Nichole Thompson, Christopher Reigle, Victor Wild & Katie Sullivan

Motion made By Bill Bowden to approve minutes after two minor amendments.

HOS presented her monthly report to the Board. It was noted that the new Enrichment process has received positive feedback from the community. The SPUR initiative, in conjunction with MCCPS, Rotary and others, to send clothing to Syria was a great success and two containers were shipped. HOS reported on MCAS preparation beginning in the first week of April.
HOS also explained that SPED is still a challenge for the school  which now has 30% of student on either an IEP or 504 Plan.
The annual entrance lottery was conducted on March 1st, with 43 students receiving Golden Ticket and acceptance packets.
The phone system and condition of the roof continue to be main priorities, with 3 three quotes for a new phone system currently under review.
Building update was presented. Bill Sullivan has been in further contact with Building Commissioner. Sprinkler, lead inspection and emergency lighting for new space are a priority as is the use of an architect to conduct a code review.

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Karl Smith presented financial summary for the month. Karl stressed the importance of creating a reserve fund for the school, although MCCPS has a $350,00 line of credit, the school lacks a "Rainy Day Fund". Karl noted that accounting fees are higher than budgeted for the year. HOS noted that SPED costs are rising as we have a 30% of students on IEP's or 504 Plans. Finance Committee will will present a draft of the 2017/18 Budget for the Boards' review at the April Board meeting. The need to form a strategic plan is now front and center in the Boards' future plans.

John Stickevers presented copies of the proposed new HOS contract to the Board for review. The Board will discuss and vote on the contract at a Special Meeting on Thursday April 6th at 7.00pm.

John Stickevers noted that the Personnel Committee now has only 4 members and is in immediate need of new members.

Nichole Thompson presented an update on board membership recruitment and noted that 3 prospective candidates are in the pipeline and will be presented for Board approval at either the April or May Board meetings. Nichole asked for suggestions from the Board for training needs for current and prospective members and to promote Board efficacy. Nicole also emphasized the need to create an Essential Board Plan that could be facilitated once all Board members have completed their self assessments.
Jen Jewell suggested that an outside facilitator be engaged to aid the Board with the construction and implementation of a Strategic Plan.
Paul Baker suggested that Board members should start thinking ahead to the June retreat and the need to fill Board positions..Chair, Vice Chair, etc. as these are yearly appointments. It was suggested that individuals could be "groomed" for positions.

Paul McCarthy presented dollar amounts and projections to create a a 5 year endowment plan. The numbers that Paul put forward were viewed as somewhat ambitious but are a starting point. Paul invited the Board to "play" with the dollar amounts on the spreadsheets available on BOT in order to come up with other ideas. This information will, when completed, be used to aid the Development Director in his efforts to attract donations from high net worth individuals.

Topics for the April 12th Annual Meeting were discussed. It was agreed that the Board should frame topics/questions in a manner that will garner the most feedback from parents/staff. Small groups are a good way to encourage individuals to speak up about concerns or ideas that they might harbor.

The Annual Board Retreat will be held on Saturday June 17th at a location to be confirmed.

The need to create a Continuity and Contingency Plan was aired as well as a Succession Plan. Sean Killeen is going to check with other schools on their policies for Succession.

Nichole Thompson noted, as a parent, that the new Enrichment sign up process was a great improvement on previous years. Board parents were quick to agree with Nichole's comments.