MCCPS Board of Trustees
Minutes
Monthly Board Meeting September 26
Date and Time
Tuesday September 26, 2023 at 7:00 PM
Location
17 Lime Street, Marblehead , MA 01945
Trustees Present
Carol McEnaney, Ian Hunt, James Lewis (remote), Jessica Xiarhos, Katie Holt, Kimberly Nothnagel, Lindsay Smith (remote), Nick Santoro, Paul Baker, Rodolphe Herve, Stephanie Brant, William Rockwell (remote)
Trustees Absent
None
Guests Present
Kathy Santoro, Polly Titcomb (remote), 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 Sep 26, 2023 at 7:07 PM.
C.
Approve Minutes
Katie Holt made a motion to approve the minutes from Board of Trustees Monthly Meeting on 08-29-23.
Rodolphe Herve seconded the motion.
Minutes approved on the condition that the meeting adjournment time be updated to 8:47pm ET, as it is currently displaying 7:47pm CT.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Paul Baker |
Aye
|
| Jessica Xiarhos |
Aye
|
| Nick Santoro |
Aye
|
| William Rockwell |
Aye
|
| Rodolphe Herve |
Aye
|
| James Lewis |
Aye
|
| Carol McEnaney |
Aye
|
| Ian Hunt |
Aye
|
| Lindsay Smith |
Aye
|
| Katie Holt |
Aye
|
| Stephanie Brant |
Aye
|
| Kimberly Nothnagel |
Aye
|
II. Public Comment
A.
Public Comment
- N/A
III. Vote on Candidacy for Board Membership
A.
Polly Titcomb Board Membership
Katie Holt made a motion to the Board appoint Polly Titcomb 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.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Kimberly Nothnagel |
Aye
|
| Rodolphe Herve |
Aye
|
| Ian Hunt |
Aye
|
| Nick Santoro |
Aye
|
| Paul Baker |
Aye
|
| Carol McEnaney |
Aye
|
| Lindsay Smith |
Aye
|
| Jessica Xiarhos |
Aye
|
| William Rockwell |
Aye
|
| James Lewis |
Aye
|
| Katie Holt |
Aye
|
| Stephanie Brant |
Aye
|
Katie Holt made a motion to to move that the Board invite the newly appointed Trustee, Polly Titcomb, to all Board Meetings and activities while her approval is pending with the Department of Elementary and secondary education. Polly 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.
Lindsay Smith seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Kimberly Nothnagel |
Aye
|
| Paul Baker |
Aye
|
| Nick Santoro |
Aye
|
| Lindsay Smith |
Aye
|
| Katie Holt |
Aye
|
| Stephanie Brant |
Aye
|
| William Rockwell |
Aye
|
| Ian Hunt |
Aye
|
| Rodolphe Herve |
Aye
|
| Carol McEnaney |
Aye
|
| Jessica Xiarhos |
Aye
|
| James Lewis |
Aye
|
IV. Vote on Board Officers
A.
Board Chair, Vice Chair & Treasurer Elections
Katie Holt made a motion to nominate Paul Baker as MCCPS Treasurer for a term ending June 30th, 2025.
William Rockwell seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Carol McEnaney |
Aye
|
| William Rockwell |
Aye
|
| Nick Santoro |
Aye
|
| Lindsay Smith |
Aye
|
| Stephanie Brant |
Aye
|
| Kimberly Nothnagel |
Aye
|
| Jessica Xiarhos |
Aye
|
| Paul Baker |
Abstain
|
| Rodolphe Herve |
Aye
|
| Katie Holt |
Aye
|
| James Lewis |
Aye
|
| Ian Hunt |
Aye
|
William Rockwell made a motion to retroactively nominate Katie Holt for a 2 year term as Chair of the MCCPS Board of Trustees for a term ending June 30th, 2025.
Kimberly Nothnagel seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Stephanie Brant |
Aye
|
| James Lewis |
Aye
|
| Paul Baker |
Aye
|
| Jessica Xiarhos |
Aye
|
| Ian Hunt |
Aye
|
| Katie Holt |
Abstain
|
| Kimberly Nothnagel |
Aye
|
| Carol McEnaney |
Aye
|
| Rodolphe Herve |
Aye
|
| Lindsay Smith |
Aye
|
| Nick Santoro |
Aye
|
| William Rockwell |
Aye
|
V. Board Annual Items
A.
Upcoming Meeting Agenda Items
- Board discussed creating calendar w/ monthly goals/action items in BOT
- Kim pointed to proposed Board goal focused on streamlining documentation
- The Board elected to delay vote on Vice Chair until next meeting, by which time the Board will have clear answer on whether the Board is able to create one year terms to have staggered terms among officers
- This would ensure that not all four officer seats are up for election on same year
VI. SY23-24 Board Goals
A.
Vote on Board Goals
- Kathy- what's the timeline for the second goal?
- Kim- we didn't put hard and fast deadlines on this as we didn't want to commit to finishing the work should we discover we need more time.
- Nick- did we carry we forward goals?
- No
Nick Santoro made a motion to Approve the two proposed goals as the Board of Trustees goals for School Year 2023-2024.
Kimberly Nothnagel seconded the motion.
- Questions raised
- Rudi- do we add goal on finding right enrollment number?
- Katie- would likely need to build group for this
- Nick- our hands our tied, use this year to get enrollment back up and get back into a situation in which this is a luxury rather than a budgetary necessity
- Polly- expenses will drive enrollment... has anyone done independent analysis from firm to see what refinance looks like, what expenses may look like?
- Katie- makes me nervous to hire consultants due to cost... Polly willing to explore this further?
- Will have follow-up discussion about this
- Katie- makes me nervous to hire consultants due to cost... Polly willing to explore this further?
- Rudi- do we add goal on finding right enrollment number?
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Carol McEnaney |
Aye
|
| Katie Holt |
Aye
|
| Paul Baker |
Aye
|
| Jessica Xiarhos |
Aye
|
| William Rockwell |
Aye
|
| Rodolphe Herve |
Aye
|
| Nick Santoro |
Aye
|
| James Lewis |
Aye
|
| Ian Hunt |
Aye
|
| Lindsay Smith |
Aye
|
| Stephanie Brant |
Aye
|
| Kimberly Nothnagel |
Aye
|
VII. HOS Report
A.
Monthly Report
- Board requested that Stephanie share Monthly HOS Report
- Please see attached for full HOS Report
- Summary
- Enrollment: 175
- 4th: 39
- 5th: 39
- 6th: 45
- 7th: 26
- 8th: 26
- Staffing
- Rearranged staffing
- Restructuring- now do not have support staff from integrated arts to a classroom... support staff covering multiple grades
- Posting 1 position to cover 6th grade
- Work with SSU
- 3 SSU students have signed up to intern at MCCPS (2 in special ed, one in 8th grade)
- 2 will be at MCCPS for the semester, the third will be at MCCPS for the entire school year
- Hopeful this will be the beginning of a valuable partnership
- 3 SSU students have signed up to intern at MCCPS (2 in special ed, one in 8th grade)
- Rearranged staffing
- Update re: Legal Representation
- Al Gray has left Rubin & Rudman to start his own practice and his matters have been transferred to another lawyer at the firm
- Ongoing complaint- Al putting proposal together to continue operating as MCCPS representative on retainer
- Rudman isn't interested in working on retainer but Al is... Al has delivered proposal for his services
- Rudi- should Al handle specific complaint that he's been involved in?
- Rudman prepared to move forward with complaints Al had been working on
- Katie- a retainer with Al would cost $3000 for the rest of school year and approx. $5000 annually, which I think is half of what we've paid in the past for him
- Would need to hire out for other matters (i.e., real estate) but this would also be true w/ Rudman... this should still cover most everything and generally the school hasn't had to do much outside education law
- The Board discussed implications of ongoing complaint, along with a second complaint, which has been passed to and from MCAD (MA Commission Against Discrimination)
- The Board discussed the logic behind having an attorney on retainer (client is a priority for their attorney)
- Pickup/Drop-off
- New system is working much more efficiently and parents have mostly adapted to the change
- Nick requested that Stephanie's success on this goal be reflected on the record
- Improving student safety through better pickup process is included on her goals
- Nick requested that Stephanie's success on this goal be reflected on the record
- New system is working much more efficiently and parents have mostly adapted to the change
- Dissemination Efforts
- On 10/18 Molly Wright and Jessica Xiarhos are presenting at MassCUE (Massachusetts Computer Using Educators (the state's leading organization for educators with a passion for technology in education)
- Annual Report returned for corrections
- Corrections must be submitted by 10/16
- Safety
- 9/22/2023 Unplanned fire drill—faulty smoke detector in the copy room
- 9/27 Town/District Safety Committee Meeting
- 10/2 Meeting with Chief King and the SRO scheduled to review protocols
- Trainings
- 9/9/2023—5/2024
- New Charter School Leaders Group has begun monthly meetings that will continue throughout the school year. Monthly coaching sessions conducted by MCPSA begin 9/27
- 9/9/2023—5/2024
- Enrichment
- Started on 9/19 on Tuesdays and Thursday
- Community Events:
- Back to School night extremely well attended
- Coffee w/ Leadership Team 9/28
- Back to School Barbecue rescheduled to 10/14
- All-School Field trip at the Y on 10/6
- Halloween Dance 10/21
- My Brother’s Table Fundraiser Walk 11/4
- Athletics
- New Athletic Director: Joey van Bragt
- Soccer and Cross-Country underway
- Soccer with first win in 4 years
- Stephanie discussed possibilities of partnering with local schools to add more competition for athletic programs
- Enrollment: 175
B.
Head of School Goals
- Stephanie brought forward 5 proposed goals for the Board to review
- The Board elected to postpone a vote on approving these goals until the next monthly meeting to ensure members have adequate time to review
VIII. Other Business
A.
Review of Board Self Assessment
- Findings from Board Self Assessment
- Note: several Board members who took this assessment have since left the Board, therefore this is meant more as a prospective guide for us to consider this SY
- Findings
- Avg. 8-10 hours/month spent
- Several members mentioned some discomfort re: OML
IX. Committee Updates
A.
HOS Search Committee
- This committee has met twice since last Board meeting
- Kathy provided status update- Committee is currently drafting community survey and identifying evaluation criteria
- Question for the Board- should we remove mention of upper/lower school distinction?
- Thomas- most schools identify "lower school" as K-3/4 so it's unusual for MCCPS to identify 4-6 as upper
- Board agreed to remove this language
- Board also discussed letter to community to be sent out
- Lindsay confirmed this letter can be sent out this week
- Stated the letter must be short, use bullets, etc. to ensure parents read it
- Lindsay confirmed this letter can be sent out this week
B.
Finance Committee
- Rudi brought forward a revised budget for approval to the Board
- Will need to connect with Jeff Barry to figure out how to submit this formally
- Budget review
- Our budget on paper will reflect a loss but Board Surplus Fund will ensure cash isn't immediate concern
- MCCPS could likely withstand another fiscal year like this but mortgage interest increase could quickly consume any excess savings
- Last version based on 195 students, new one based on 175
- Our budget on paper will reflect a loss but Board Surplus Fund will ensure cash isn't immediate concern
Nick Santoro made a motion to approve the revised budget for the 2023-2024 MCCPS School Year.
Paul Baker seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| William Rockwell |
Aye
|
| Kimberly Nothnagel |
Aye
|
| Carol McEnaney |
Abstain
|
| Jessica Xiarhos |
Abstain
|
| Ian Hunt |
Abstain
|
| Lindsay Smith |
Aye
|
| Katie Holt |
Aye
|
| Nick Santoro |
Abstain
|
| James Lewis |
Aye
|
| Paul Baker |
Aye
|
| Rodolphe Herve |
Aye
|
| Stephanie Brant |
Abstain
|
C.
Governance Committee
- Normally, Governance Committee meetings happen just after monthly Board meetings but this will change moving forward
- Current action items
- Report on change in Bylaws
- Clarity on questions from tonight's meeting
- Current action items
D.
Personnel Committee
- Didn't meet this month
E.
Academic Excellence
- Committee met this month
- Started having conversations on T/TH (MCCPS leadership team)- meetings moved to Mondays during lunch
- Leadership team meeting over coffee on Monday at 8am
F.
Development & Communications
- Met this month
- Objectives
- Streamlining MCCPS' online presence
- Signing into school's social accounts, Google account
- Improving brand profile
- Raising brand profile by attending more community events (performing at MHD Xmas Walk, performance at Porch Fest, etc.)
- Creating email fundraising campaign with goal of making up budgetary shortfall
- Board will be asked to help
- Streamlining MCCPS' online presence
- Objectives
G.
DEI Committee
- Did not meet this month, but Lindsay did meet with a couple parents to discuss this committee and its goals
- This will be discovery year- learning what's working, what isn't, etc.
- Lindsay would like to lead enrichment that hears from students about what they need
- Most schools have mission statement re: diversity/inclusion
- Noted that "DEI" has connotation that angers/frightens a vocal minority
- Stephanie will be first line of defense and the Board will have to collaborate closely and remain aligned if/when we receive push-back
- Noted that "DEI" has connotation that angers/frightens a vocal minority
- This will be discovery year- learning what's working, what isn't, etc.
X. Public Comment
A.
Public Comment
- Kim pointed out that our next meeting is scheduled for Halloween
- Board will change the meeting date to 10/24
- Jess pointed out that recent Board meeting agendas have had "Special" indication
- WR to confirm that this is necessary to click to ensure OML compliance
XI. Closing Items
A.
Recap Action Items
B.
Adjourn Meeting
Katie Holt made a motion to adjourn tonight's MCCPS Board of Trustees meeting.
Kimberly Nothnagel seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| William Rockwell |
Aye
|
| Kimberly Nothnagel |
Aye
|
| Carol McEnaney |
Aye
|
| Stephanie Brant |
Aye
|
| Nick Santoro |
Aye
|
| Katie Holt |
Aye
|
| James Lewis |
Aye
|
| Paul Baker |
Aye
|
| Jessica Xiarhos |
Aye
|
| Ian Hunt |
Aye
|
| Rodolphe Herve |
Aye
|
| Lindsay Smith |
Aye
|
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 9:30 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
William Rockwell
Documents used during the meeting
- SY23-24 Timeline.pptx