St. Clare School Advisory Council

11-10-04 Minutes

 

Present:  David Blaskowsky, Renee Cline, Linda Fanning, Fr. Tom, John Ferraro, Tom Fitzpatrick, Jaye Fraser, Tom Griffith, Sr. Moe, Phil Ralston, Vicky Werner,

Absent Cartie Beckett, John Oswald,

 

1. Call to Order and Opening Prayer – The meeting was called to order and the opening prayer was said.

 

2. Recommended Actions

      a. Routine Matters:

            i.  The Agenda was accepted.

            ii. The Minutes for the October 14, 2004 meeting were approved.

 

      b. Old Business:

i. John Ferraro talked with Joanie Quinn about the All day Kindergarten option.  Joanie was fine with the recommendation from SAC that it remain half day. 

ii. A motion was made and seconded to approve the proposed changes to the Constitution and Bylaws that were discussed during the 10/14/04 SAC meeting.  All present approved these changes. These changes read as follows:

      Constitutional Amendments

      Article III

      Section 3

a)      All members of the SAC shall seek out and prepare a slate of prospective council member nominees.  They will also determine the process by which nominations, elections, and appointment will take place.  Newly elected members of the Advisory Council shall take office at the June meeting.  Retiring members shall leave office at the June meeting.

b)      Any member of the Advisory Council, other than an ex officio member, who is absent from two regular meetings of the Advisory Council during one academic year (August through and including June) shall, unless excused by action of the Advisory Council be asked to revisit their commitment to the Advisory Council with the council chair.

 

      c. New Business

            i. The Attendance Policy was handed out to all for to review.  Please bring any suggested changes or suggestions to the December meeting.  Keep in mind the difference between a policy and a procedure. 

            ii. Summer Daycare – Linda brought up the possibility of running a Summer Daycare program at St. Clare.  There was discussion and suggestions made.  Linda will investigate the feasibility of this project.

 

3. Information/Communication Reports

      a. Pastors Report – Father Tom gave the following report:

            •There is a general concern related to the recent elections issues.  Fr. Tom asked what St. Clare could do to help.

•The Parish Staff ( Sr. Moe, Fr. Tom, Patty Nest, Kathy Kowash, Laurie Zupsic, Nancy Melzer and Tia Mollard) had a recent retreat.  They discussed the stresses on families today and stress related to being Catholic. It is an objective to create safe places to discuss these concerns.

•It appears that we are down in Mass attendance on Sundays.  There will be an official count in December.  The offertory is about 8-10% down since the first quarter.  This coming Sunday, the parish members will make a pledge for next year (beginning 1/1/05).

•The Executive Committee met.  They are involved in a discussion about the possibility of joining a consortium of parishes to gain legal counsel related to the bankruptcy.  This would cost approximately $9500. a year.  The Executive Committee will decide what to do. (Insurance and the Archbishops tax will also go up).

•Archbishop Vlazny is going to be here and discuss who should/shouldn’t receive communion.  He will speak on 11/23 from 5-6:30 p.m.

•The Admin Council will publish a unified balance sheet of the School, Parish, and Preschool.

•Preschool has run 2 focus groups where about 40 parents have shown up.  The Preschool staff will be part of a focus group next week.  This information will be presented to Nancy and the Preschool Council. (Fr. Tom has been reading to the preschool children.)

•Fr. Don and Fr. Tom had lunch.  Fr. Don is doing well and misses St. Clare.

•The Fire Marshall found stuff in the basement of the church that shouldn’t be there.  We need to address storage issues. 

•Fr. Tom is involved with the process of the Diocesan funding plan for K-8.  The new plan will go into effect 1/1/06.  It addresses sources of income and parish responsibility to the school.  This process will take about a year and is occurring with the Presbyterial Council.

 

b. Parent Teacher Club Report:

i. Tom and Sr. Moe attended the PTC meeting last evening.  See the Principals report for the specific information discussed.  There is an $11,000 hole to fill since the Holiday Market is no longer a fundraiser.  Casino night is set for 4/16. 

ii. The joint meeting between SAC and PTC is tentatively set for 12/9/04.  The joint meeting will be from 6-7 pm.  The SAC meeting will be from 7:30-9 pm. 

 

c. Principals Report – Sr. Moe gave the following report:

 

ENROLLMENT: Enrollment remains stable.  We have not lost anyone, although there is still potential to lose a few students for various reasons.  Sr. Moe continues to worry about the effect social problems among students has on enrollment, and we continue to devote a lot of time to address each and every tear and complaint we hear from parents and/or students. 

 

We have had a few inquiries about enrollment, but it’s mostly marketing our program for entry next year.  The openings in each grade are posted in the parish bulletin each week.  Jan Hinds, secretary to the superintendent, is great about referring out-of-towners to St. Clare.  In the next Dragon Post, Sr. Moe will address welcoming the newcomer to our school, and how we can be a more hospitable community.

 

FUNDRAISING: We had a very good meeting at PTC last night discussing new ways of looking at fundraising.  The PTC made the decision to focus on four fundraisers only: Auction, Scrip, Fitness Challenge, and Sally Foster Sales.  Conservatively, we could bring in $80,000 from the Auction, $18,000 from Scrip, $20,000 from the Fitness Challenge and $8,000 from Sally Foster.  That’s $126,000.  For this next budget, we will need about $151,000 from fundraising.  We hope to achieve our goal by mandating that every parent contribute $600 toward fundraising.  We discussed the percentage parents could rely on when they give to the paddle bid, raffle tickets, etc. 

 

We will distinguish other fundraisers as service fundraisers.  PTC members feel that wreath sales, plant sales, and entertainment books are items they would be purchasing anyway, and buying them through the school is a convenience, and therefore, a service to our families.  These fundraisers will continue but without any pressure from the school.  They’ll just be available.  The decision to continue the golf tournament is on hold for now.

 

JOINT PTC AND SAC MEETING: We have tentatively scheduled a joint meeting of these two boards for our next regularly scheduled SAC meeting which is December  9th.  At this meeting, we would discuss:

  • Roles of these two councils and the Endowment
  • Who fundraises for Children In Our Lives, and how does this fundraiser fit into the total fundraising picture?
  • The role of both councils in setting the income budget
  • Presenting a united front at the Town Hall Mtg.; plan agenda together

•     David will work on an agenda that includes the above information and: What is the cost of running a school? What does the parish contribute? What does tuition cover? And, what is left?  The PTC will be asked to discuss what contributions can make up the expected $600. a year, their fundraisers and issues around them, and any concerns. 

 

FITNESS CHALLENGE and SALLY FOSTER SALES: The returns on these two fundraisers looks very good.  We have currently collected over $20,000 with the expectation we will do better than $23,000.  Sally Foster continues to increase sales annually.  This year we are at $8,000.  This is all thanks to great chairpersons: Julie Emry (Fitness Challenge) and Liz Parker (Sally Foster).

 

CURRICULUM: The Archdiocesan Math Curriculum has just been completed.  Sr. Moe is buying a copy for every teacher to have in his/her room.  It is beautifully put together and Sr. Moe brought a copy for us to peruse at this meeting.

 

Technology Solutions is sending Sr. Moe 15 preview CDs of their scope and sequence and assessment based technology program.  Because it is integrated per subject, she is very interested in using it in our school, but not without sufficient review to warrant paying $1,500 for this K-8 program.  More on this next month.

 

PADDLE BID: The teachers identified “furniture” as our paddle bid need this year.  This is what they’ve asked for:

  • New desks and chairs in grades 4 & 5
  • New tables and chairs in the library
  • New folding chairs in the art room
  • Carpet two more classrooms

Obviously, the paddle bid cannot cover the cost of all of these items.  We will be looking to see if we can support any of these at the end of this fiscal year.  If PTC has any overage, they would be willing to supplement the paddle bid in order to acquire some of the furniture.

 

MAINTENANCE: New windows are being installed this week in the first grade classroom thanks to our friend, Mike Clark.  The windows are definitely first class.  There is only one drawback – new shades are now needed.  Three windows comprise each bay, and now we have two windows per bay.  Sr. Moe is looking into the cost to put in new shades and/or retrofit with what we already have.  Stop by and see the new look.  Sr. Moe suggests that the SAC to write a thank you to Mike as well.

 

LEARNING SPECIALIST: Colleen O’Mahony has begun her work at our school identifying students with special needs.  We have communicated with parents her role here, and she will be doing a series of three or four parent education nights.  Already, she has been a huge help.  Currently, we are deciding who needs further testing which Mrs. O’Mahony will administer.  The program is underway, and giving every evidence of assisting teachers, and helping our students succeed at learning.

 

CASA CARDS: Sr. Moe attended the CASA celebration with Mrs. Acurso in which 14 of our students were recognized for having their artwork published on CASA cards.  This continues to be a great promotion for our school.  Each student received 100 of their note cards and their card framed by CASA.

 

RELIGION: Sr. Dolores, while accelerating her recuperation, will probably be out until January.  In the interim, Sr. Moe is teaching 4th grade religion, and having a blast!  What great kids.  It’s also afforded her an opportunity to review the religion book in more detail.  It needs changing for sure!

 

COFFEE WITH THE PRINCIPAL:  Sr. Moe thoroughly enjoyed the first one in which six moms showed up to chat.  It was just about the right number to be able to get beyond chit-chat.  She received some good feedback on how we can improve welcoming new folks/kids to our school.  The next one is scheduled for Dec. 6.

 

d. SAC Committee Reports:

            i. Process/Policy Committee – The changes in the Constitution and review of the Attendance Policy reported above were the work of this committee this month.

            ii. Development Committee– Tom F requested input as to his role with this committee.  Discussion included: 1) Children in Our Lives is put aside this year.  However overseeing the endowment and endowment board are part of this committee.  Clarification of who is responsible for the Children in Our Lives Luncheon will be clarified at the joint PTC/SAC meeting in December.  2) Grant writing.

            iii. Finance/Facilities Committee – David presented the following report.

Current Financial Status –

•We have an operating surplus of $58,862 thru October 31, 2004. Of this amount $5,200 is due to daycare. Daycare revenue of $12,603 surpasses the highest month from last year.

•Endowment fund is currently at $161,400.

Risks - Fundraising remains a risk. So far, we have collected $10,287 from the Jogathon. Collections continue in November. The budget for the Jogathon is $21,000.

Work Plans –

•We will be meeting next week on next years operating budget. We have a “rough” draft at this point.

•Work with the Parish to develop a longer term parish subsidy plan

•Stay involved in the master plan and capital campaign.

     iv. Marketing/Enrollment –

   •The Open house is set for January 20th, 2005 at 9 a.m. and 7 p.m.  The SAC Members will welcome and mingle. 

   •Jaye is working on letters to go to the 5th grade families about the middle school.  These letters will target in-school families and parish families who currently don’t attend the school.  The goal is to recruit and retain these children and families.

 

Next School Advisory Council Meeting:  Thursday, December 9, 2004 at 6 pm.

 

Meeting adjourned.

Respectfully Submitted,

Linda Fanning