Northfield School of Arts and Technology
School Board Monthly Meeting Minutes
August 12, 2010
6:30 pm
ARTech at 1719 Cannon Road, Northfield
1. Call meeting to order at 6:31 pm.
2. Verify Quorum
Present: Joe Pahr, Tammy Prichard, Jake Roberts, Jan Rohwer, Lisa Malecha, Maria Musachio, Amy Haslett-Marroquin
Additionally present: Simon Tyler, Rebecca McMullen, Danny Dobrow
3. Approve Agenda
Motion to approve: Jan Rohwer
Second: Lisa Malecha
Motion passed unanimously.
4. Approve Minutes of June 10, 2010
Motion to approve: Joan Rohwer
Second: Lisa Malecha
Corrections made
Motion passed unanimously.
5. Speaker's Corner: None
6. Consent Agenda: None
7. Reports
(a) Finance Committee and Financial Report given by Simon Tyler and Rebecca McMullen
Board Expenditures Comparison Report; review hiring process and available funding; artist-in-residence funds.
(b) Board Chair Report: Status of Board Election Process
Deadline for advertising is August 26. Joe will send the information to Todd Thompson to deliver to the places designated in our policy.
(c) School Director Report (see full report at the end)
i. Enrollment and Waiting Lists
ii. Curricular Initiatives
iii. Staffing Updates
iv. Building Status (see Ryan Krominga’s tech report attached at the end)
v. External Relations (Northfield School District, Minnesota Department of Education, community, etc.)
vi. Professional Development
vii. Status of Academic and Non-Academic Goals
(d) Committee Report:
8. Discussion and Action Items:
(a) Student Handbook (approve at August 24, 2010 meeting)
Board charged to review and give feedback.
(b) Employee Handbook (approve at August 24, 2010 meeting)
Benefits Guide for 2010 - 2011
Board charged to review and give feedback.
Move that Rebecca McMullen presents us with a revised Benefits Guide as per our discussions.
Motion to approve: Lisa Malecha
Second: Amy Haslett-Marroquin
Motion passed unanimously.
(c) Approve Offer of Staff Contracts: Math 0.50 FTE, Art 0.50 FTE, and High School Advisor 1.00 FTE
Move to offer Ryan Krominga a contract for 1.00 FTE High School Advisor and Math duties.
Motion to approve: Jan Rohwer
Second: Lisa Malecha
Motion passed unanimously.
Move to authorize the director to negotiate the hiring of a combination Math .40 FTE and Title position of up to .35 FTE.
Motion to approve: Lisa Malecha
Second: Jan Rohwer
Motion passed unanimously.
Move to authorize the director to proceed in hiring a Visual Arts/Media Arts 0.50 FTE position.
Motion to approve: Amy Haslett-Marroquin
Second: Maria Musachio
Motion passed unanimously.
Move to authorize Jan Rohwer to form an Art Committee to formulate a vision for arts in the school, explore grant opportunities and create a working committee that will be a support to all art teachers.
Motion to approve: Tammy Prichard
Second: Lisa Malecha
Motion passed unanimously.
Move that Simon Tyler authorize a $3,000 stipend for technology coordination.
Motion to approve: Amy Haslett-Marroquin
Second: Jan Rohwer
Motion withdrawn by Amy Haslett-Marroquin with Jan Rohwer’s acknowledgement.
Move that Simon Tyler develop a contract with Ryan Krominga in regards to technology for approval at our August 24 meeting.
Motion to approve: Lisa Malecha
Second: Jan Rohwer
Motion passed unanimously.
(d) Approve Director Emergency Succession Plan
The Director is charged with finding a second person to fill the succession plan.
(e) First Reading of Proposed Amendment to By-laws: “ARTICLE VI – INSURANCE, Section 1. The Board of Directors shall obtain and maintain at least the amounts of and the types of insurance up to the tort liability limits under MN Statutes 466 on behalf of any person who is a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation.”
(f) Art committee
(g) Board chair succession
9. Announcements:
(a) August 16: Staff returns for work sessions
(b) August 24, at 6:30 pm: ARTech School Board Meeting
(c) August 25: New Student and Family Orientation
(d) August 31 - September 2: Goal Setting Conferences
(e) September 2: Back-to-school Family Picnic
(f) September 7 First day of school for students
10. Adjourn at 9:10 pm.
Motion to approve: Maria Musachio
Second: Jan Rohwer
Motion passed unanimously.
Director Report August 12, 2010
Enrollment and Waiting Lists
| Grade | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |
| 2010 -2011 Enrollment Projection (as of 8.12.10) | 18 | 16 | 18 | 16 | 25 | 13 | 23* | 129 |
| Waiting List for 2010-2011 | | | 1 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 2 | |
Count includes four 11/12th grade students enrolled in PSEO/Senior Classes
Curricular Initiatives
No update
Staffing Updates
- Sarah Hale has resigned to take up a research role at the University of Iowa.
- Ryan Krominga is taking over the role of High School advisor.
- Cindy Thompson, special education paraprofessional, has resigned.
- Hiring is in process for a Math 6/7 plus Title Support teacher, a 0.5 Art Teacher and a paraprofessional.
Building Status
· Under the guidance of parent volunteer Julie Kasten, a group of parents are performing various “fix up’ tasks around the building prior to the start of the new year.
· A computer lab and “tech center” is being created by Ryan Krominga. The server and internet connections are also being upgraded.
· The Great Room floor is being cleaned, treated and repainted prior to the start of the school year.
· The facilities committee is meeting with the landlords in August to begin lease renewal negotiations.
External Relations (Northfield School District, Minnesota Department of Education, community, etc.)
· ARTech has received positive coverage in the Northfield News for improved MCA test scores and for making Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)
· The Boat Project was filmed by the Minnesota Bound production (to be aired next Spring) and also featured in the Washington Times.
· The Young Peoples’ Theater, a six week summer program, used the ARTech building.
Professional Development
· Simon Tyler, Lisa Malecha, Tami Prichard and Joe Pahr attended the MACS/ISES Law Conference.
Status of Academic and Non-Academic Goals
Academic Goal #1
Math: The number of students in grades 6, 7, 8 and 11 scoring proficient will improve from 42.66% to 47.66%
Result: 54.28% proficiency
Academic Goal #2
Reading/Q Comp: The number of ARTech students in grades 6, 7, 8 and 10 scoring proficient in reading will improve from 77.7% to 81.77%.
Result: 75.80% proficiency
Technology Report
We’ve made some updates and additions to the technology landscape at
ARTech this summer. We’ve put a 3-year computer replacement rotation
together for staff computers and replaced 5 staff computers this
summer. There are also infrastructure changes being put in place.
We’ve purchased a new router and will be purchasing faster switches to
add speed to our network.
In addition to the infrastructure changes to the network, we are
adding a computer lab. What was a media arts area is now going to be
a computer lab. There will be 18 computers in the computer lab,
running a terminal system from a new server. We will be working on
creating two media labs for video editing as we move closer the start
of school.
ARTech this summer. We’ve put a 3-year computer replacement rotation
together for staff computers and replaced 5 staff computers this
summer. There are also infrastructure changes being put in place.
We’ve purchased a new router and will be purchasing faster switches to
add speed to our network.
In addition to the infrastructure changes to the network, we are
adding a computer lab. What was a media arts area is now going to be
a computer lab. There will be 18 computers in the computer lab,
running a terminal system from a new server. We will be working on
creating two media labs for video editing as we move closer the start
of school.
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