Cold Spring School
Minutes
Board Meeting
Date and Time
Wednesday September 14, 2016 at 5:00 PM
Location
Cold Spring School
Directors Present
B. Albano
Directors Absent
None
Guests Present
C. Bruns
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
B. Albano called a meeting of the board of directors of Cold Spring School to order on Wednesday Sep 14, 2016 at 5:09 PM.
A regular meeting of the Cold Spring School (CSS) Board was held on Wednesday, September 14, 2016 in the CSS Conference room. Presiding officer was Mr. Bob Albano, Board Chair.
Members present were: Bob Albano, Steve Downing, Chris Gerry, Cheryl Hertz, Janice Hicks-Slaughter, Kelly Payne and Tonya Tudor. CSS Principal Carrie Bruns and Tom Hakim, new assistant principal of CSS also attended the meeting.
Members absent were: Lori Schein and Leroy Robinson.
C.
Community Opportunity for Input
II. OLD BUSINESS
A.
Approve Minutes
Motion to approve the minutes from Board Meeting on 08-10-16.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
B.
Review of Governance and Organization Items
Mrs. Bruns noted that she will have a link to the meeting agendas and minutes placed on the Cold Spring School website.
Board Chair Mr. Albano reviewed the by-laws and reminded members that they were initial directors and the board officially was a nine-member boards. Mrs. Bruns clarified that Cold Spring School operates as an independent school within a school system. Mr. Albano directed attention to page 5 of the by-laws which states that there are three officers on the board: Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer. Mrs. Bruns is building principal and also CEO of Cold Spring, Incorporated. She has both an instructional role and a business role.
Ms. Kelly Payne was selected for the CSS Board for her financial expertise and Mrs. Bruns will work with her on financial matters. A motion was made to approve Kelly as a Board member. The motion was seconded and members voted to approve the addition of Ms. Payne to the board. A motion was made to appoint Ms. Kelly Payne the Treasurer of the CSS board. The motion was seconded and board members voted to approve her appointment.
Mr. Albano described various term limits for Board members and clarified that membership will follow the fiscal year which runs from July 1 of one year to June 30 of the following year.
Mr. Albano requested a report in October from Mrs. Bruns about the professional learning goals for teachers which are set by their Professional Learning Committee. He urged the Board to be ready to set its goals in October.
The next board meeting will be on Wednesday, October 19, 2016 at 5:00pm, followed by a meeting on November 9, 2016. There will be no board meeting in December.
C.
Academic Excellence School Leadership Team
The Board may set academic goals as well as other goals for the school. Mrs. Bruns reminded the Board that, for the first three years, Cold Spring School students achievement will be based on growth as measured by ISTEP tests.
D.
Board Goals and Objectives for 2016-2017
See above section
III. NEW BUSINESS
A.
Board Approval for School Credit Card
Mrs. Bruns explained the need for a school credit card. Board member Ms. Kelly Payne emphasized the need for credit card policy and procedures to ensure that card use is controlled. A motion was made to approve the application for a Cold Spring School credit card and to approve the credit card policy which was shared by Mrs. Bruns. The motion was seconded and members voted to approve. Credit card procedures will be written and presented to the Board at the next meeting.
B.
Introduction of Tom Hakim- New Assistant Principal
Mrs. Bruns introduced the new Assistant Principal, Mr. Tom Hakim. The Cold Spring budget included a salary line for an Assistant Principal. Mr. Hakim will start the position on September 29 and he will focus on instructional leadership for grades 3 through 6, while Mrs. Bruns will focus on Kindergarten through second grade. Mr. Hakim described his professional background. He is an adjunct instructor at Marian University.
C.
Monthly School Update
Mrs. Bruns updated the Board on several points:
- School enrollment is 289 students and two more students are expected by the end of the week. Projected enrollment in the budget was 250, so the budget has been updated.
- Copies of the updated budget were provided to the board.
- Transportation will be revisited next year and Mrs. Bruns will explore some options because there have been some problems with buses arriving late and children getting home late.
At 6:02pm Board Member Ms. Kelly Payne excused herself.
- Mrs. Bruns renegotiated the INI contracts to a change in services provided by IPS. Cost of INI services was reduced from $127,000 to $67,500.
- Multiple attempts have been made to hack into the school bank account. Mrs. Bruns has worked extensively with the bank regarding this issue.
- The media assistant has resigned and Mrs. Bruns will look for a replacement.
- An additional teacher will be hired for Special Education.
- ESL support has been increased from 1 day to 2 days a week, but there have been no candidates.
- Mrs. Bruns need suggestions from the Board about Performance bonuses for teachers.
- Mr. Tom Hakim will provide some models of performance bonus procedures.
- Cold Spring School has new outdoor facilities, including a new chicken fence and a shelter for goats.
- 5th grade students will participate in STARBASE for two weeks at Stout Field. This is a Department of Defense program that provides instruction in science through hands-on projects. STARBASE also offers a free summer camp.
- On September 6, Cold Spring staff participate din professional development and teachers were certified in Project Learning Tree.
- Cold Spring School is applying for full STEM Certification.
- Parent conferences will be held on Wednesday, September 21 from 11:00am-7:00pm. Spanish speakers are needed to interpret for Spanish-speaking parents.
D.
Financial Report
B. Albano made a motion to Approve financial report.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
E.
Board Make Up Discussion
This item was not discussed
IV. Points of Interest
A.
Board Input
Board member Mr. Chris Gerrity suggested that the school develop marketing materials with photographs of students , especially of students involved in the school's numerous activities.
Mr. Steve Downing excused himself from the meeting at 6:200pm
Mr. Chris Gerrity made a motion that Mr. Tom Hakim be appointed as a non-voting board member. Th motion was seconded and passed by five aye votes.
Ms. Janice Hicks-Slaughter discussed the pilot of the "food for thought" program at Cold Spring School. A Samsun Galaxy telephone was missing after the program and was not recovered.
V. Closing Items
A.
Adjourn Meeting
A motion was made to close the meeting and the motion was seconded and approved. The meeting adjourned at 6:37pm.
Recorded by Dr. Cheryl A Hertzer
Reviewed and Submitted by: Dr. Cheryl A Hertzer
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 6:37 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
C. Bruns
Documents used during the meeting
None