Members in attendance: Jean Baxter, Frank Sansom, Sarah Sansom, Dorie Shallcross, Paul Weinberg, Lisha Brooks, Bailey Jackson, Mary Clare Powell, Leslie Fisher-Katz, Paul Wright, Benny Docter, Molly Welch, Beth Graham, Lisa Kowalski, Stoney Cantler, Bob Brick

Members not in attendance: Deirdre Arthen, Graham Horowitz-Friedman, Austin Joseph

Others in attendance: Mary Cantler, Robert Brainin, Anna Rossi

Summary of Votes Taken:
The minutes of December 2, 2008 were unanimously approved.

Dorie Shallcross was unanimously approved to serve another term on the Massachusetts Charter School Association.

Summary of Meeting

The minutes of December 2, 2008 were unanimously approved.

Paul Weinberg read the Mission Statement.

Dorie Shallcross was unanimously approved to serve another term on the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association.

Dorie Shallcross reported that there has been positive press for charter schools as a result of a four- year report completed by Harvard and M.I.T. It is also helpful that President-Elect Obama supports charter schools.

There was discussion of whether the “Diversity Mission Statement” is a set of goals rather than a Mission Statement. Bailey Jackson who is the Board representative to the Diversity Committee would like to arrange for the Board and the Diversity Committee to have a meaningful discussion concerning the relationship between the two bodies.  He would like to get input from the Committee before setting a meeting with the Board.

Student  Representatives: Benny Docter reported continued student dissatisfaction with the schedule.

Teacher/ Staff Representatives: Molly Welch reported that although everyone is tired, there seems to be less stress than in previous years at the end of the first semester.  

Management report:
•    Bob Brick said that there will be meetings and a public forum set up for discussion of future transportation.
•    Beth Graham reported that the Site Visit has been scheduled on February 12. The Site Visit Team would like to speak to as many Board members as possible. This will be the third year of the charter renewal process. Beth feels that this year it is easier to understand what they are asking. She acknowledged teachers and directors for their work in revising curriculum documents in response to last year’s report. The questions will be sent to the Board in advance of the Site Visit.
•    Bob distributed a “dashboard”, which is a summary of various student data that he will be updating for each Board meeting. He asked for feedback on whether this information is useful.

Development:
•    Mary Cantler reported that we are at $16,520 in Annual Appeal donations. This is about 33% of our goal. There has been 4% response from alumni families, which is above average.
•    Mary has put together a grant/foundation calendar that shows what grant opportunities are available each month in this area.
•    She will collaborate with Bob Brick and Beth Graham to apply for funding from Mass Mutual.
•    Current grant application update:
1. The Davis Foundation did not award PVPA the space feasibility study funding.
2. Grammy Foundation – We were not able to fulfill the criteria for funding from the Grammy Foundation. We will reapply this year.
•    Mary discussed donor cultivation and will contact Board members to set up site tours for prospective donors.

Financial Report:
•    Frank Sansom reported we expect to receive reduced funding this year. The FY09 budget was based on a 2% increase over the prior year.  Our actual revenues will not be known until March. It could be a 6 or 8% cut in the current year.  We have been able to operate somewhat under budget because of  a couple of unfilled positions. He anticipated there would not be any changes in the budget until June 30th.  It is expected that next year’s budget will be tight.  We may need to delay plans to add to the building for a few years and possibly refinance the mortgage.
•    Frank Sansom met with the staff during a staff meeting in December in an effort to have more transparency.

Retreat Discussion:  There was small group discussion to prioritize the 3-4 topics to address.
 

Respectfully submitted, Anna Rossi