Courtyard School

Board Meeting Minutes

May 20, 2007

Attendance:

Board Members Present: Chris Carter, Connie Emerson, Franco Garcia, Amy Halloran, Marc Porter, Sharon Reilly, Bobbette Rutsch, Julie Sauls

Staff Members Present: Marcie Lane, Principal/Executive Director; Shawn Steck, Assistant Principal; Kristi Muraoka, EDC Manager; Peggy Gilmore, Bookkeeper

Other Courtyard Community Members Present: Pete Bramson, PTO President; Tamarin Austin; Paul Nolfo;Steve Hallerman, Dan Ariola; Ben Dennison

OPEN SESSION

I Approval of Minutes of April 18, 2007 Board Meeting

Marc Porter moved the approval of the minutes of the April 18, 2007 meeting of the Board of Directors, and Bobbette Rutsch seconded the motion. The minutes were approved as drafted on a unanimous voice vote.

II Comments from Paul Nolfo and Tamarin Austin

Courtyard parents Paul Nolfo and Tamarin Austin attended the meeting after having expressed an interest in joining the Board of Directors. Each reviewed his;/her experiences and skills that might be applicable to the board. In addition, each requested that the board provide a series of documents that provide background on the school in general and the board in particular.

III Principal’s Report:

See Attachment I for a listing of the items in the Principal’s Report. Items that generated additional discussion included the following:

• In conjunction with the accreditation process, Principal Marcie Lane requested that the board complete a California Association of Independent Schools form requesting information about the Board of Directors.
• Assistant Principal Shawn Steck reported that the school has 129 confirmed enrollments for 2007-08, which is more than the school had at the same date a year ago. He planned to have a marketing plan together within 2 weeks to generate additional enrollment for the coming year.
• Shawn also presented a draft form to use for exit interviews for those families choosing to leave Courtyard. Shawn asked for comments on his draft. The board was supportive of getting feedback on Courtyard strengths and weaknesses from families leaving the school.
• Summer program manager Kristi Muraoka offered some descriptions of the summer program. To generate additional interest in the summer program, Marcie agreed to emphasize in the upcoming newsletter that attending summer camp is a way of supporting the school.
• There was discussion of two new schools that might compete with Courtyard for students, one a private school and the other public middle school with a specialized program.

III. Landscaping Committee Report

Dan Ariola updated the board on the impressive work completed by the Landscaping Committee.

West Side of Campus

• Dan presented the completed conceptual design for the west side of the campus. There are ten trees donated by the Sacramento Tree Foundation that have been planted. Dan anticipates planting an additional 6-7 trees along the alleyway once a utility search has been completed. These trees, along the south side of four of the classrooms, will provide aesthetic benefit and lower cooling costs.

• The remainder of the plan for the west side of the campus includes installing tables and benches and covering a portion of the courtyard with decomposed granite. Dan reported that he is developing a cost estimate for completing this work.

East Side of Campus

• Dan reported that the Landscaping Committee has reviewed the existing, city-approved (but not yet implemented) flow plan. That plan calls for cars to enter along the railroad tracks on 25^th street and exit onto 24^th street. The area between the gym/multi-purpose room and the tracks would be used for parking.

• The Committee is looking at the alternative of adding lawn to the area along the tracks. The benefits of this plan include
• More play area
• Increased safety for kids since there would be no traffic flow through the campus
• Reduced costs to Courtyard
• Make neighbor on 25^th street happier

This new plan would require that the school go back to the City to have the currently approved plan revised.

Dan said that the committee would welcome board input, and the board agreed that it would put together questions/input.

PTO Report

See Attachment II for PTO President Pete Bramson’s report to the Board. Issues discussed with the board included the following:

• Two changes to the PTO bylaws are coming.
• Pete asked for board input by July on a gaming/Monte Carlo night that might feature bingo. Connie Emerson, chair of the Development Committee, reported that she would likely be able to address this issue in June.
• In fundraising discussions, Connie suggested that the school start to include in its newsletter a one-sentence “Fun Fundraising Fact.”
• Pete suggested that once the PTO officers for 2007-08 are in place, the board get together with the PTO officers.

IV. Parent Request for a Survey of Courtyard Families

Marc Porter reported that a Courtyard parent has approached him suggesting a survey of all Courtyard Families. Marcie reviewed the history of surveys that she has done since arriving at Courtyard. In her first year, there was a survey of all families, the results of which Marcie found helpful for orienting her about families’ concerns. In year, two, Marcie surveyed families with students set to enter middle school.

Given that most planning for 2007-08 had already taken place, the board members agreed that the timing for a new survey was not good. The board agreed to take the issue under advisement, and Connie agreed to talk with the parent about the issue.

V. Development Committee Report

• The committee has developed a charter
• The committee is working on a fundraising event calendar for 2007-08
• The committee is working on developing and executing a capital campaign
• Net proceeds from the Evening Out will exceed $25,000.

The board also discussed details about the upcoming golf tournament with organizers Ben Dennison and Steve Hallerman. After reviewing the specifics of golf tournament arrangements, Steve expressed disappointment with what he saw as a lack of board support for the tournament.

On behalf of the board, Sharon Reilly explained that the efforts to organize the golf tournament were certainly appreciated. She also noted that the board has been working on some of its processes, and had they been in place, communication could have been smoother. She expressed the hope that we can move forward with our common goal of supporting Courtyard.

VI. Facilities Committee Update

HVAC for uym/multi-purpose room

Marc explained that he is working with an engineer who is volunteering his time to help with the project. He also explained that he can get the equipment at cost, so it appears that with the $25,000 Buck Foundation grant and the required 1:1 match, we should be able to get the HVAC system installed in the gym.

Cell Phone Tower

Connie reported that there has been no change from last month. Omni-Point Communications has not submitted another application to construct the tower.

Kitchen Plans

Franco Garcia reported that Lionakis Beaumont Design Group is still working on putting together the plans for the kitchen.

VI. Public Comment

Pete Bramson made the following comments:

• He wanted the board to seek to get more parent involvement in its activities (comment made during PTO Report).
• He wanted to know how open the board is to a town hall meeting (comment made during PTO Report).
• He wanted to know when the board would post its new set of bylaws (comment made during PTO Report). Chris said that pending completion of all pieces of the bylaws, he would try to have them available by May 30^th).
• He wanted to understand the timeline for getting city approval of revision of the approved plan for building out the school site. The board commented that it needed to discuss the matter internally.
• He expressed disappointment that the bylaw development/revision process has not been more public. He asked for the opportunity to dialog on changes.

Tamarin Austin suggested that the board organize a gathering with the PTO and interested parents to discuss fundraising and coordinating a fundraising calendar. That suggestion was referred to the Development Committee.

CLOSED SESSION

The closed session agenda was as follows:

I. Finance Committee Report:

II. Nominating Committee Report/Filling Board Vacancies

III. Discussion of Nomination of Board Officers.

Actions to report from closed session:

ACTION: Board Membership: Marc moved and Connie seconded approval of the nominating committee’s recommendation that the full board accept Paul Nolfo’s application to serve on the board. The motion was approved on a unanimous voice vote.

ACTION: Development Committee Membership: Connie moved and Bobbette seconded a motion to invite Tamarin Austin to join the Development Committee. The motion was approved on a unanimous voice vote.

ACTION: Matching Funds for Buck Grant: Chris moved and Julie seconded that in an effort to have air conditioning n the multi-purpose room for the summer, the school pay the matching funding of $25,000 for the Buck Grant from operating revenues. Further, if the operating revenues fall short, then school can get the funding from its reserves. The motion was approved on a unanimous voice vote.

ACTION: Outstanding Balances and Summer Camp: Chris moved and Julie seconded that in order to attend summer camp, Courtyard students’ accounts need to have no significant balance or tuition balance on the books. . The motion was approved on a unanimous voice vote.

Minutes approved by vote of board on 6/20/07

Christopher W. Carter, Secretary