WESTERN MENNONITE SCHOOL BOARD OF DIRECTORS Equipping Students for a Life of Faith & Learning
Monday, April 27, 2015 Present: Bob Baker, Linda Dibble, Chad Hochstetler, Eric Martin, Jerry Roth, Allen Schrock, Stan Oyer, Delvin Zook Staff:
Zig Derochowski, Robby Gilliam, Paul Schultz
Absent:
Cheeri Barnhart
Opening: Linda Dibble A. General Session 1. Devotions: Delvin spoke about events happening in our world and is thankful for a school that wants to stand on biblical principles. He read from I Timothy and ended this time with prayer. 2. Consent Agenda: Minutes accepted as presented. 3. Head of School Report: Paul Schultz Zach Nicoli has been affirmed as the Foundation Representative on the School Board and has accepted, but is out of the country at the moment. 4. Principal Report: Zig Derochowski Zig explained that the deadline to apply for the state competition at GFU was not met this year. 5. Director of Advancement & Finance: Robby Gilliam The list of prospective students is growing. The advancement team is beginning to work at a rapid pace to concentrate on admissions. The phonathon is estimated to bring in at least $20,000. Paul stated that it is important to expand our donor base and it may be time to consider inviting non-Mennonites to be on the Board to gain a larger pool of invested people. Robby’s goal is to have new people giving donations. It may be time to also look at policies that haven’t changed over the last 30 years to keep up with our evolving culture. Robby also would like to reduce the need for contributions to $400,000 yearly. The only way to accomplish this is to increase tuition revenue. The board congratulated Robby on his great basketball season and winning the Coach of the Year award! 6. Board Development: Linda made an executive decision to postpone board development until the beginning of next school year since it is late in the year. 7. Strategic Planning Report – Eric Martin The Strategic Planning team met on Wednesday and is recommending that the Board move forward with Rich Gerig’s proposal to work toward a campaign. Rich recommended a retreat in the fall to consider his suggestions. Consider a site away from campus that would be low-cost, such as a local church. Robby was asked to move ahead with planning for a time for the Board, Foundation Board, Administrative Team and the Finance Committee to meet after the auction. 110
8. ISM Recommendation – Zig Derochowski Zig shared about what is needed to move ahead with the goals we have set. It is a place to start to plan and give targets to work toward. Zig shared the success that Sarasota Christian experienced with the ISM Markers. 9. Action Items: a. ISM Leadership Proposal: After discussion a motion was made for Robby and Zig to move forward with exploring ISM Markers and to bring them to the Board each month. The motion carried. b. Approval for Funding of Mission & Vision Retreat: A motion was made to approve funding for the mission and vision retreat. It was seconded and after discussion the motion carried. This retreat could involve 40-50 people. c. Chad Rush’s wife, Rory, has been hired to do a plethora of jobs. She will be combining several jobs; Sara’s job, Renai DuBois’ position in food services and helping in the advancement office. She and Chad will be living in the apartment that Robby and Sara lived in. d. Approval of the 2015-2016 Budget: The budget will not be finalized until August. There was a motion to accept the preliminary budget for 2015-2016. There was a second and the motion carried. e. Recommendation from SPC to add a faculty member to the Strategic Planning committee. Everyone was in favor of inviting Dottie Kamilos to be a part of the Strategic Planning Committee. f. Mini-term proposal: It is difficult to find male and female chaperones for each mini-term. Zig is proposing that mini-terms cease to be overnight except for the senior trip and for mission trips. Plans would be made ahead of time and mini-terms would be billed at the beginning of the year. After discussion, a motion was made that all mini-terms with the exception of the senior trip and mission trips need to be day time only. There was a second and the motion carried. 7:53 Staff dismissed B. Executive Session Next meeting date: After discussion it was determined to move the next board meeting to Tuesday, May 26 since the 25th is a holiday. Next board meeting: Tuesday, May 26, 2015 Dora Ivanitsky, Recording Secretary
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