City Garden Montessori School
Minutes
2023-24 Board Meeting
Date and Time
Wednesday December 6, 2023 at 6:00 PM
This is an in-person meeting at 4209 Folsom Ave, St . Louis, MO 63110.
We will be live streaming the meeting via Zoom webinar at this link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88115198576?pwd=RnI0cWNYaDZsdkdES3o2VE9hQnNMdz09
The meeting will also be recorded and posted on the City Garden website (citygardenschool.org/board)
Directors Present
D. Smith (remote), J. Dixon, J. Fouse, M. Howard, S. Deuanephenh, S. Haigler, S. Shelton-Dodge (remote)
Directors Absent
J. Sharp
Directors who arrived after the meeting opened
J. Dixon, S. Haigler
Guests Present
A. Boyd, C. Flynn, C. Huck, C. Vinarcsik, D. Blank, D. Fox, M. Marshall, T. Smith
I. Opening Items
A.
Call the Meeting to Order
D. Smith called a meeting of the board of directors of City Garden Montessori School to order on Wednesday Dec 6, 2023 at 6:01 PM.
B.
Record Attendance and Guests
C.
Recess General Meeting to Convene Closed Session
S. Deuanephenh made a motion to recess the general meeting and convene the closed session In accordance with RSMo Sunshine Law, 610.021.2 (Real Estate), which requires a roll call vote.
J. Fouse seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| J. Dixon |
Absent
|
| S. Shelton-Dodge |
Aye
|
| M. Howard |
Aye
|
| J. Fouse |
Aye
|
| S. Haigler |
Absent
|
| S. Deuanephenh |
Aye
|
| J. Sharp |
Absent
|
| D. Smith |
Aye
|
S. Haigler arrived.
J. Dixon arrived.
D.
Resume the General Meeting
E.
Mission Statement
F.
Introductions and Public Comment
II. Action Items
A.
Approve Minutes from November 2023 Board Meeting
S. Shelton-Dodge made a motion to approve the minutes from 2023-24 Board Meeting on 11-01-23.
S. Deuanephenh seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
B.
Approve Fiscal Year 2023 (Last Fiscal Year) Audit
S. Haigler made a motion to approve Fiscal Year 2023 (last fiscal year) audit.
J. Dixon seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
C.
Approve October 2023 Financials
J. Fouse made a motion to approve the October 2023 financials.
S. Shelton-Dodge seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
D.
Approve Updated Fiscal Year 2024 (Current Year) Budget Projections
M. Howard made a motion to approve updated Fiscal Year 2024 (current year) budget projections.
S. Deuanephenh seconded the motion.
David will add a forecast column to the cash balance sheet.
III. Information Items
A.
Review Proposed Preschool, Before Care and After Care Tuition Rates for the 2024-25 School Year
David Blank discussed the proposed increase in preschool tuition rates.
- The proposal was to increase tuition rates by 3.5%. This is based on inflation rates in St Louis.
- The sliding scale adjustment was based on 1.5x poverty level for a 2 person family household.
- David suggested creating a sub committee to work on the sustainability of the preschool program.
- There was a discussion about the messaging and benefit explanation to parents when the increase is announced.
- The tuition increase will be voted on in the February board meeting.
B.
CEO Report
Christie Huck reported on the following:
- The importance of engaging the board, teachers and staff in the academic reports.
- Christie reported on the DESE payment miscalculation at the end of November that affected all public charter schools. City Garden was grossly underpaid for November. David was quick to see the mistake and he and Christie worked over fall break to make sure it was corrected.
- End of year fundraising is underway.
- There will be a big fundraising push from now until just after Day of Giving in April.
- A new funder, the Stranahan Foundation awarded City Garden a $150,000 grant ($50k/yr for 3 years) and will be used to support early childhood education.
C.
Board Chair Report
Donna Smith introduced Freddi Wicker, a partner with the Center for Sustainable Leadership and Freddi reviewed the following based on prior meetings with Governance members:
- Big picture decisions for board sustainability
- Work on the long term strength and sustainability of City Garden
- Explore what excellence looks like at the City Garden Board level
- Based on survey results, arrived at the following recommended priorities:
- What measurable and cultural agreements does the board have?
- Re-establishing board practices - who is driving this and how is this practiced?
- Bring on additional board members; what does this practice look like?
- Where are board members terming out and how to support these officer transitions?
- There could be a leadership opportunity at the national level, sharing the City Garden leadership vision of excellence.
Freddi will continue this work with the Board at the January 20th, 2024 Board Retreat.
IV. Closing Items
A.
Adjourn Meeting
S. Deuanephenh made a motion to adjourn meeting.
M. Howard 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 7:48 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
C. Vinarcsik
There was no public comment.