seconded by Rich Hronek. Passed unanimously.
Motion to proceed with interviewing and selecting an Administrative Director was moved by Cathie Leimbach and seconded by Rich Hronek. Passed unanimously.
Stacy Stuhldreher left.
H.
Key Result Review
Another meeting will be held before the July 20 Board meeting to discus key result areas.
IV. 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 4:45 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Cathie Leimbach