MCCPS Board of Trustees
Minutes
Board of Trustees Monthly Meeting
Date and Time
Tuesday August 29, 2023 at 7:00 PM
Location
17 Lime Street
Marblehead, MA
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/98355446062?pwd=bVg2VzE4bEZUVXJqY0R4UlJnVmZ1dz09
Meeting ID: 983 5544 6062
Passcode: MCCPSbot
Trustees Present
Carol McEnaney, Ian Hunt, Jessica Xiarhos, Katie Holt, Kimberly Nothnagel, Lindsay Smith, Nick Santoro, Paul Baker (remote), William Rockwell (remote)
Trustees Absent
James Lewis, Rodolphe Herve
Guests Present
Andrea Daniels, Kathy Santoro, Stephanie Brant, Thomas Phillips McEnaney
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance and Guests
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
Katie Holt called a meeting of the board of trustees of MCCPS Board of Trustees to order on Tuesday Aug 29, 2023 at 7:02 PM.
C.
Approve Minutes
Katie Holt made a motion to approve the minutes from MCCPS Monthly Board of Trustees Meeting: July 25, 2023 on 07-25-23.
Nick Santoro seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Jessica Xiarhos |
Aye
|
| Ian Hunt |
Aye
|
| Katie Holt |
Aye
|
| James Lewis |
Absent
|
| William Rockwell |
Aye
|
| Carol McEnaney |
Aye
|
| Rodolphe Herve |
Absent
|
| Nick Santoro |
Aye
|
| Lindsay Smith |
Aye
|
| Kimberly Nothnagel |
Aye
|
| Paul Baker |
Aye
|
Nick Santoro made a motion to approve the minutes from MCCPS Board Retreat on 08-12-23.
Kimberly Nothnagel seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Kimberly Nothnagel |
Aye
|
| Paul Baker |
Aye
|
| Ian Hunt |
Aye
|
| Lindsay Smith |
Aye
|
| Rodolphe Herve |
Absent
|
| William Rockwell |
Aye
|
| James Lewis |
Absent
|
| Nick Santoro |
Aye
|
| Jessica Xiarhos |
Abstain
|
| Katie Holt |
Aye
|
| Carol McEnaney |
Aye
|
D.
BOT: Treasurer Election
- Katie explained that Rudi cannot be treasurer again given that that he has already served three consecutive terms
- Board discussed options for filling the Treasurer
- Rudi offered to stay on FinCom while any new Treasurer gets up to speed with the role
- Will provided brief summary of the position (Treasurer is Chair of FinCom, must be Board member, etc.)
- Paul offered his services but cannot do the usually-scheduled Friday morning committee meetings
- Paul to connect with Rudi before next meeting to discuss whether this time could be changed moving forward
- Jess confirmed that per Bylaws, staff cannot serve in this position
- The Board decided to delay the vote until the next meeting
II. Interview Board Candidate and Vote
A.
Potential Board Member Interview: Polly Titcomb
- Given that Polly was not in attendance, the Board decided to abstain from voting on her membership until next meeting
- Polly likely didn't receive notice of tonight's meeting
- Will to change Polly's email in BoardOnTrack
- Polly likely didn't receive notice of tonight's meeting
III. HOS Report
A.
Back to School Summary
- Summary
- First day celebration went well
- Stephanie and Nick met with Glovers' Regiment over the Summer, didn't ultimately pan out
- Staff welcomed students back to school with pom poms
- Stephanie submitted photos of the event to MHD Current
- Day 2 with new pickup/drop-off
- Safer for students, much more organized but some traffic backup
- Some of this will be ameliorated over time as people acclimate, students depart at different times, etc.
- Safer for students, much more organized but some traffic backup
- Enrollemnt
- 176 total
- Hiring
- Hiring is complete, but still hoping for 7th grade instruction assistant & Special Ed assistance
- Total staff members down 15 vs. last year
- New School Curriculum
- Character Strong- rolling out next week
- Technology
- Just before school, learned that many Chromebooks (approx. 75) needed updates and were unable to be used
- Ordered new ones, costing MCCPS $21,000
- Meghan Hale doing weekly tech. course with students
- Objective: ensuring students understand tech usage and know their search history on school computers isn't private
- Just before school, learned that many Chromebooks (approx. 75) needed updates and were unable to be used
- Salem State/MCCPS Collaboration
- Stephanie met with Salem State to discuss partnering with them (placements/fellowships for students)
- Bathroom Compliance
- Information gathered by Lindsay
- Regulations: 60 boys/1 toilet, 30 girls/1 toilet
- MCCPS is compliant on both fronts
- Regulations: 60 boys/1 toilet, 30 girls/1 toilet
- Information gathered by Lindsay
- Sound System
- New sound system installed
- Upcoming Events
- Project Adventure (9/6)
- New Parent Dinner (9/7)
- Back to School BBQ (9/10)
- School Field Trip (9/19)
- Facilities
- Some windows in greenhouse need to. be replaced
- Stephanie getting estimates
- Deck needs new beams underneath
- Some windows in greenhouse need to. be replaced
- First day celebration went well
- Questions
- Lindsay
- Have we solved for the students in band/chorus during advisory (would otherwise be curriculum time)?
- Adria Smith has put potential solution forward
- Childrens' Island Trip
- Students will be going to YMCA on 9/19
- Have we solved for the students in band/chorus during advisory (would otherwise be curriculum time)?
- Lindsay
IV. Follow Up Items from Board Retreat
A.
Miscellaneous Discussion Items and Actions
- Board Goals
- Will reviewed potential goals discussed at Board retreat (Board process/documentation review & cleanup, increased community engagement)
- Katie- wary of tying goal to specific # applicants given that the overall pool is shrinking
- Ian- echoed Katie's point
- Kim- should retention be focus?
- Stephanie- worth understanding why students are leaving
- ex: had older children that had time moving into a larger setting- the social adjustment experienced by these children prompted them to move their 6th grader
- Katie- improve school brand and community engagement for next year
- Kim- from a financial standpoint, the school has room in 7th/8th grade
- Paul- combining 7th/8th grade?
- Next Steps
- Will/Kim to workshop Board goals and disseminate to Board
V. Committee Updates
A.
Governance Committee
- Governance
- Approved previous minutes
- Interviewed Heather Hussain
- Expressed interest in Governance
- Committee encouraged her to explore DevCom, as her background is largely in fundraising
- BoardOnTrack integration
- Need BoardOnTrack calendar to sync with MCCPS Calendar on website
- Nick- this ties to our first goal
- Additional note
- Important to put meeting notices, docs, agendas in BoardOnTrack in advance of meetings
- Additional note
- Additional
- WR to f/u with James Demaio @ DESE regarding email bounce back when he and Katie tried to share tonight's agenda with the state
B.
Finance Committee--no meeting this month; will report back next month
- Hasn't met since Board Retreat
C.
Personnel Committee
- Hasn't met since Board Retreat
D.
Academic Excellence
- Hasn't met since Board Retreat
E.
Development & Communications
- Held first meeting
- Attempting to recruit additional members
- Laid out "ground rules" for the committee
- Focus is on community engagement & brand building within the community
- Fundraising is not on immediate horizon- this is something that committee would like to take on once foundational norms/processes are set
- Updates to website, improving social media presence and school brand will be areas of focus
- Focus is on community engagement & brand building within the community
F.
Head of School Search Committee
- Scheduling meeting for next week
- First few action items focused on gathering community members to gather info on desired outcomes/characteristics, evaluation criteria, etc.
- Will likely need to assemble preselection committee
- Will serve as first screen for applicants
- Kathy has been in touch with state regarding OML compliance
- Will likely need to assemble preselection committee
- Katie emphasized importance of following executive session/OML guidelines
- First few action items focused on gathering community members to gather info on desired outcomes/characteristics, evaluation criteria, etc.
G.
Proposed New Committee: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
- Lindsay- DEI is an important focus for us and our MCCPS community. Therefore, recommend creating a committee to focus on DEI
- Objectives for committee
- Statement about how Charter feels about this
- Refine our nondiscrimination policy in our handbook
- Bolster areas already worth showcasing at MCCPS, identify areas of improvement
- Would be great to have more diverse committee- trying to recruit more families/parents of color
- Objectives for committee
Nick Santoro made a motion to create a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee at MCCPS.
Katie Holt seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Paul Baker |
Aye
|
| James Lewis |
Absent
|
| Kimberly Nothnagel |
Aye
|
| Katie Holt |
Aye
|
| Jessica Xiarhos |
Aye
|
| William Rockwell |
Aye
|
| Ian Hunt |
Aye
|
| Lindsay Smith |
Aye
|
| Rodolphe Herve |
Absent
|
| Nick Santoro |
Aye
|
| Carol McEnaney |
Aye
|
- Additional discussion on DEI committee
- Who to chair?
- Lindsay would like to gauge community interest in chairing/joining the committee but is happy to chair it if no one steps forward
- Jess
- Worth putting a survey out to community?
- Asking the community their input on MCCPS' DEI efforts
- Could not only help identify priorities for DEI committee but also dig up potential members
- Lindsay noted that this is a divisive topic and noted that Board members should be prepared for pushback
- Asking the community their input on MCCPS' DEI efforts
- Paul asked whether Swampscott has a DEI committee
- Worth putting a survey out to community?
- Who to chair?
VI. Public Comment
A.
Public Comment
- X, current MCCPS parent
- 6-7th grade enrollment drop-off
- MCCPS would need some kind of "wow factor" to keep students here
- MVMS has lockers, it's a dedicated 7th-8th grade school, etc.- MCCPS would need differentiator(s)
- MCCPS would need some kind of "wow factor" to keep students here
- New committee
- Nervous about how divisiveness of this issue could impact enrollment in the future
- Board of Trustees
- Has there been much turnover? There appear to be new faces.
- Katie- we've added new members and we have a Board letter coming out to the community soon
- Has there been much turnover? There appear to be new faces.
- 6-7th grade enrollment drop-off
VII. Board Member Comments and Resolutions
A.
Board Member Comments and Resolutions
- Kathy thanked Katie for taking on the role of Board Chair
- Carol shared update related to Thomas joining the Board- received question asking who our appointing authority is
- Board discussed lack of responsiveness from Alysa w/ DESE
- Katie reached out to Al Gray, MCCPS attorney, about keeping him on retainer vs. on hourly rate and has not received anything back
VIII. Closing Items
A.
Adjourn Meeting
Kimberly Nothnagel made a motion to Adjourn this evening's MCCPS Board of Trustees meeting.
Carol McEnaney seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Carol McEnaney |
Aye
|
| James Lewis |
Absent
|
| Jessica Xiarhos |
Aye
|
| Katie Holt |
Aye
|
| Rodolphe Herve |
Absent
|
| Lindsay Smith |
Aye
|
| Kimberly Nothnagel |
Aye
|
| William Rockwell |
Aye
|
| Ian Hunt |
Aye
|
| Nick Santoro |
Aye
|
| Paul Baker |
Aye
|
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 8:44 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
William Rockwell
Documents used during the meeting
- 2023_08_12_board_meeting_minutes.pdf
- 2023_07_25_board_meeting_minutes (1).pdf