St. Agnes School Advisory Council Minutes - August

August 27, 2013

6:30 p.m.

 Roll Call:  The meeting was called to order at 6:37 p.m.  Present:  Jessica Preister, Layne Schulz, Deb Gapp, Fr. Fischer, Kathy Crowley, Becky Thomas and Darla Hamm.  Wes Christensen was absent.

Approval of the Agenda:   Jessica moved to approve with the addition of Board Members to Old Business, Deb seconded.

Approval of the Minutes: Darla did not get the minutes completed; she will have them ready for the September meeting.

Principal Report:  Mrs. Hamm reported that the enrollment is 98 for K-5, and preschool is 46.  The Campaign for St. Agnes Kick-off will be held on September 11.  The first fundraiser will begin on September 18. 

Teacher Report:  Mrs. Crowley reported that everyone is off and running.  Preschool is learning routines and expectations.  Kindergarten will go to the first half of mass this week.  1st grade is working on counting and adding on.  2nd grade read their first reading story and will have their first spelling test.  3rd grade made a power point for Open House tonight.  4th is learning about the regions of the U.S.  They will be learning how to serve next week.  5th grade is excited about their AR reading logs.  

Red & Gold Report:  Mrs. Thomas reported that they made about $18,000 plus between June and July.  They had 72 kids this summer.  This fall there are 47 K-5 students and 33 preschoolers, they average 55 kids a day.  They will start a student summer planning committee, to meet kids’ interests.  She wants to work on staff development this year. 

PTSA Report:  PTSA has not met.  Their next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 3, 2013.  Maggie Burbach and Grant Sorensen are Co-presidents this year.

Financial Report:  Jessica passed out a copy of the budget actuals from 2012-2013.  Despite the addition of the portable and the expenses that went along with that, there was more income then expenses at the end of the year.  Jessica will talk with Gail about receiving a reconciliation report for the end of the year.

Old Business:

·        Final Budget for 2013-14: The tuition needs to be reduced by $3,713.01 for uncollected tuition.  The new amount for #3231 will be $181,970.16.  The income and expenses will then zero out, in order to building in a percentage for tuition that will not be collected.  The board decided to lower the tuition in the line item so the income and expenses will balance out.  Jessica moved to approve with the changed noted, Deb seconded.

·        Tuition Assistance:  So far 11 families have applied (16 students) for a total of $19,380.  This is quite a bit higher than last year, but Fr. John stated this is a good thing because then we know we are fulfilling our mission and helping those who need it.

·        Board Members:  Layne Schulz gladly accepted his role as president.  The board members will recruit another board member to begin next month.

New Business:

·        Diocesan Policy regarding the Governance of Schools:  Darla passed out the letter of Decree from the Bishop along with the new Governance Policies for the Schools in the Diocese.  The first thing that is needed is to make a change of the name from St. Agnes School Board to St. Agnes School Advisory Council.  The member will review the policies and compare them with the current by-laws and get any suggested changes to Darla.

·        Dakota STEP Test Results:  The results for the Dakota STEP Test from the spring are as follows:  3rd grade (18 students tested) 94% proficient or advanced in reading and 83% proficient or advanced in math; 4th grade (13 students tested) 100% proficient or advanced in reading and 92% proficient or advanced in math; 5th grade (12 students tested) 100% proficient or advanced in reading, 92% proficient or advanced in math and 83% proficient or advanced in science.  This will be the final year of the Dakota STEP Tests, as the state will be piloting the Smarter Balanced Assessment in the spring.  The assessment will be all on-line; it is a computer adaptive test.  Anyone can find out more information or take a practice test by going to smarterbalance.org

·        Committee Sign-up:  School Board members signed up to help with different committees.

Executive Session:  There was no need for executive session

Adjournment:  The meeting was adjourned at 7:35 p.m.

The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 17, at 6:30 p.m.

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