General update: Nonprofit Finance Fund is paid off!! Auction was beyond successful, thanks to the amazing efforts of the capital campaign committee.  The financial audit, which was required to close the mortgage, is wrapping up and looks fine.  We will close on the mortgage with Winter Hill Bank later this week or next.  We are about to send out admission letters for next year and also have a long waiting list.

Budget:  Next year’s budget represents approximately a 15% increase.  This is due to the costs of paying our mortgage and the associated costs of owning our own place (utilities, snow removal, etc); replacement of reserves; bringing on third assistant teacher; and repayment of yard loans.  Both the costs and revenue of the afterschool program are projected to go down because participation has been lower than anticipated, and therefore we only need one teacher to stay after school.  If participation rises next year, this will obviously change, but it is difficult to predict in advance.  We project that our total fundraising will go down somewhat because the tree sale/yard sale will have to be held at the new building, which will mean less foot traffic than at the Mass Ave location.  The board discussed the possibility of combining the first weekend of the tree sale with a party/open house for alumni, to hopefully increase sales.

The board discussed bringing on a 3^rd assistant teacher, Paul.  We are legally not required to have this position, since the teacher/student ratio is permissible without it.  However, the third assistant would allow us to expand enrollment to 45 (from 43), and possibly pay less for substitutes.  These factors offset the additional cost to the school.  Also, the day runs much more smoothly when there is a third assistant.  Next year’s budget represents 6-7% increase in tuition.  However, our goal is to have no/minimal tuition increases for the next year or two, since our costs will go down as we pay off the family loans we took on in order to construct the yard. Once the yard loans are paid off, we will start to build up reserves again.

The board voted in favor of this budget.

Yard:  The teachers would like next phase of yard development to be putting in a bike path.  We also want to build a deck off the sliding door so that we can access the yard from the main room, and we would like to lay down sod. We also plan to build a sandbox. Several play structures will be brought over from the old Agassiz, probably during the April workday. We have about $6000 to spend on the yard, so need to prioritize and spend this money as wisely as possible.  The board agreed to consult with an alumni architect as well as our contractor as to whether it is necessary to retain a professional designer to assist with the yard.  The contractor can also assist us with determining the costs associated with the various projects, and advise us as to the proper timing for laying sod.  The board agreed that in general, it will be important to preserve adequate running space, and also that the teachers should drive the design of the yard.

Group updates:  Youngest group is still doing their child of the week unit.  They will be planning a group meeting soon, as well as some kind of spring outing.

Middle group just had a meeting with Richard.  Generally people are happy with how the year is going.

Oldest group is working on building a huge ship.  The kids are all getting along very well with each other and the group has really gelled this year.

Teachers are living in slightly unfinished space.  Hoping to be able to help the teachers by doing a workday soon after the auction.  We are hoping to work on yard and install the tile wall this spring, as well.

Admission

Successful open house.  Many applicants.  Acceptance letters going out in mid-March.  Diversity committee will be formed after the auction.  Outreach to neighborhood (in the form of “tea” at Tracey’s office) is underway.

Enrollment

Currently we have 42 enrolled.  Another child just joined Midddle Group.  Say hi to parents of Alma Barak (Ravit & Boaz).  We are considering issues of class size and placement for next year.

Finances

We have used auction proceeds and tree sale proceeds to pay off the NFF Bridge Loan.  Our mortgage with Winter Hill Bank is scheduled to close on March 17^th.

Staffing

Great news!  We have found a way to hire Paul for the semester and we hope to be able to find room in the budget to make a permanent offer next year!

Group Updates

All the children in all the groups are doing great.  Stop getting sick!  Pediatricians confirm it has been a terrible year across all schools.

Building update

All the wooden floors in the new building have been completed, as well as the first floor kitchen and common room floors.  The flooring on the stairs still needs to be completed, as well as installation of the kitchen.  The final permits (fire, electrical, plumbing, etc) should be done early in the week of October 4.  The final occupancy permit will then follow, probably in mid-October.  We are planning a work weekend painting party for the weekend of 16^th-17^th October, and we may have the occupancy permit by then.

Move

We are planning to move on Veteran’s Day (November 11), which is a Thursday this year and a school holiday.  Lesley is donating vans for the day.  The board discussed whether the move could be done in one day, and decided that it would be wise to keep Friday open in order to complete the move.  We discussed a number of options for that Friday, including taking a field trip, cancelling school entirely, or getting the kids involved in the move on that day.  Ultimately, the board decided that the best option would be to do something similar to what we did during the work days this winter and spring, where a number of parents each host a few children for a play date at their homes.  This would allow more parents to assist with the move.  Tracey will recruit a parent to organize the child care.  This way, we will have Thursday and Friday free for the move, and the weekend to help organize and set up the new space.  We will definitely need parents to assist on both Thursday and Friday.

In order to make a Veteran’s Day move work, we need to begin packing and organizing ASAP, and continue the packing over the next month.  Tracey will recruit a parent to help organize the packing and moving.  Parents who have availability to help pack during the Agassiz school day are very much needed in order to assist.  We also plan to make the weekend prior to the move (November 6-7) a work weekend for packing.

Budget update

Eric reported that the end of last year, we had around $80-100k in cash.  Of this amount, we have earmarked $60-70k for building improvements.  The renovation of the new building will run around $100k over budget, so we will need to take around $30k out of this year’s budget to pay for it.  It would definitely be helpful to have some tuitions paid in advance in order to ensure that we can continue to pay our operating costs this year while also having money for the building.  There is a small discount available to families who pay in advance.  Any parents who are interested in advance tuition payment (rather than monthly) are requested to contact Eric Wirch.

Financially, our biggest threat this year is ensuring that all tuitions are collected in a timely manner.  We still have approximately $20k owed in tuition from previous years.  Given this situation, Eric suggested amending the parent agreement to bring more accountability for families.  The board agreed to add language stating that we will assess a 1% penalty when tuition is more than 30 days overdue.  If tuition is more than 2 months overdue, the family will have to meet with the Executive Committee to discuss an adjusted payment plan. There was some discussion as to whether we should make this policy language stronger by stating what enforcement mechanisms are in place, but the board ultimately decided that Eric’s suggested language provided adequate accountability while still preserving our community’s values.

We should have adequate money to complete the renovations, but will probably have no surplus this year to go toward the yard or the capital campaign.

Fundraising goals and updates

The first capital campaign committee meeting will be held next week.  The committee needs to earn $66k in next six months (by end of March) in order to cover the bridge loan, which is due on April 1.  This is how much was raised over 12 months last year.  The committee has significant leadership continuity this year, so they should be able to hit the ground running. However, the major concern is that we may have already tapped out much of the major gift potential within the Agassiz community last year.

The committee plans most of the same events as last year – a fundraising race, a tile campaign, the tree sale, and approach to potential major donors.  Given the need for funds this year, the board recommends that the committee should organize another major event, which will hopefully raise $20-30k.  This would allow us to devote some of our operational surplus to the yard.  This new event will most likely be an auction.  Legally any money raised now must go to the bridge loan; however, since this event would allow us to put our budgetary surplus toward the yard, we may do a yard-focused event.

Yard

The yard at the new building is currently unusable because it must be remediated for lead.  This means that it must be graded, and new topsoil put down.  We also need to install a fence at least 48 inches high.  The total cost of the yard is estimated at $30k.  We would very much like to have the yard be usable before the ground freezes this winter.  At the very latest, we need to have it done by next spring, which is when the city of Somerville will begin renovating the two playgrounds that are near the new building.

The board discussed options for raising money for the yard, given the fact that we are not permitted to incur further indebtedness without the approval of NFF until the bridge loan is paid off.  The board determined that our first step should be to ask NFF for permission to seek loans from parents.  Should that be unsuccessful, our second option would be to ask parents to prepay next year’s tuition, so we can use the surplus from the 2011-2012 school year in order to pay for the yard.

We also need to get an accurate quote on the cost of completing the yard.  Ben will discuss this with some landscape architects who are familiar with local regulations governing playgrounds.  We also need to get the teachers involved in the design of the new yard.

Other items

• The concert/CD release party is moving ahead for Oct 30th.  This will be a double CD, one of which is child-oriented, one of more general interest.  Costumes are suggested at the concert for both adults and children.  Given the timing of the event, the board suggested that the Halloween potluck be integrated into the concert this year, rather than holding two separate events.
• We will not do the apple picking trip this year.
• Our fall open house in the new building was scheduled for November 17.  Given the proximity of this date to the move, the board advised that the fall open house be canceled, and we only do one open house this year instead of two (most other local preschools only hold one).  The open house will be scheduled for January.
• All is going well in the groups, and children and teachers are settling into the new school year.

Next meeting

The next board meeting will be held on October 21 at 7:30 pm.  All parents are reminded that they are welcome to attend board meetings.

Present:
Tracey Kaplan
Ben Mayer
Janet Young
Josh Safdie
Kathryn Rosenberg
Paul Robinson
Michael Baran
Erick Wirch
Gillien Todd
Kristin Blum

1.       Director’s report

Tracey reported that she submitted the permanent loan application to Winter Hill Bank. We are going through the approval process for a short extension and the permanent loan at the same time.  The bank has the audited statements (08-09), which showed a profit of $91k (half of which is an asset rather than cash).  The bank is comfortable with how the building looks, how its going, and how our finances look. The loan app should be easy.  MassDevelopment has approved their piece and Winter Hill is working with them.
Hiring Committee – Tracey  made an offer to an applicant who said no.  She had taken another position. The position has been reposted and Tracey has some good applications. If anyone knows someone good, they should refer them to Tracey. FYI we have actually hired an OG teacher, April Kierstad, who seems great. She has lots of experience from another local coop & got very well recommended.
Tracey went to licensing renewal meeting – Tracey needs to start the licensing process in late July.  In preparation for that Tracey needs to go through every child’s file to make sure all of the necessary paper work is in there. Tracey may need administrative help with that. Whenever anyone is available they should come in and do that.
The health inspector was here today . She said the current building is falling apart. But raised no serious issues.  Tracey asked her how deep we need to dig in new building to remove soil for it to be safe.  She’s going to find out and get that info to Tracey.
Starting next fall, Agassiz is going to adopt the Somerville school calendar.  Sept 7 will be a professional training day, and Sept 8 is first day.  We won’t follow the early release schedule – there will be no early releases.  Board voted to approve the shift.
Schedule items:  Graduation will be held 6/16 at 6:00pm;  Ice cream social and tile painting party  – July 14th at 6:00pm
Cleaners – Tracey has decided to let the current cleaner go. She is ok, but  not brilliant. One big issue has been that she doesn’t speak any English at all. Tracey needs someone she can communicate with better regarding cleaning products and expectations at the new building.
2.       Staff report

Paul reported that things are going well. Photos were this week. Fun was had by all.  Paul’s last day is June 23rd.
3.       Group Reports

YG – Janet indicated things are going well.  The only special activity planned is a quick field trip to the firehouse.  Three children from the YG will not be returning next year..
MG – Nothing to report. Everything is going well.  The MG may try to have a meeting before the end of the  year.
OG- Graduation is Wednesday, June 16th at 6:00pm . Everyone is welcome.
4.       New building

Josh gave a report on the status of the new building. The recent work weekend was good, and very well attended.  Ben, Joel and Josh created a schedule that they gave to the contractor. They are on track in next 3 weeks to get all of current subs to finish up – electrical, plumbing, fire protection, and get rough inspections.  During the third week June, the contractor will be on vacation, so school would like to hire Joel to work and also have parents come in and do some very picky carpentry work done before Insulation and drywall.
Upcoming work:
Alumni and pro weekend – June 27th
Insulation – week of June 28th, followed by Drywall
Painting – July 10and 11
Josh reported that they pulled trigger today on replacing the siding. He feels confident that there’s enough money to do the siding.  The “Pros” will strip all of the trim, except  the gingerbread details.  The new siding will be Hardiplank with Azek trim. It will be  prepainted. These are  composite materials and shouldn’t need to be painted frequently. The entrance door will be “fire engine red”.
Josh thinks we have enough funds to get in the building and then some.  After that, the school can then decide about the yard work and some other items.
He thinks the building is looking great.  For the alum workday there are 7-8 volunteers lined up, many of which are real “Pros”.   We will also have opportunities for rising families.
Ben indicated that there’s still a lot to do, and some important decision-making for the school.
Some important unknowns  pricing-wise are the fire alarm, the insulation (mixture of open and closed cell),  interior finishes and furnishings.  Finishes can go 50k either direction, depending on what materials are selected. One new Agassiz family is an architect who will help out with planning the kitchen.
Construction budget – as of 5/1 – have spent $130k of construction budget and had $250k to pay out. Several big chunks are committed but have not yet been invoiced.  Budgets for Plumbing-  30k fire protection – 45k;  heat – 22k, electrical – 30k.
5.       Capital Campaign

Gillien reported on the Capital Campaign. There are several capital campaign efforts are underway:
·         Run – $5k in pledges and donations, hoping for $8k
·         Tiles – Hoping for $3- 5k.  Tiles for businesses. – a letter is ready to bring to businesses in the area.  The campaign is looking for volunteers to take letters around to businesses
·         They are looking for 20 people to give $1,000 each, and are thinking it could be a  “word of mouth” campaign:  “4 people signed up, will you?.
·         Contemplating an event –perhaps a  celebration in honor of Richard.  The committee is trying to think of an item that can bring in $30k, and an event is one possibility.
·         Lesley – Tracey reminded the board that Lesley offered “in kind help.”   We have to give Lesley some suggestions. Tracey asked for help from their facilities folks for the landscape work but they use a contractor for that kind of work.  Tracey has requested we think of suggestions of things to ask Lesley for.

Total raised to date: $50,000.  The campaign needs to raise $80 more to pay down the bridge.
6.        New Business –

One question that has come up is how are we getting rid of bottled water of snack.  The plan is for the new building to have a building water filter so bottled water will not be needed.
Kristin asked about the capital needs assessment that she obtained a proposal for.   Tracey and Eric indicated this should be postponed until the fall.
Paul gave a great speech on his time at Agassiz and the opportunity it was for him. He wants Agassiz to continue working with Lesley’s Threshold program.
Kathryn gave an update on the new task force that was created on financial controls, board fiduciary responsibilities,  Board tenure and continuity.  The group is looking at whether the terms are  appropriate — should they be longer for continuity purposes.  The committee is made up of Kathryn, Kristin, Danielle Jankovich, and Jay Rudolph. The committee has met ounce, and outlined some clarifying questions.  They are looking at financial controls, and what are we doing now, and what we should be doing, so its not Tracey all of the time. Perhaps an administrative person, the treasurer, a teacher etc. could be enlisted to help with certain duties so that there is segregation of duties.  Another board Jay is on has goals documents for each position, so there’s clarity for everyone on what are they doing, and what are expected to do and achieve.  The committee is talking to other preschools, and looking at other non profits, and at regulations, to find out what non profit board reporting/could  and should look at. More info on their work will be presented at the next meeting.
Election s -
The board discussed elections of new board officers. Tracey indicated she would post a sign where potential board chairs and co-chairs could be nominated.

5-3-10

Attending:

Tracey Kaplan
Ann Holloway
Ben Mayer
Josh Safdie
Michael Baran
Kathryn Rosenberg
Kristin Blum
Janet Young
Joel Bennett

1. 1. Director’s Report

Tracey reported that she met with the licensor at the new building. She likes it and is supportive.

Hiring – The hiring committee has been active.  Six of seven interviews have been set up for the lead teacher position.  They interviewed current substitute teacher Jason as an assistant (after extensively going over the applications). He interviewed very well.  Tracey reported that the hiring committee and all the staff unanimously voted to hire him, and she was now seeking board approval. Jason is excited about the job and about working with kids. He will be taking a couple more classes and will then be lead teacher certified so he can sub. He is excited to learn from Ann and  Richard.  He is working on a BA in anthropology from UMass Amherst. He also has years and years of nannying experience, which is what he’s been doing full time while finishing his  coursework.  He also has experience doing sports mentoring with 10+age kids.   He should be finished with his  BA by end of summer.  He has offered to take early childhood classes. The board voted unanimously to hire Jason.

Enrollment – Tracey reported that the school is still getting applicants from Cambridge. Tracey think its important to continue to have kids from the Agassiz neighborhood.

The last day of school is June 23 rather than the 22^nd because there was a snow day.

1. 2. Staff Report

Paul would like to be notified if anyone but the parents are picking up the kids, and what time.   The teachers are banning Croc’s, and Flip Flops because they do not provide enough support, and are slippery. Also  children coming in rain boots should, please bring regular shoes to put on when they arrive. Parents should  check cubbies and make sure they are updated with properly sized clothes appropriate for the weather.  Bring sunscreen.  if it would be easier to have more kids using the same brand of sunscreen, Kristin wants to recommend a few brands (no wheat or nuts)  that could be purchased for everyone. She will check with people to see if they are ok with the particular brands.

Graduation is June 16^th.  There may be a breakfast on the last day of school.

1. 3. Group Reports

YG -  had a spring trip to Codman Farm that was great, and a potluck dinner.  YG is planning an end of year meeting to discuss transitions to summer and MG.  Ann reported that she doing a farm curriculum, and will then introduce the kids to artists and painting. They will paint with Annika’s grandmother, work with color wheels, and paint self portraits.

MG – is taking a field trip to the Museum of Natural History tomorrow.  They will be walking there.  There is no meeting currently planned,  but they will try to do that before the end of year.

OG – is doing great. They had a good field trip to the big apple circus.  No meetings are planned.

4. Treasurers report

Erick was not here, so Tracey provided a verbal report.  She indicated that Erick has been really helpful.  He has taken over tuition billing, writing letters to parents who are behind, and alums who are behind.   He is reviewing monthly reports, etc, and the budget.  Tracey reported that the books look good.   She also reported that there is a significant surplus in the operating budget , from savings on utilities, mortgage, and interest (b/c budgeted for expenses as if in new building).  The biggest savings resulted from how the construction loan interested was budgeted, because they assumed interest on the full loan during the project, but the loan hasn’t been fully drawn.  This is resulted in a significant surplus.  Tracey would like to use the surplus at the new building.  Kristin and Kathryn are interested in looking over the budget to actual report for the year to better understand the size of the surplus and how it resulted.

Tracey reported that the audit is happening now for end of last fiscal year (08-09).

5.   Capital campaign – see Kathy Hart’s summary for more details (attached).

Updates on various capital campaign activities:

Fundraising support from the current Agassiz community. There are three efforts underway. 1) team Agassiz –  18 parents are signed up signed up for the 5k run in late June and they have fundraising goals.  This is allowing them to raise money for contacts we wouldn’t otherwise reach.  Twelve are signed up to fundraise and to date have pledges of $2,640. 2) current Agassiz family giving through the monthly Tuition check off. This is underway.

Tile Campaign –  kicking off this week.

Musician CD and Concert – Scheduled for morning of June 5^th The planning committee is meeting. The CD will be released at same time. [UPDATE: the concert and cd release have been rescheduled for September]

On Line Network/constant contact updates. Caroline is upgrading and sending the constant contact update.

Major Donors – One more major donation from an anonymous source was received. They are planning a thank you party on 5/25for those who have given $500 or more. There will be a tour of the new building and a party at the Thompson Brenner house.

Alumni Networks. The Facebook group is growing. There are regular updates, thanks to Lisa Mayer.  It needs more non-child alumni focused content.

Overall, the capital  campaign is about half way there. A payment was made recently on the NFF bridge loan ($54,000).

The Board thought the committee is doing a good job, and liked the diversity of ideas.  They need to make sure that the committee is evenly distributing the work.

6.   New Building

Josh is tracking estimates, door schedules, window proposals, etc. and setting up a system to track the construction budget, what we’ve been billed for, and  what Winter Hill has reimbursed us for.

He reported on the construction budget, indicating that some lines are over budget and some lines are under, but he’s been working to get the prices down to offset where they are over.  Overall, Josh feels like we are on track.   Two-thirds of the work has been bid out.   Finishes (ie floording) have not been bid yet. There are a couple of big items that they are holding off on, such as the siding, which is likely a $30k item.  He wants to make sure first that everything we need for a certificate of occupancy is done.  There are a couple of items that were missing from the original budget, such as the handrails and stair rails, which are a  $15K.  The yard is not in the current construction scope.  The siding decision was delayed to August until we can better see where we are on the budget.

Biggest variables right now include interior finishes, electrical, fire protection, and  understanding better where are with professional fees (Joel has added $15k to what the architects may bill us for)  siding, deck and porch.  The board requested more information on what various contingencies there are in the operating and construction budget.

Timeline:  the contractor has completed a schedule now.  The completion date is projected to be the end of July.  Josh thinks this is doable but tight. The timing depends on a few factors, such as the work weekends,  and how pricing works out for some items.

Yard – The soil tests are back. There is lead in the soil that will have to be dealt with.  We will also need to also build a retaining wall.  Several parents raised concerns about the potential to be in the building without the yard.  Josh would like another group of parents to take on working on the yard, including  planning and  budgeting, etc.  It can’t be done by the fall. There is a potential for a pro bono landscape architect who can work on a plan for the yard.

Next meeting Mon June 7 at 7pm. All welcome!

3-8-10

Attending:

Ann Hollway
Michael Baran
Jenise
Tracey
Josh
Eric Evich
David
Janet
Peter Kochansky
Ben Mayer

Director’s Report
Licensing – Tracey recently  spoke to Charlotte the licensor . She will come see the new building very soon.  She recommends starting the licensing process in the summer for a fall move-in.

Josh was wondering about worst case scenarios – what has to be done in the yard and exterior, etc. to get licensed for a fall move-in. There is lead on the exterior clapboards and in the soil, which has implications down the road and we need to understand how this will impact costs, phasing and move in. Kristin recommended testing the soil ASAP because abatement is expensive and it would be good to know what we are in for earlier. Josh wanted to hold off until it comes up for licensing. Tracey reported that licensing requirements are stringent and absolute. She says they are more stringent than what we would want as parents.

Tracey signed an extension on the loan with Winter Hill Bank (acquisition/construction financing) through the end of June. If the project is still incomplete they will sign another extension.  But they are anxious for us to complete the work. MassDevelopment will close and repay Winter Hill when complete.

Kristin was curious about MassDev closing conditions, whether they would need a certificate of occupancy to close or if they need us to actually move in and be operating.

Open House/admissions –
Tracey reported that there were fewer people in attendance than previous open houses, but that they received more applications than usual. Those who came to OH were serious applicants and would seem like good contributors to the community. The Move doesn’t seem like its putting people off. Admissions committee meeting later this week. Tracey may want to show people the new space before they accept,  on a Saturday morning. She will discuss it with Ed.

Quickbook
The financial records are pretty much up to date. Tracey is still working on reconciling a couple months. Kathryn came and set up recording of loans and make some adjustments. Tracey reported that the books are looking pretty good. Kathryn has been very helpful.

Tracey is planning to send about $53,000 to NFF to pay down the bridge loan. Tracey has been going over the loan documents and they indicate that monies coming in to the capital campaign go to NFF first.  Prepayments will save us interest.  The school has  $155,000 in checking account, and $53500 of that is  from the Cap camp. There are an additional $15,000 in capital campaign commitments.

Tracey has the engagement letter for the accountant to prepare the taxes for the treasurer and chair to sign Hiring Committee

Hiring –
Michael reported that the hiring committee includes all the staff, 3 teachers, Tracey, and 6 parents. They are going to interview the candidates they currently know about, which is 4 applicants for the two positions. If they are absolutely thrilled and think they are best for the position, they will hire them. If not and or if anyone is uncomfortable with the candidates they will post the position.  They are handling it this way to not take up too much of people’s time.

Lesley Lease-
Tracey had talked to Ed about the proposed lease. He’s going to make changes and then it will go back to Lesley.  One change was to the insurance section where they require $10 million liability policy, which we don’t have. Ed will also review the policy.  Lesley also wants $1000 per month for heat. Tracey is inclined to pay them.  She is concerned that would burn bridges. For instance, they may still allow us to use the yard for the tree sale.  Josh thinks they could be convinced to contribute down the road to capital campaign.  Peter agreed that we should ask to extend the agreement through the time we know we need it. Ed thinks we should pay the money.  Board approves paying the money as part of signing a new lease.  The board voted to approve paying the money but requested that Tracey seek the extension through “as long as we need it.”  She also needs them to deal with heat – so the building is not overheated.

1. Staff report – Ann reported that the staff are sick of heat. Other than that they are great.  David recommended a parent campaign to call about the heat.
2. YG -  Janet and Ann says the YG is great.  Ann finally finished the evaluations and will be handing them out later this week. They are building insects, have tents, science area, and are having a field trip later in the spring.
3. MG –David says the MG kids are good. They met with Richard 3/4  weeks ago, and got together for a nice social event. Everything is good. There is a keen interest among the parents in the hiring process for next year.
4. OG – Michael says the OG is great. They are working on countries, artists, buildings, fairytales etc.  Katie is doing fantastic projects, the kids are engaged and they are learning things.Treasurer’s report   – all but 4 families are current on tuition. Two non attending families still owe some money and are being sent letters.   Tuition payment pledges total $1161. Eric is interested in revising the deposit to be a full month’s tuition, to make it easier for bookkeeping and to avoid confusion involved in current system. There was a very long discussion about late fees for late pick ups because some families are consistently late. There are also people who linger after pick up. Tracey says its an old problem.  She is going to give written warning, and then implement the late fee policy.  Tracey’s is going to write a letter asking people to respect the rules, and take conversation out side. It is hard for the teacher s when  kids aren’t being  supervised by their parents who have arrived to pick them up, and play in areas already cleaned and set up.

Next year afterschool will be offered  4 days.

Budget –
Eric presented the budget. The board requested increases in repairs and maintenance, and replacement reserves. Kristin will provide some names for capital needs schedule consultants.   Kristin also recommended that we review the loan docs for any net income covenants. There was much discussion on the budget. The board approved the Going with recommended tuition increase of 4% with 20,000 in net income.   Eric will circulate the revised budget. Board approved based on what he presented.

Capital  campaign update: (Michael read Heather’s report). A few highlights:

• Team Agassiz – people participating in Charles River Run/Walk. Everyone who is running is shooting for $1,000 each, which seems reasonable.
• Tuition check off pledges of  $1161
• The committee was considering a fundraising drive timed with the tax season but there is discussion on this. Capital campaign wants to pledge 1% of their income to Agassiz. They are having trouble getting people to meet to actually discuss this. Tracey is concerned that current families are tapped and already working hard.  Eric recommended that we suggest 10% of their tax refund which seemed like a lighter request.
• Musician’s CD and conert – working on a CD (Andrew) getting musicians and recoding time. Then will have a concert, had been shooting for 5/1 but will need to change the date.
• Developing support from major donors. The committee has identified some major donors and are working on outraech. Tracey has some phone calls to make. David said the Life is Good people live near here and buy a tree at the tree sale every year and could be engaged.
• They are seeking out mailing addresses for alumni, but it has been difficult. The Facebook group is almost ready to launch. Seth and Donna are putting together an alumni event, and there is some talk of an alumni workday at the new building.  Ben thought not needed for a labor point of view but could do as a fundraising opportunity.  Janet was wondering how easy it was to raise $$ from actual grown children alumni. Heather has contacts and is finding them through facebook, which seems like the way to do it. Message” rejoin community you were once part of”…
• Tile campaign – working on that, $250 each.
• Grants – Kathy Hart has found one possible grant.
• Family that was the raffle committee has left, need a new raffle coordinator. They need someone new to run the raffle.
• Jenise is working on a fundraising letter to go out in Constant Contact.

Relocation update –
The lumber delivery was today and  the framers start tomorrow. They are buttoning the building up, and fire protection work is starting. The  steel has been fabricated and firecoated.  Josh is working with the builder to refine the plumbing scope and budget.  They signed contract with the lift installer (under budget). They have a  quote for the roof . Now that the framers are back Josh should be able to get a schedule from the builder.

The work weekend was described as “Great, great, great.”  Everyone showed up. They overestimated the amount of child care. Shona will check in on the right number for next time and reallocate child care people to site helpers. The building committee meets tomorrow at 4:30. Ben, Joel, and Jeff picked up big piece of the load that Josh was shouldering, which was a relief.

Eric, Tracey and Josh met about the construction budget and feel they have a good handle it —  what’s been spent, how earlier funds were accounted before (there had been a mixing of operating and construction monies) .There is additional money available so there is a reserve, which is outside of the construction budget.

Unknowns on the construction/relocation:  The schedule and when we’ll be ready to move. The exterior of the building is an unknown area (Tracey said the outside can be done at some other time, but josh wasn’t certain that was best).  There are some outstanding issues with the City but the builder, Josh and the architect are working on those.

Action Items
Review Mass Dev closing conditions – Kristin

Present:

Directors Report

Enrollment – Tracey reported received a lot of applications for next year, including from some neighbors of the new building. There have been many inquiries about the open house on February 6.

Licensing – The state licensor came out visited the new building a while back. She thought there was plenty of space for increasing the number of kids if needed. For the initial move we will be keeping the same # and configuration. The licensor is excited and supportive of our move. Tracey will be taking her back again and will get familiar with the full process to license the new building.

Backup/financing info – Tracey is still working on recreating the financial data that were lost in the break-in.  She may want help down the road but is working on it herself at the moment. Kathryn reported that she knows QuickBooks and can help. Questions were raised about internal control processes (division of responsibilities for fraud and accountability purposes), and there was a discussion of the increased importance of financial management and oversight now that the school has taken on loans and increased its financial risks. In the meantime, Tracey is doing manual back ups of the data, and will sign up for Quick Books back ups or another on line back up system once the data is complete. Eric indicated he can set up the off site back up for Tracey.

This would include more regular back ups of the financial and school data (which can be done on line but should also be backed up and perhaps retained by a parent job). Tracey raised concern about increasing responsibilities of parents. Josh recommended that more jobs have written job descriptions so its clear what people should be doing.

The board decided to create a new committee to review and work on creating formal processes and policies and board structure to create a longer term commitment for the Treasurer and other Executive Committee members.   Kathryn, Michael, Eric and Kristin volunteered but this will be opened up to the community as well.  Tasks will include looking at board structure and continuity, review of financial policies and procedures, and making recommendations to the board on necessary changes.

Tracy is looking over all of the current job assignments and what people are doing because of the urgency of the work on the new building, to get more people working on that.  A “New Building Committee” has been established which includes Joel, Josh, Jeff Levine, Ben Mayer, Dana Colley, Stephanie Hirsch (working on time tracking, accountability and neighborhood relations) and Shona who as current Community Developer will help arrange child care.

Staff Reports

OG – Katie reported that everything is “functioning”  and that the kids are wonderful. Her current group is a group of funny, engaged kids, asking questions, excited about ice skating field trip, getting ready for graduation, and are all excited about Katie’s birthday the following week.

YG – Ann reported that everything is fabulous. The kids are developing goo d friendships, and playing, and singing.  Evaluations are underway.

X-Day – Ann told the board about the Winter Olympics underway in extended day. The kids all get prizes for trying the various event, and they are enjoying themselves.

Group Reports

YG Coordinator couldn’t make the meeting, so Ann reported that there will be a group meeting in February.  Jackie’s birthday is Valentine’s Day.

MG – MG is having a meeting soon. They are going to discuss ways to amuse the kids during break. Things are super in the MG

Treasurer’s Report

The bridge loan ($131,000) from Nonprofit Finance Fund is due 4/2011 and will be repaid from fundraising.  The school has raised a portion of this so far. The fundraising proceeds should be going directly to NFF& are..

No budget or financial information was presented.

Capital Campaign

Heather reported that the Capital Campaign committee’s goal is to have raised the money needed to repay the loan by October, by the end of their term. They think this achievable. The general fundraising the school has done the past has been successful. Over the past  three years the school has brought in $150,000. The December appeal this year was also successful, raising $41,500. She handed out an update and the ways they plan to raise the remaining amounts and over what time frame.

The committee will be tracking how they are doing and will come back and report on progress and adjust if necessary.

They are currently making an effort  to find kids had gone to Agassiz and their families. They are working on getting names, and creating facebook group. Then they will make a fundraising effort for these people who haven’t been tapped before.

Kathryn has heard from some alum families that they have been asked a lot, they have given a lot and they haven’t seen anything happen (we haven’t moved). She is worried about donor fatigue.

The group discussed other fundraising opportunities:

-        Josh offered to take donors through the space for tours.

-        Patrick is working on applying for grants. Kristin offered to pass along the name of a friend who is a fundraiser for the Elizabeth Peabody House who may be able to give some tips.

-        100 Red Balloons to be sold closer to the move for a parade to the new building. There should be higher prices for business sponsors (some possible bigger sponsors are the school’s bank Cambridge Trust and lenders MassDevelopment and Winter Hill Bank.

-        Tile campaign and possibilities for this.

-        Targeting universities which may make small grants

Overall, about $65,000 has been raised, including $24,000 the tile campaign and $41,500 from the December appeal (which included two large donations totaling $35,000). Josh was encouraged by the progress. Kristin recommended that an e-mail gets posted to Agassiz-General with an update on the annual appeal and overall capital campaign so that the whole school gets updated on the progress.

Website

Lisa reported that there have been just under 2,000 visits to the website since October, with over 900 unique visitors. About 16 people visit per day, half new, half returning.  Average time spent is 2.5 minutes, which Lisa thought was good. Popular places to visit are the pages on tuition, program options, and parent directory.  Forty percent of the traffic is driven directly by our URL, 41% from search engines and 16% from links referring to our site, such as Live Journal and community mom’s blogs.

Joel  asked that a list of board members, board minutes and parent job assignments get posted on the website. Lisa plans to also post teacher bios and more photos.  Parent help substitutes and contact info will also be posted. Many parents were interested in automatic reminders for parent help and snack, but so far this has not been figured out.

Lisa mentioned that there needs to be a discussion of continuity of web administration after Harry leaves the school.

There was also a discussion about the teachers “Chalkboard” postings. Those who are getting them reported that they like them. But Lisa reported that there are only 37 subscribers and she’s not sure its worth it if there aren’t more.  Some people who are subscribed thought they might not be getting the chalkboard postings. Lisa is going to look into this. People who are subscribed but aren’t getting postings should notify her.

Ongoing issues at the old Agassiz

Staffing:  Paul is leaving at the end of June. He is getting married and moving to the Cape.  Katie is leaving at the end of summer. Tracey indicated that there are two subs who have expressed interest in Paul’s position.  For Katie’s position, she has been talking to a candidate familiar to some Agassiz families who may be interested in returning. Those who knew her spoke highly of her. Josh recommended putting together a hiring committee.  Michael Baran, Katie, and Ann volunteered. Eric volunteered his wife Jane.  Joel recommended that this committee also look talk to current teachers about whether they are returning and conduct evaluations. Tracey said that is her job and that she meets with the teachers regularly.

Lease/Occupancy of Church

Tracey indicated that the current lease has been extended verbally but she hasn’t seen it on paper yet. She reported that our lawyer Ed got a call from Lesley asking that we help pay the heat over the winter months because the bills have been high ($1,400 per month). Tracey told Ed that we don’t know what monies we have available right now and she needs time to figure it out and talk to the board.  Mary Lou Batt is coming to see her on Friday. Tracey then went over the history with Lesley, and past discussions for the newer families.   The board’s decision was to hold off on payment until the financial impact can be analyzed (and we need the financial data to do that)

Plan and Schedule to move from church to new building

Construction update:  Josh reported that a condition in the field has held up the project for more than a month, related to fire rating the new stair, and unknown conditions of the old field stone foundation.  As a result the stair can’t be built as the architect and engineer anticipated. There are budget implications (though not quantified at the meeting) for the solution, so its taken a while to find a less costly solution.  Once the engineer’s plan is approved, then the steel pieces for the stair will be ordered. Also from there, the builder will be able to give a detailed construction schedule for the duration of the job.  Josh reported that Ed (the contractor) thinks that construction can be complete in June sufficient for a temporary certificate of occupancy, which would allow for an August move date. Joel indicated that he’s not comfortable with the schedule. Kristin indicated that it was worth having a contingency plan should the move not be able to occur before school begins in the fall, given the pace so far and the unpredictable nature of construction.

Josh reported that the construction budget is tight (though no budgets were handed out at the meeting). The drawings show the minimum scope to allow us to operate as a school in the new building. And there are places we can scale back if needed.

A decision was made by the board to table the discussion around the move schedule until a full schedule was available from the contractor.

Jeff Levine is working on a survey of parents about skills, interests, and availability to work in the new building. This will go out after the schedule is available.  The expectation is that everyone needs to pitch in and have some role (construction, child care, packing, etc.) Joel envisions large workdays and also having opportunities for those interested to come and work other times. Seth indicated there needs to be a more social process to get people connected to the school, create a human connection.

There also needs to be a plan for transition of the construction planning and coordination, as Josh and Joel’s kids are leaving. There needs to be a way to pass these important roles on. Tracey will be identifying leaders to fill this role.

Packing and Moving

A separate committee will be made to cover packing and moving.

The board settled on three committees, and that everyone should have a role on a committee:  New building construction, packing and moving, fundraising.  These will be announced at the General Meeting the following week and everyone will have an opportunity to choose a committee.

Other business

Michael raised the question of February vacation camp with parent volunteers. Tracey thought it would be a liability concern without staff present.

Action items

• Tracey to learn more about licensing the new building and will begin the process soon.
• Convening of new committee on financial policies and board continuity (Kathryn, Eric, Michael, Kristin)
• Set up off site back up of full school data (Eric)
• Agassiz-general e-mail with capital campaign update (Tracey or Cap Camp Committee)
• Web additions: board list, board minutes, job assignments, etc.
• Plan for continuity of website management
• Trouble shooting Chalkboard problem (some subscribers may not be getting) and decision on whether to keep the chalkboard if there aren’t more subscribers
• Convening of hiring committee/posting of available jobs
• Decision regarding if/how much to pay Lesley for heat.
• Survey of parents (Jeff ) ?? are we still doing this?
• Transition plan for construction/new building coordination/leadership.

• Director’s Report
• Staff Report
• Group Reports
• Relocation
• Financial Report
• Capital Campaign
• New Business
• Action/Follow Up Items

Present:

• Michael Baran
• Josh Safdie
• Jenise Aminoff
• Eric Wirch
• Evren Celimli
• Peter Kochansky
• Kristin Blum
• Tracey Kaplan
• Joel Bennet

Director’s  Report

Tracey reported that there was a break in at the school over the weekend and the lap top and a small amount of cash was stolen.  The biggest loss was the Quickbooks financial info which had not been backed up recently.  Tracey has to re-enter everything manually, which will be a lot of work.  She’s in looking into an ongoing back up offsite or will make regular back ups the job of Treasurer or some other parent job.  Several people have offered to help enter the data and the board encouraged Tracey to take advantage of that.  Filing of taxes will be delayed a bit as a result of the missing financial info.

Some good news – an alum family (Wheelers) are excited about the school finding a new building and are willing to help financially. Tracey will be taking them for a visit after the holidays.

Tracey reported that a new YG family will be starting in January to replace Keanu.

Staff report

Tracey reported that “everything is  great”  from the staff perspective and the kids are doing well.

There is now a “chalkboard blog” on the Web, which families can subscribe to. Tracey and staff can post updates, short tweet-type posts.  Josh can post construction updates.  There is a question about whether staff can keep up on it. Tracey wants teachers to post at least once per week.   Parents can e-mail posts to lisa@mit.edu to post items on the blog.

Everyone agreed that Lisa is doing a good job on the website.

Jenise is updating the constant contact list and will be putting out a capital campaign e-mail.

Group Reports

YG had a meeting recently, which the families appreciated.

MG report – They also had a recent meeting. Tracey couldn’t go but heard it was good. Everyone seems happy. It’s a huge class of rambunctious boys, but they are all calm, chilled and involved.

OG – Josh and Michael reported that things are going well.  They had a meeting prior to the board meeting.

Holiday gifts. Each group coordinator should collect gifts.  Coordinators will indicate the suggested donation is $20, but people should pay what they are comfortable with.  The money gets pooled and evenly split between the teachers.

Relocation

Josh reported that work at the building is moving along. The framers have done much of the structural work, including beams, columns, and steel. They just finished adding the 3^rd floor in existing building. Next up is the excavator coming in for foundation for extension, then they will build the stair and lift. Next week they will start the interior partitions.  The GC is there every day. Plumbing and Elevator variances are in process.

There may be another work day this weekend but currently there are no tools and no temporary  power (the city disconnected the temp power). Once there’s power there will be a lock box at the site for tools, so it will be easier to set up “catch as catch can” work days to take care of little things.  This weekend’s job will be tearing up a wood floor.

Josh and Joel indicated they want to find out what people can volunteer  (time  and skills).  Once they know more about what people can and are able to do, it will be easier to assign work and set up work days. Donna and Seth are going to organize people who are interested. Jeff Levine will (with Joel’s help) prepare a survey for people on their interests and availability.

Josh had the first meeting with Ed (GC) about the construction budget. So far the work has been done within the budget.  The GC now has proposals from subcontractors and trades for the next set of work.  The drawings were prepared showing everything we wanted so Josh has to go through and delete some items we can live without  to stay within the budget.  There will no cuts of critical items.

Financial Report

Tracey reported that  revenue and expenses are in line with budget (for school operations).

Capital Campaign –

Jenise reported that last week send a letter to everyone on Agassiz’s mailing lists. The responses are starting to come in. They will be recruiting current families to mail letters to others they may know (families or friends) who may be interested in donating.  There will be an effort to contact adult alumni who may be interested in donating or seeing the current space before we move out. The committee is putting together a reunion for Agassiz alumni.  Finding them will be hard, but they will use the internet, the Cambridge Chronicle, and other press and newsletters in order to get the word out.  There will also be a press campaign early next year to help find alumni, report that the school is moving and to help raise money for the move.   Closer to the actual move will be the 100 Red Balloons campaign of a parade of balloons from here to there.  It will be set up something like 100 balloons at $1000 each for individuals or groups of people to get together and buy balloons or tiles.  They will try to have the alumni classes get together to make tiles for the tile campaign.  They have also been using Facebook causes, and other internet based fundraising.  There are other fundraising websites that so that when a certain task bar is used   a portion of proceeds from online shopping from certain sites will go to Agassiz. There is also a search engine that will give the school a $.01 per search. (more details on this need to be circulated, or I missed them)

One committee member will be reaching out to past large donors. The Committee meets every week.  They are looking for press contacts and possible donors.

The responsibility for sending thank you letters s needs to be assigned, but donors will be thanked.

Joel recommended that the school create a wish list of construction items people could donate used or salvaged (or info people could provide on where to get salvaged items cheaper).

New business –

Joel reported that he loves the idea of the petition, but thought there should be a process for discussing/approving things like this that are coming from the school . The board concurred that people should not  speak for the school without it coming to Tracey or the board.

Tracey reported that the tree sale is going well.   Michael designed new tree stands that are working well.   Michael R. and Gillian are doing a great job .

Michael said there’s not enough social/community development  stuff happening at the school this year, and that there should be more of the past nights out, coffees, and other events.  Michael expressed interest in spring vacation week camp at the school.

Next meeting:  all family meeting in January. Tuesday the 19^th.

Action/Follow Up Items