MCCPS Board of Trustees
Minutes
MCCPS Monthly Board of Trustees Meeting
Date and Time
Tuesday November 29, 2022 at 7:00 PM
Location
17 Lime Street
Marblehead, MA
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Trustees Present
Ian Hunt, Jessica Gelb (remote), Jessica Xiarhos, Peter Cohen, Rodolphe Herve, William Rockwell
Trustees Absent
Artie Sullivan, Nick Santoro, Paul Baker, Tim Wadlow
Guests Present
Andrea Barlow (remote), Carol McEnaney (remote), Katie Holt (remote), Lindsay Smith, Matt Cronin
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance and Guests
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
Rodolphe Herve called a meeting of the board of trustees of MCCPS Board of Trustees to order on Tuesday Nov 29, 2022 at 7:00 PM.
C.
Approve Minutes
Rodolphe Herve made a motion to Approve the revised meeting minutes from the MCCPS Board of Trustees meeting conducted October 25th, 2022 MCCPS Monthly Board of Trustees Meeting on 10-25-22.
Jessica Xiarhos seconded the motion.
The following revisions were made to the 10/25 meeting minutes:
- Nick, Peter, Paul, Rudi, and Tim attended the 10/25 meeting in person
- Katie was not listed as a guest
- Peter Cohen voted Yes, not No, to approving prior meeting minutes
- Artie elected to Abstain from Special Staff Compensation Bonus
- Agenda Item VI B is titled “Special Staff Compensation Bonus”. The motion and vote was for the transfer to the Restricted fund. The Special Compensation vote took place after this vote to transfer to the restricted fund
II. Public Comment
A.
Public Comment
- N/A
III. Opening Comments From Chair
A.
Opening Comments
- N/A
IV. Board Annual Items
A.
Upcoming Meeting Agenda Items
- Items for tonight's meeting include Adoption of school calendar, voting in new members, MCAS presentation
- Adoption of school calendar will be postponed to next Board meeting
V. HOS Report
A.
Monthly Report
- Please see attached Head of School report for detailed information
B.
Approve the MCCPS 23-24 Calendar
- Given low Board attendance for this meeting, the Board elected to postpone this item until the next Board of Trustees meeting scheduled for December 20th, 2022
VI. Other Business
A.
MCAS Results Presentation
- Please see attached MCAS Presentation slideshow for detailed information
- Q&A portion (followed Matt Cronin's presentation of slideshow)
- Peter- during the presentation that Matt and I attended, the state didn’t sugar coat it- they know the state needs improvement
- Katie- glad to hear there’s Charter-specific plan for improving these numbers
- Peter- walking a tight rope between focusing on giving the right answers vs. sticking with our project-based focus
- Lindsay- favorite part is Charter-specific approach to solving problems… if there is a way to communicate this to the larger community it may be worthwhile because this tells a powerful story as a parent
- Lindsay- Jess X, as a teacher do you have any thoughts on this?
- Jess- I looked at my students’ math data from last year and last year’s ELA data for my current ELA students to understand where they’re at… also keeping in balance writing skill v. writing for MCAS skill
- Jess- I looked at my students’ math data from last year and last year’s ELA data for my current ELA students to understand where they’re at… also keeping in balance writing skill v. writing for MCAS skill
B.
Potential New Board Members Interview: Katie Holt
William Rockwell made a motion to move that the Board appoint Katie holt as a member of the MCCPS board of trustees to fill a term commencing immediately upon approval by Department of Elementary and secondary Education and expiring three (3) years from the date of DESE approval.
Jessica Xiarhos seconded the motion.
- Voting on new members
- Katie holt
- Intro
- Looking forward to getting more involved at MCCPS
- Have been impressed with holistic education my child has been provided at MCCPS
- Questions
- Jess G- favorite part about MCCPS education?
- Public speaking early on, love that there’s 2 classes per grade, love the holistic approach
- Positive attitude, critical thinking and problem-solving skills from my time as a litigation attorney for the federal governance
- Jess X- have you attended committee meetings and if so, do you know which you’d like to join?
- I’d like to join governance given my experience with regulatory work… I could bring procedural expertise
- Ian- are there any particular causes that you would advocate for as a member of the BOT?
- Katie- I’d advocate for continuation of collaborative efforts and the continuation of a diverse
- Jess G- favorite part about MCCPS education?
- Intro
- Katie holt
William Rockwell made a motion to move that the Board invite the newly appointed Trustee, Katie Holt, to all Board Meetings and activities while their approval is pending with the Department of Elementary and secondary education. Katie will be entitled to participate as provisional Trustee and will be able to participate in all activities and discussions, except voting, until the formal approval from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and will not be counted when determining a quorum.
Rodolphe Herve seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
C.
Potential New Board Members Interview: Lindsay Smith
William Rockwell made a motion to move that the Board appoint Lindsay Smith as a member of the MCCPS board of trustees to fill a term commencing immediately upon approval by Department of Elementary and secondary Education and expiring three (3) years from the date of DESE approval.
Rodolphe Herve seconded the motion.
- Intro
- Lindsay- as the parent of 5th grader, BOT draws me because I’ve always had interest in improving education (I’m a teacher) … really want to get involved and see Charter schools as an opportunity to provide a more nimble, modern education than that typically provided in public schools
- Excited to support teachers, as BOT is in excellent position to do so
- Questions
- Rudi- interest in specific committee?
- Since I'm already working with teaching force, I will be able to scratch an itch… I’m looking at communications
- Jess G- Areas of improvement?
- No windows in 4th/5th grade classrooms, parents mention the look at curb appeal (or lack thereof)
- Things I love- diversity of the student body… I will advocate to continue delivering the racial, socioeconomic and neurocapable diversity that the school brings
- Rudi- interest in specific committee?
Jessica Xiarhos made a motion to move that the Board invite the newly appointed Trustee, Lindsay Smith, to all Board Meetings and activities while their approval is pending with the Department of Elementary and secondary education. Lindsay will be entitled to participate as provisional Trustee and will be able to participate in all activities and discussions, except voting, until the formal approval from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and will not be counted when determining a quorum.
William Rockwell seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
D.
Committee Memberships
- The Board elected to postpone this agenda item until it's December 20th meeting
E.
MCCPS Warehouse Expansion Project - Ebbrell Proposal
- Please see attached Ebbrell Proposal for detailed information
- Discussion/Q&A
- Setting the stage
- WR outlined objectives, what’s happened to date
- Peter- Ariane Purdy stepped down from FTF well in advance of RFP to avoid conflict of interest
- Setting the stage
- About Ebbrell's presentation
- General notes
- FTF impressed with their experience
- They’re a small firm so we will be a priority project and they’re passionate
- They’re a female-owned firm
- Thoughts on proposal
- Timeline is aggressive in regard to start date but the actual schedule appears reasonable
- Questions
- Jess X- did the Facilities Task Force vote to bring this proposal forward?
- Peter- yes, voted to bring this to FInCom and then once approved, we came to BOT
- Jess X- how final are these plans?
- Peter- not at all… parts are relatively solid (ex: art/music) but we understand that the architects may provide valuable input that will better our plan
- Jess X- would strongly recommend more bathrooms
- Peter- this will likely be a focus point, as we're expecting this piece to take some time to finalize
- Jess X- do we think this is feasible?
- Peter- yes, there are a number of different grants and naming rights options (especially for STEM lab) and the Board Restricted fund has already grown significantly
- Jess X- is this coming from board restricted or surplus?
- Peter- Board would need to vote on this… there is additional surplus from last year and this year’s budget... Jeff and I met with bank before holiday and they walked us through different options for fundraising
- Jess X- how much transparency will the Board have in regard to these financing options?
- Peter- quite a bit. We’ll need to go to Board in order to spend money
- WR- we’re also working on Capital Improvement Plan to share with Board that will outline options, our recommendation and reasoning
- Jess G- do we need certain approvals from the town in order to move ahead with this?
- Peter- we face fewer obstacles since this is a renovation, not building expansion, but we will still need number of permits and architectural work before we can actually execute
- Peter- we face fewer obstacles since this is a renovation, not building expansion, but we will still need number of permits and architectural work before we can actually execute
- Jess X- did the Facilities Task Force vote to bring this proposal forward?
- General notes
Rodolphe Herve made a motion to approve the selection of Ebbrell Design for approximately $37,000 for completion of the work as outlined in their proposal in contingence upon further diligence of the vendor.
Ian Hunt seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
VII. Committee Updates
A.
Governance Committee
- Recommended both Katie and Lindsay for BOT
B.
Finance Committee
- Financials are still strong after 4 months but do reflect that state was, until this month, paying for 230 students and is now paying for 225... surplus will likely be reduced but this is nothing to worry about
- BOT restricted account has stashed $355,000
- Jeff’s Monthly finance packet isn’t in FinCom meeting packet
- Will circle back and add
- Will circle back and add
C.
Personnel Committee
- Didn't meet this month
D.
Academic Excellence
- Status quo- previous meeting was debrief on presentation from Oct. meeting and department updates…
- Next meeting is Friday during which we’ll put together goals to send to Strategic Planning Committee
E.
Development & Communications
- Met prior to event at Beacon, meeting next week to follow up/debrief
- Event at the Beacon was a success
- Parents enjoyed drinks and appetizers while kids watched a movie in the Warwick Theatre
- Event at the Beacon was a success
- Next focus will be entrepreneurship fair
- The committee is welcoming a couple new committee members
F.
Strategic Plan Committee
- Met this month, now waiting for committees to share goals which will help structure plan
- Currently reviewing different plans prior to next meeting to see how to we'd like to format next Strategic Plan
G.
Facilities Task Force
- Interviewed Ebbrell Architectural Services this month... details from presentation above and in attached packet
VIII. Public Comment
A.
Public Comment
- N/A
IX. Board Member Comments and Resolutions
A.
Board Member Comments and Resolutions
- Peter- thanks to Matt Cronin for presentation… he’s been doing great work
- Two staff members interested in joining BOT
X. Closing Items
A.
Adjourn Meeting
Peter Cohen made a motion to Adjourn November 29th meeting of MCCPS Board of Trustees.
Rodolphe Herve seconded the motion.
The board 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 8:45 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
William Rockwell
Documents used during the meeting
- 2022_10_25_board_meeting_minutes.pdf
- HOS Report to Board of Trustees 11_29_22.pdf
- DRAFT MCCPS MASTER CALENDAR 2023-2024.pdf
- MCAS Presentation - Board.pdf
- Katie Holt Statement of Interest.pdf
- Lindsay Smith Letter to MCCPS Board.pdf
- 2022 11 07-MCCPS Warehouse Expansion Project-Ebbrell Proposal (1).pdf