MCCPS Board of Trustees
Minutes
MCCPS Monthly Board of Trustees Meeting: July 25, 2023
Date and Time
Tuesday July 25, 2023 at 7:00 PM
Location
17 Lime Street
Marblehead, MA 01945
Trustees Present
Carol McEnaney, Ian Hunt, Jessica Xiarhos, Katie Holt, Lindsay Smith (remote), Nick Santoro, Paul Baker, Rodolphe Herve, Stephanie Brant, William Rockwell
Trustees Absent
Tim Wadlow
Guests Present
James Lewis (remote), Kathy Santoro, Kimberly Nothnagel, Meghan Hale, Thomas Phillips McEnaney
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance and Guests
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
William Rockwell called a meeting of the board of trustees of MCCPS Board of Trustees to order on Tuesday Jul 25, 2023 at 7:18 PM.
C.
Approve Minutes
Paul Baker made a motion to approve the minutes from MCCPS Monthly Board of Trustees Meeting on 06-27-23.
Nick Santoro seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Nick Santoro |
Aye
|
| Paul Baker |
Aye
|
| Stephanie Brant |
Aye
|
| Ian Hunt |
Aye
|
| William Rockwell |
Aye
|
| Jessica Xiarhos |
Aye
|
| Carol McEnaney |
Aye
|
| Lindsay Smith |
Abstain
|
| Katie Holt |
Aye
|
| Rodolphe Herve |
Aye
|
| Tim Wadlow |
Absent
|
D.
Approve Minutes from May Board Meeting
Paul Baker made a motion to approve the minutes from MCCPS Monthly Board of Trustees Meeting on 05-03-23.
Rodolphe Herve seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Ian Hunt |
Aye
|
| Stephanie Brant |
Aye
|
| William Rockwell |
Abstain
|
| Tim Wadlow |
Absent
|
| Jessica Xiarhos |
Aye
|
| Carol McEnaney |
Aye
|
| Rodolphe Herve |
Aye
|
| Lindsay Smith |
Abstain
|
| Katie Holt |
Aye
|
| Paul Baker |
Aye
|
| Nick Santoro |
Aye
|
II. Opening Comments From Everyone's Favorite Clerk!
A.
Tonight's Key Areas of Focus
- Will outlined key items on tonight's agenda
- HOS Contract
- Vote on SY23-24 budget
- Vote on Annual Report
B.
Upcoming Items
- Will outlined items to be included in August Retreat Agenda
- SWOT Analysis
- Deliberation on committees' mission
- OML Training
- Officer/Committee votes
- Staff Manual discussion
III. HOS Contract Addendum
A.
Vote on HOS Contract
- Rudi provided an overview to the Board re: the development of the HOS contract
- Created in collaboration between Ian, Rudi, Lindsay, Paul & Stephanie
- HOS contract took into consideration Stephanie's various roles within MCCPS (Special Ed., Discipline, HOS, etc.)
- Includes backpay for services rendered during SY22-23 as Acting HOS
- Katie asked about the term (2 years)
- Rudi commented that this contract includes 6 months' notice on both sides and provides security for both sides
Paul Baker made a motion to Approve the proposed Head of School Contract Addendum.
Ian Hunt seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| William Rockwell |
Aye
|
| Carol McEnaney |
Abstain
|
| Rodolphe Herve |
Aye
|
| Tim Wadlow |
Absent
|
| Katie Holt |
Aye
|
| Lindsay Smith |
Aye
|
| Paul Baker |
Aye
|
| Nick Santoro |
Abstain
|
| Jessica Xiarhos |
Abstain
|
| Stephanie Brant |
Abstain
|
| Ian Hunt |
Aye
|
IV. Public Comment
A.
Public Comment
- N/A
V. Interview Board Candidate
A.
Potential Board Member Interview: Polly Titcomb
- Will apologized to the Board- Governance has not yet screened Polly and therefore the Board will not be voting on her membership until the Board Retreat next month.
VI. Annual Report Review
A.
Discuss & Vote on 2023 Annual Report
- Stephanie walked the Board through her and Meghan Hale's draft of the SY22-23 Annual Report
- Noted change in retention goal from 85 to 80%
- Draft begins on page 7of document that Stephanie shared
- WR apologized for putting others under the gun with short timeline
- Edits to be made
- Kathy pointed out a typo to Meghan
- Complaints section to be completed
- Revision to Little Free Pantry section on page 35 of document
- Board Letter to be added at introduction
- Stephanie explained process of filling in the data- often linking existing DESE data into the doc.
- Stephanie shared that Meghan has put significant work into this document
William Rockwell made a motion to Approve the Interim Head of School's Annual Report for the 2022-2023 School Year on the condition that the revisions discussed be made prior to final submission to DESE.
Paul Baker seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Katie Holt |
Aye
|
| Ian Hunt |
Aye
|
| Stephanie Brant |
Aye
|
| Carol McEnaney |
Aye
|
| William Rockwell |
Aye
|
| Tim Wadlow |
Absent
|
| Lindsay Smith |
Aye
|
| Rodolphe Herve |
Aye
|
| Nick Santoro |
Aye
|
| Jessica Xiarhos |
Aye
|
| Paul Baker |
Aye
|
VII. HOS Report
A.
Monthly Report
- Please see attached HOS Monthly Report for full Report
- Enrollment
- current enrollment of 188, no offers out at this time (waiting list has been exhausted)
- Lindsay- is it possible that MCCPS get calls early in the school year?
- Stephanie/Carol- yes, it's not uncommon though there's typically both inflow and outflow)
- SY23-24 Planning Sessions
- Addressing gaps in world languages
- Considering various plans, will have Chris Doyon teach French to Grades 7-8
- May need to phase French out of curriculum
- Creating Foundations of Language course for Grades 4-6
- Rudi volunteered to teach French enrichment
- Implementing Social Emotional Learning (Character Strong) on Wednesday mornings (instead of Comm Meeting)
- Board discussed how this may impact Wed. morning classes
- Stephanie explained format for SEL (scripted mat. w/ minimal prep for teachers to deliver, overarching themes for all grades w/ content differentiated for grades 4-5 and 6-8)
- Content covers topics such as bullying, mental health, empathy, etc.
- Finalizing PD focuses for SY23-24
- PD Goals listed in HOS Report
- Teaching Force will be mostly nixed- useful parts rebranded and repurposed to fit MCCPS needs
- DESE Instructional Leadership Institute (8/1-8/3)
- Submitted and received grant to attend
- Two strands (literacy and 6-8 math)
- Addressing gaps in world languages
- Hiring
- Cam Goldman hired as School Counselor
- Rudi asked what Cam will cover
- Stephanie- individual counseling, general support for students, social skills groups, crisis evals. for students, 504 coordinator and more... it's a really important role
- Rudi asked what Cam will cover
- Holes remain (full list in attached HOS Report)
- Roles not in budget include Marketing, Grant Writing, Fundraising
- Stephanie noted that marketing in particular could use a position- need to get MCCPS' name out there
- Cam Goldman hired as School Counselor
- PTO
- Stephanie met with new PTO president... PTO seeking new treasurer
- Upcoming Community Events
- List in HOS Report
- Events include 4th grade popsicle event, back to school BBQ, others)
- List in HOS Report
- Building updates
- Interior hallway painting done, new carpeting outside admin offices done, landscaping done (landscaper will come every other week for maintenance)
- Expect to utilize both exterior spaces (5-6th grade and 7th grade spaces)
- Updated entrance to add buzzer for second set of doors
- Interior hallway painting done, new carpeting outside admin offices done, landscaping done (landscaper will come every other week for maintenance)
B.
Landscaping
- Stephanie discussed ways for BOT to contribute to landscaping (filling/managing a bed) and passed around photos of beds that need focus
- Kim shared several ideas for beds (including doing a pollinator bed)
VIII. SY23-24 Budget Discussion
A.
Vote to Approve SY23-24 Budget
- Rudi provided an overview of budget options (based on enrollment of 190, 195 and 200 students respectively)
- Current enrollment at 188 with some fluctuation to be expected (in either direction) over the first couple weeks of the school year)
- Recommended selecting either the 190 student or 195 student option and
- Also asked that the Board keep in mind the school mortgage on the horizon next year as well as desired plans for expanding the school's physical footprint into the warehouse
- The Board also began discussing the ramifications of changing enrollment target from 230 to 200
- Items to consider include future enrollment forecast (is MCCPS likely to achieve 230) as well as potential budgetary constraints associated with lower enrollment
- The Board agreed to discuss this in further detail during the Board retreat
William Rockwell made a motion to Approve the proposed budget based on 195 students for the 2023-2024 School Year.
Nick Santoro seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Stephanie Brant |
Aye
|
| William Rockwell |
Aye
|
| Rodolphe Herve |
Aye
|
| Carol McEnaney |
Aye
|
| Paul Baker |
Aye
|
| Katie Holt |
Aye
|
| Jessica Xiarhos |
Aye
|
| Tim Wadlow |
Absent
|
| Ian Hunt |
Aye
|
| Nick Santoro |
Aye
|
| Lindsay Smith |
Aye
|
IX. New HOS Search Process
A.
MCPSA Meeting Feedback
- Will Rockwell outlined key findings from his conversation with Lina and Robert from the MCPSA
- Hiring Firms
- recommended interviewing 2-4 firms to analyze fit and clearly outlining Board's expectations and needs
- Hiring Subcommittee Best Practices
- Board vote needed to create
- Subcommittee should include fewer Board members than a quorum, as this would then require the subcommittee to follow usual OML procedures
- Hiring Firms
- Katie asked whether hiring a firm is necessary given that Stephanie has expressed interest in the HOS position- noted the lack of budgetary dollars available to hire a firm at all
- Will replied by stating that these are simply MCPSA's findings from work with other schools... Board can decide how to proceed with this information during Retreat
X. Committee Updates
A.
Governance Committee
- Meeting on Thursday 7/27
- Will interview Polly Titcomb for Board membership
- Lost two members (just 4 members remain)
B.
Finance Committee
- Covered financials previously
- Down to 4 members- need more people
C.
Personnel Committee
- Personnel didn't meet
D.
Academic Excellence
- Academic Excellent didn't meet this month
E.
Development & Communications
- DevCom didn't formally meet this month
- Currently at 5 members
F.
Strategic Plan Committee
- Strategic Planning Committee didn't meet this month
G.
Facilities Task Force
- Will reviewed next steps re: Ebbrell engagement
XI. Public Comment
A.
Public Comment
- N/A
XII. Board Member Comments and Resolutions
A.
Board Member Comments and Resolutions
- Will asked Board members to consider committee/officer positions, noting that every committee must be chaired by a Board member
William Rockwell made a motion to Appoint Ian Hunt as Interim Chair of the MCCPS Board of Trustees for a term ending August 13, 2023.
Katie Holt seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Jessica Xiarhos |
Aye
|
| Tim Wadlow |
Absent
|
| Nick Santoro |
Aye
|
| Carol McEnaney |
Aye
|
| Stephanie Brant |
Aye
|
| William Rockwell |
Aye
|
| Ian Hunt |
Aye
|
| Paul Baker |
Aye
|
| Rodolphe Herve |
Aye
|
| Lindsay Smith |
Aye
|
| Katie Holt |
Aye
|
XIII. Closing Items
A.
Adjourn Meeting
William Rockwell made a motion to Adjourn tonight's meeting.
Katie Holt seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Katie Holt |
Aye
|
| Lindsay Smith |
Aye
|
| Carol McEnaney |
Aye
|
| Nick Santoro |
Aye
|
| Paul Baker |
Aye
|
| William Rockwell |
Aye
|
| Tim Wadlow |
Absent
|
| Ian Hunt |
Aye
|
| Stephanie Brant |
Aye
|
| Rodolphe Herve |
Aye
|
| Jessica Xiarhos |
Aye
|
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 9:33 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
William Rockwell
Documents used during the meeting
- FY24 Proposed Budget w variables.xlsx