City Garden Montessori School
Minutes
Governance Committee Meeting
Date and Time
Friday November 22, 2024 at 9:00 AM
Location
EAEC Conference Room #1
EAEC Conference Room #1
Committee Members Present
D. Smith, J. Dixon, L. Schwartze, L. Vowell, S. Haigler
Committee Members Absent
None
Guests Present
C. Huck, C. Schell, K. Lohrum, M. Howard, S. Miner
I. Opening Items
A.
Welcome & Check-Ins
- Jesse to provide resource list from the group
B.
Record Attendance
C.
Call the Meeting to Order
J. Dixon called a meeting of the Governance Committee of City Garden Montessori School to order on Friday Nov 22, 2024 at 9:08 AM.
II. Action Items
A.
Approve October Minutes
D. Smith made a motion to approve the minutes from Governance Committee Meeting on 10-25-24.
L. Schwartze seconded the motion.
The committee VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
B.
Committee priority updates
- Jesse shared update that CEO evaluation process, guided by Lauren, is on track
- Claire shared update from conversation with Sysco, and will be submitting proposal for Feb-June board learning calendar
- additional suggestions: ABAR, fundraising 101, ensuring members understand academic data
- Claire to reach out to Laura & Ben as new members to identify any additional needs
- Christie shared update about launch of Family Teacher Organization (FTO), under Kisha's leadership
C.
Community engagement
- Jesse shared updates from conversations about next steps with Jo Pang, including piloting community governance structure - December call for interest, January app/nomination review, February kick-off
- Ensuring many voices - e.g., nominations, reviewing data for most impacted constituents
- Discussion around which topic to pilot and/or how to integrate --- discipline policy, strategic goalsetting, budgeting process
- Next steps - outreach to full board to determine interest in this conversation/scope of work over coming months.
D.
Board recruitment
- Claire shared context about current state & needs, as well as a proposed accelerated timeline for a recruitment cycle.
- Committee agreed:
- increased board engagement in the recruitment process was necessary, and will kick-off invitations to apply following the January 11 board retreat
- we should codify specific guardrails (e.g., conflicts of interest) for interested parents
E.
Governance policy review
- Sarah shared updates from MCPSA review - only two policies need to be revised, and do not require CG customization.
- Next steps:
- Sarah will create drafts and share with committee for review/recommendation for board vote in new year.
- Sarah will create document that can be used for annual review - outlining full policy name, last update, and any additional context about the policy. Donna able to offer support.
III. Updates
A.
Updates from committee members
- Spirit week at CGMS!
IV. Closing Items
A.
December committee meeting
- Decision to cancel December meeting, in light of everyone's busy schedules.
- Any major updates/input needs will be emailed to the group in the interim.
B.
Adjourn Meeting
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 10:30 AM.
Respectfully Submitted,
J. Dixon