MCCPS Board Retreat Minutes

August 12, 2023, 8:00 AM-12:30 PM

Minutes Approved

MCCPS Board of Trustees

Minutes

MCCPS Board Retreat

Date and Time

Saturday August 12, 2023 at 8:00 AM

Location

17 Lime Street

Marblehead, MA

Join Zoom Meeting

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Meeting ID: 983 5544 6062

Passcode: MCCPSbot

Trustees Present

Carol McEnaney, Ian Hunt, Katie Holt, Lindsay Smith, Nick Santoro, Paul Baker, Rodolphe Herve, Stephanie Brant, William Rockwell (remote)

Trustees Absent

Jessica Xiarhos

Guests Present

James Lewis, Kathy Santoro, Kimberly Nothnagel, Polly Titcomb, Thomas Phillips McEnaney

I. Opening Items

A. Record Attendance and Guests

B. Call the Meeting to Order

Ian Hunt called a meeting of the board of trustees of MCCPS Board of Trustees to order on Saturday Aug 12, 2023 at 8:17 AM.

C. Review Agenda and Expectations

Will identified primary items on today's agenda- training, officer voting, committee mission & goals discussions

II. Board Training

A. Board Training

Will provided a brief training focused on the following
- Open Meeting Law
- Executive Session and its operating procedures
- Posting/making public meeting agendas/minutes
Questions
- Kim- when discussing complaints/complainants during Board meetings, which are public meetings, how do we maintain anonymity for students/parents?
- Jeff- do we enter Executive Session?
  - Will to look into this and get answers
- Polly- my understanding minutes from executive session must be made public when deemed appropriate... is that not the case?
  - Will- Board must regularly deliberate on whether release of exec. session minutes would have adverse effects... state doesn't mandate when precisely these minutes must be made public... it's up to us to stay on top of this

III. Planning SY23-24 Committees

A. Deliberate on current committees & discuss purpose of each

Nick Santoro made a motion to disband the Facilities Task Force.

Lindsay Smith seconded the motion.

Given the dreary budgetary outlook for SY23-24, the Board discussed whether putting money towards building warehouse expansion is feasible
- Will- we still haven't received Test Fit plan or renderings from Ebbrell... may be worth getting those
  - Katie- are we in a position to nix engagement with Ebbrell afterwards?
    - Will- yes
- Stephanie informed the Board that the HoS contract has provisions tabbing HoS as responsible to maintain/keep eye out for facilities and expressed willingness to take this on in lieu of FTF
  - Stephanie- there are enough short-term wins to be had with our current footprint (see: deck repair) that could make immediate impact at lower price point... I have bandwidth to manage this
Will/Rudi to connect with Jeff and come up with recommendation to Board re: getting renderings from Ebbrell
Jeff Lewis and Kim Nothnagel both voted Aye

The board VOTED to approve the motion.

Roll Call
William Rockwell	Aye
Carol McEnaney	Aye
Lindsay Smith	Aye
Ian Hunt	Aye
Paul Baker	Aye
Jessica Xiarhos	Absent
Nick Santoro	Aye
Rodolphe Herve	Aye
Stephanie Brant	Aye
Katie Holt	Aye

Lindsay Smith made a motion to Kim disband the Strategic Planning Committee.

Ian Hunt seconded the motion.

After Nick provided his opinion and background on the strategic planning timeline, the Board agreed that without a full time HoS in place to direct the strategic plan, it doesn't make sense to keep this committee in place (as it would lack any clear next steps)
Jeff Lewis and Kim Nothnagel both voted Aye

The board VOTED to approve the motion.

Roll Call
Stephanie Brant	Aye
Paul Baker	Aye
Lindsay Smith	Aye
Nick Santoro	Aye
William Rockwell	Aye
Rodolphe Herve	Aye
Carol McEnaney	Aye
Jessica Xiarhos	Absent
Ian Hunt	Aye
Katie Holt	Aye

Katie Holt made a motion to establish a Head of School Search Committee with Kathy Santoro as Committee Chair.

Ian Hunt seconded the motion.

Will requested that HOS Search Committee be voted on and created, as the most recent SchoolSpring job posting has expired and there are a number of action items/responsibilities (creating new post, writing job description, etc.) that need an accountable party to decide and act upon
Kathy- willing to become committee chair but will need support from other Board members'
- Kathy/Will to connect offline and discuss the task force
Kathy also mentioned the importance of diversity in a hiring committee and identified finding a diverse group as a primary goal for this committee
Jeff Lewis and Kim Nothnagel both voted Aye

The board VOTED to approve the motion.

Roll Call
Stephanie Brant	Abstain
Carol McEnaney	Aye
Nick Santoro	Aye
Rodolphe Herve	Aye
Katie Holt	Aye
Lindsay Smith	Aye
Jessica Xiarhos	Absent
Paul Baker	Aye
Ian Hunt	Aye
William Rockwell	Aye

The Board deliberated on the missions of non-required committees at MCCPS (DevCom, Facilities, Strategic Planning, Academic Exc., Head of School Search
DevCom
- Board discussed potential missions for DevCom (focus on fundraising, hosting community events, increasing enrollment via marketing, etc.)
  - Board agreed that boosting enrollment through better marketing/branding should be DevCom's primary focus and discussed options for messaging (postcard campaign, community events, social media, testimonials)
    - Ian- website and BoardOnTrack both cluttered with old/outdated information... this could adversely affect mission
    - Kim- the website is an important piece... if we do a great campaign and send people to a poorly-managed site, we'll still likely fail in boosting enrollment
    - Stephanie provided an overview of how the admin team is currently handling social media, photography & website, after which Board began discussing how DevCom can work collaboratively with the admin team w/out stepping on toes
      - Ideas focused primarily on DevCom serving as idea incubator, which would then go through Meg (who's on DevCom) to finalize/act upon and get final okay fromStephanie
      - Note: Meg has already written out a mission statement for this committee
      - Note: any posts/info Meg does go through Stephanie before posting
    - The Board agreed that "cleaning up" BoardOnTrack and the website will be a focus this SY
Academic Excellence
- The Board agreed that this committee is as healthy and productive as any out there
  - New Leadership team, especially Molly, Meghan and Jess, are deeply engaged in providing support networks for staff and optimizing the curriculum
Finance
- Rudi explained the mission and current state of the Finance Committee to the Board and its new members, highlighting the upcoming mortgage situation (original interest rate of 3.3% vs. today's 8.5%) as something to look out for

B. Break

The Board enjoyed a 10 minute break

IV. Selection of Board Officers & Committee Chairs for SY23-24

A. Elections

Ian Hunt made a motion to retain Rudi Herve as Treasurer for another term ending June 30th, 2024 on the condition that, upon further review, he has not already served three consecutive terms as Treasurer.

Paul Baker seconded the motion.

Jeff Lewis and Kim Nothnagel both voted Aye

The board VOTED to approve the motion.

Roll Call
Paul Baker	Aye
Nick Santoro	Aye
Lindsay Smith	Aye
Katie Holt	Aye
Rodolphe Herve	Abstain
Stephanie Brant	Aye
Carol McEnaney	Aye
William Rockwell	Aye
Jessica Xiarhos	Absent
Ian Hunt	Aye

Lindsay Smith made a motion to retain Will Rockwell as Clerk for another 10 month year term ending June 30th, 2024.

Paul Baker seconded the motion.

Jeff Lewis and Kim Nothnagel both voted Aye

The board VOTED to approve the motion.

Roll Call
Rodolphe Herve	Aye
Stephanie Brant	Aye
William Rockwell	Abstain
Lindsay Smith	Aye
Carol McEnaney	Aye
Paul Baker	Aye
Nick Santoro	Aye
Katie Holt	Aye
Jessica Xiarhos	Absent
Ian Hunt	Aye

Ian Hunt made a motion to nominate Lindsay Smith as Vice-Chair for a 10 month year term ending June 30th, 2024.

Katie Holt seconded the motion.

Jeff Lewis and Kim Nothnagel both voted Aye

The board VOTED to approve the motion.

Roll Call
Paul Baker	Aye
Rodolphe Herve	Aye
Ian Hunt	Aye
Stephanie Brant	Aye
William Rockwell	Aye
Jessica Xiarhos	Absent
Lindsay Smith	Abstain
Carol McEnaney	Aye
Nick Santoro	Aye
Katie Holt	Aye

William Rockwell made a motion to name Katie Holt as Board of Trustees Chair for a term ending June 30th, 2024.

Lindsay Smith seconded the motion.

Jeff Lewis and Kim Nothnagel both voted Aye

The board VOTED to approve the motion.

Roll Call
Jessica Xiarhos	Absent
Paul Baker	Aye
William Rockwell	Aye
Ian Hunt	Aye
Nick Santoro	Aye
Carol McEnaney	Aye
Katie Holt	Abstain
Rodolphe Herve	Aye
Stephanie Brant	Aye
Lindsay Smith	Aye

Katie Holt made a motion to name Polly Titcomb as Chair of the Governance Committee for a term ending June 30th, 2024.

Nick Santoro seconded the motion.

Jeff Lewis and Kim Nothnagel both voted Aye

The board VOTED to approve the motion.

Roll Call
Ian Hunt	Aye
William Rockwell	Aye
Stephanie Brant	Aye
Carol McEnaney	Aye
Katie Holt	Aye
Rodolphe Herve	Aye
Nick Santoro	Aye
Paul Baker	Aye
Jessica Xiarhos	Absent
Lindsay Smith	Aye

Lindsay Smith made a motion to name Rudi Herve as Chair of the Finance Committee for a term ending June 30th, 2024 on the condition that, upon further review, he has not already served three consecutive terms as Finance Committee Chair.

Paul Baker seconded the motion.

Jeff Lewis and Kim Nothnagel both voted Aye

The board VOTED to approve the motion.

Roll Call
Rodolphe Herve	Abstain
Nick Santoro	Aye
Stephanie Brant	Aye
William Rockwell	Aye
Jessica Xiarhos	Absent
Carol McEnaney	Aye
Paul Baker	Aye
Katie Holt	Aye
Ian Hunt	Aye
Lindsay Smith	Aye

Paul Baker made a motion to nominate Thomas Phillips McEnaney as Chair of the Personnel Committee for a term ending June 30th, 2024.

Ian Hunt seconded the motion.

Jeff Lewis and Kim Nothnagel both voted Aye

The board VOTED to approve the motion.

Roll Call
Paul Baker	Aye
Ian Hunt	Aye
Jessica Xiarhos	Absent
Katie Holt	Aye
Nick Santoro	Aye
Carol McEnaney	Aye
Lindsay Smith	Aye
Stephanie Brant	Aye
Rodolphe Herve	Aye
William Rockwell	Aye

Katie Holt made a motion to made a motion to retain Jess Xiarhos as Chair of the Academic Excellence Committee for a term ending June 30th, 2024.

Ian Hunt seconded the motion.

Jeff Lewis and Kim Nothnagel both voted Aye

The board VOTED to approve the motion.

Roll Call
Ian Hunt	Aye
Paul Baker	Aye
Jessica Xiarhos	Absent
Carol McEnaney	Aye
Nick Santoro	Aye
Rodolphe Herve	Aye
Lindsay Smith	Aye
Katie Holt	Aye
William Rockwell	Aye
Stephanie Brant	Aye

Katie Holt made a motion to nominate Kim Nothnagel as Chair of the Development & Communications Committee for a term ending June 30th, 2024.

Ian Hunt seconded the motion.

Jeff Lewis voted Aye and Kim Nothnagel abstained

The board VOTED to approve the motion.

Roll Call
Carol McEnaney	Aye
Lindsay Smith	Aye
Paul Baker	Aye
Rodolphe Herve	Aye
Jessica Xiarhos	Absent
William Rockwell	Aye
Nick Santoro	Aye
Stephanie Brant	Aye
Katie Holt	Aye
Ian Hunt	Aye

Ian Hunt made a motion to nominate Kathy Santoro as Chair of the Head of School Search Committee for a term ending June 30th, 2024.

Lindsay Smith seconded the motion.

Jeff Lewis agreed to join this committee as well.
Jeff Lewis and Kim Nothnagel both voted Aye

The board VOTED to approve the motion.

Roll Call
Rodolphe Herve	Aye
Carol McEnaney	Aye
Paul Baker	Aye
Lindsay Smith	Aye
William Rockwell	Aye
Ian Hunt	Aye
Nick Santoro	Aye
Jessica Xiarhos	Absent
Katie Holt	Aye
Stephanie Brant	Aye

B. Update on Current Board Member Terms

Will shared a Powerpoint slide showing the expiration date of each Board members' term
Ian requested the addition of another column identifying how many terms each Board member has served on the Board
- Will agreed to add this and share

V. Board and HOS Goals

A. Review SY22-23 Goals

Given the amount of turnover during SY22-23, the Board agreed to focus primarily on SY23-24 goals
- Note: the Board did recognize its success in increasing community engagement, which was especially apparent given that the Board is now at maximum capacity (15 people)

B. SY23-24 Goals

Will began the discussion by suggesting two goals already touched on during the retreat- doing a Board process review (focused on ensuring/improving OML compliance, BoardOnTrack cleanliness) and improving community engagement (to be measured by improved enrollment)
The Board discussed and workshopped these two ideas, with the conversation centering around how to define success for community engagement goal (potential metrics discussed included total application #s, enrollment, # of events/mailings)
- Katie suggested spreading the word through events such as farmers' market and parade attendance, Kathy suggested Open Houses
- Overarching question- how do we find the right # of students for MCCPS?
  - Stephanie opined that we likely won't know for some time- this year will be testing ground and an opportunity to create a tremendous experience for these smaller classes
    - Nick noted that keeping track of the pros/cons of 180 students may be beneficial for future reference as we deliberate further on school size
  - Jeff suggested rebranding (taking MHD out of school name), which the Board discussed and noted has been brought up before
  - Members brought up a number of factors influencing school size including parents' desire to have children prepared for high school, the enrollment drop off between grade 6-7 and the shrinking school pops. in the region
    - Gathering more information surrounding the 6-7 drop off was identified as worthy of gathering (from where are students leaving, where are they going and why)

VI. Preparing for SY23-24

A. Current SY23-24 Outlook

Stephanie provided an overview of recent updates on enrollment, staffing & the budget
- Enrollment
  - Currently have 181 students, with over 40 in grades 4-6, 29 in grade 7 and 25 in grade 8
    - The Grade 7 number may drop- still TBD
  - The administration will have 1 advisory classroom for grades 7-8
- Staffing
  - Stephanie has hired a PE teacher and will be splitting up the AD role
    - Retaining coaches for sports teams has been difficult- the amount of additional commuting (driving to pick up van for student travel to games, etc.) cited as primary reason
  - Special Ed teacher has been hired
  - Current Spanish teacher is fluent in French and has offered to teach a French enrichment
  - 5th Grade Math/Science role remains unfilled- leadership team is meeting Monday to finalize how this will be addressed
    - Meghan/Jess will be putting a support plan in place for whoever fills this role (likely Matt Taranto)
  - Stephanie has found a Foundation os Language teacher- the person has a Masters in the history of English
- Budget
  - Budget-related cuts include HR software, the admin clerical position, 5th grade & 7th grade inclusion & French
- Overview
  - Stephanie and Nick both expressed optimism among staff this year- lower enrollment and fewer instructional aids will stretch teachers in new ways

B. SWOT Analysis

The Board agreed that this portion of the agenda was sufficiently covered during the discussion regarding the mission for DevCom (see Section 3A for details)

C. Strategic Plan & SY23 Action Items

The Board agreed that the Strategic Plan will not be an immediate priority at this time- once there's a permanent Head of School in place who can provide input, this will be revisited

D. Head of School Search

The Board did not discuss this item

VII. Closing Items

A. Action Items & Next Steps

The Board will hold its August meeting scheduled for 8/29

B. Adjourn Meeting

Ian Hunt made a motion to Adjourn.

Nick Santoro seconded the motion.

Jeff Lewis and Kim Nothnagel both voted Aye

The board VOTED to approve the motion.

Roll Call
Lindsay Smith	Aye
Jessica Xiarhos	Absent
Katie Holt	Aye
William Rockwell	Aye
Paul Baker	Aye
Carol McEnaney	Aye
Rodolphe Herve	Aye
Nick Santoro	Aye
Stephanie Brant	Aye
Ian Hunt	Aye

There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 12:45 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,

William Rockwell

Documents used during the meeting

BYLAWS Working Copy-July 16, 2020-final-clean.pdf