Board Meeting Minutes Download Adobe Acrobat Reader DATE PDF FILE July 31st, 2008 Download Minutes June 19th, 2008 Download Minutes May 8th, 2008 Download Minutes April 10th, 2008 Download Minutes February 28th, 2008 Download Minutes January 10th, 2008 Download Minutes November 29th, 2007 Download Minutes October 11th, 2007 Download Minutes July 23rd, 2007 Download Minutes June 16th, 2007 Download Minutes May 5th, 2007 Download Minutes March 9th, 2007 Download Minutes January 15th, 2007 Download Minutes December 2nd, 2006 Download Minutes October 6th, 2006 Download Minutes September 13th, 2006 Download Minutes August 17th, 2006 Download Minutes July 22nd, 2006 Download Minutes June 21nd, 2006 Download Minutes Our Community School Board of Directors Meeting July 31, 2008 Board members present:  Heather Ashton, Bobby Blatt, Chris Ferris, Susan Freidman, Katherine Geeslin, Carolina Goodman, David Marsh, Bill Maxwell, Scott Miller, Louis Pugliese, Danielle Quinto The meeting was called to order at 5:35 by Board Chair Scott Miller Minutes were approved as corrected.  Carolina will email minutes to Board members, who will read the minutes and communicate any changes to Carolina before the next meeting. No community speakers. Bobby Blatt led the group in establishing norms for how we will work together: Scott Miller read a letter to be given community members who attend meetings for the purpose of addressing the Board.  Board members gave feedback. Scott will revise the letter and email the final version to Board members. In order to unify Board members' understanding of the Strategic Plan, the OCS mission, vision, and desired future were read aloud.  Any changes to the language of our Strategic Plan would require a board motion in future meetings. Discussion: The Mission is what we hope to accomplish.  We worked hard not to use educational jargon. The Vision speaks of balance.  States our desire to share our success, in defining what education is -- beyond passing a test. Our Desired Future underscores our commitment to maintain diversity.  Perhaps we could clarify this by creating categories:  Sustainability is about WASC and Charter Renewal; the rest is about student results.  Last two are about how OCS faculty and staff members work together (instruction and professional development).  How do facility issues match up in Phase 1 and Phase 2? Environmental responsibility seems to be a core value, but does not appear in mission or vision.  It is implied in the mission. Committee meetings are where the most of the work is done; Action Plans drive the work. Scott added a new procedure for each meeting, which is to define which items that are meant to be handled in committees.  See attached.  Scott moved to approve the list from our last meeting.  Danielle seconded.  The motion passed Scott created new Board Manuals and distributed updates to be inserted. Carolina moved to approve calendar of Board and Committee meetings.  Danielle seconded.  The motion passed. Committee Assignments for Board members: (non-Board members are not listed below) Development:  Jana (chair), Carolina, Danielle Facilities:  Scott (temporary chair), Bill (assistant chair), Louis, Chris Finance:  Katherine (chair), Chris Governance:  Scott (temporary chair), Susan (assistant chair), Katherine, Heather Program:  Chris (chair), Carolina (assistant chair), David, John, Bobby (on call) Wellness:  Bill (assistant chair), Heather Louis points out that our By-Laws may state that each Board member is required to serve on two committees.  Either change this or enforce it.  The Governance Committee will address this issue. Heather registered disappointment that the Program committee meets at 3:15 so that Board members who are teachers from other schools would not be able to attend.  Chris explained that this time ensures that more OCS teachers will attend in order to address WASC accreditation and charter renewal. Susan suggested meeting times allow attendance by people who work full-time.  Chris suggested a 7:30 AM time, but only one committee has chosen to meet then. Scott explained a helpful tool in the Board Manual that where members can record their contributions at Board and Committee meetings.  This tool will facilitate Board evaluation. Principal's Report: Enrollment update: We are fully enrolled, except 3rd grade and 6th grade; past experience indicates that we will get more 6th grade students.  Bill asked how many families left the school.  Chris agreed that this data would be useful. Classrooms, including our two new ones, are getting in shape for the new school year.  The church is leasing us storage for music equipment and allowing us to use the sanctuary for music classes and performances.  In addition, the church is giving us the use of chairs and tables.  We are under budget for this! Staff development: Chris and six teachers are going to Responsive Classroom training; in August there will be two days of Singapore Math, partnering with Santa Clarita Valley and New Heights.  Teachers and staff will also have CPR and First Aid classes.  Faculty members will lead each other in professional development, e.g. Danielle on service learning,  Staci on Reading Results.  John on integrated curriculum. Joyce Johnson, our LAUSD Charter School representative, has written a thorough report.  She notes our strong safety and facilities organization and writes that OCS is a model for professional development.  As for improvements, she points out our need for more support for English Language Learners and to work with our landlord to fix things in a more timely way.   Valerie has resigned.  Craig's List gave us 150 resumes.  Chris called 15.  One interview that was impressive.  Another tomorrow.  Five on Monday.  Looking for bilingual and/or marketing/event planning. Leadership Team:  Scott, PTSA Chair, and Chris will be meeting regularly.  Current families are now hosting new families to ease their transition and welcome them to OCS. Next meeting: approve Principal's goals for 2008-09 and the Leadership Team action plan. Development Committee: 5K - Ken Rickerman has done an incredible job getting sponsors.  We need more.  Can the Board help?  L.A. City approved our request to hold this event and waived the fees!  We are working on publicizing the event, getting t-shirts and awards, looking for parking, connecting with other schools for the Kids Dash, recruiting volunteers to work on the day of the event, and organizing  a Health Expo.  Another way that Board members can help is to participate in a mock 5K/3K run/walk at our Welcome Picnic on August 28 Worked with Chris and her staff to complete the OCS calendar and parent handbook. The Annual Giving Campaign is now being referred to as the Annual Support Campaign.  The brochure and cover letter will be included with the family packet to be mailed next week.  The kick off will take place at the Welcome Picnic.  Board members are strongly urged to gather at Chris's home to make follow up phone calls.  Date to be arranged.  Chris suggested that each board member ask friends and family to support OCS.  She has made a personal goal of $5,000. Carolina attended a grant writing workshop and learned that grant makers look to see that Board members contribute personally, as well as actively participate in fundraising.  If a grant proposal is being considered, Board members need to be knowledgeable about the grant because they may receive a call from the grant maker to discuss how the grant would support the mission and vision of the school. Facilities Committee Louis points out that it is difficult to create a site plan without a site.  However, a site plans could be created with a 20,000 sq ft footprint and with a 50,000 sq ft footprint. We have formally declared our interest in sharing space on the Devonshire campus.  Bobby advises that we work directly with Superintendent Jan Brown, rather than going around her. There are two real estate consultants interested in being on the OCS Advisory Council. Bill volunteers to lead the effort on researching green building practices. Louis mentioned the possibility of Zone M (light manufacturing) properties may be approved for schools. Louis attends the meetings of the Charter School Facilities Collaborative. The committee needs to begin looking at our lease agreement, which will need to be negotiated at the end of this school year. David moved to approve the Facilities Action Plan.  Louis seconded.  The motion passed. Finance Committee Ed reports that OCS ended the year with numbers coming in as expected. Currently we have $82,000 cash on hand. SB740 funds of almost $10,000 are still expected from 07-08. We did not have to access our line of credit as we had expected. The state budget has still not been approved. Louis requested that the Finance Committee identify the amount of money we have in reserve (surplus). We hope our fundraising is successful enough to keep Nikki and Tracie on staff to help with grantwriting and marketing. David suggested that we link the budget to our mission and vision, e.g. where does it reflect WASC preparation?  The budget could reflect our efforts to improve, e.g. adoption of Singapore Math and professional development opportunities. Governance Committee Scott distributed a written report to be discussed at our next meeting.  Board members were asked to review the "Board Development Proposal," which will be discussed and approved at the next Board meeting. Program Committee This committee has not met yet.  Will report at the next meeting. Thank you to Scott for the food!  The Board decided to take turns bringing food to Board meetings.  Heather volunteered to do this for our next meeting. The meeting adjourned at 8:10.