Pinewoods Montessori School Board
Community Meeting Minutes
August 1, 2008
Board Members Present: Stuart Brown, Beth Daniel, Brian Johns, Earl Lewellyn, Kevin LoGuidice,
Chris Lowry, Angela Parris, Vikki Roy, and Jennifer Sewell.
Parent attendees: Brett Borden, Archie Daniel, Kristi Gatlin, Marnie Ginsberg, Karin Horn, Alexis
Kralic, Hans Lenselink, Alenka and Santosh Noronha, Lisa Porterfield, Gwenn Raupp, Jolene Schira,
Eleanor Stevenson, Lauren Walker.
Vikki Roy introduced the agenda and format of the meeting, in which there would be time for parent
questions and comments following each section, and allowing for any and all questions at the end of
the meeting.
A. Board Membership: Jennifer introduced the four new Board members (Beth Daniel, Brian
Johns, Earl Lewellyn, and Kevin LoGuidice). Two of these members will be filling the
positions vacated by Donna Gilleskie and Marnie Ginsberg and taking over their terms; two are
new positions and the members in those positions will be up for election by the parent
community during the spring election. Jennifer explained that the four members were elected
by the Board in accordance with the school’s Bylaws.
B. Update on new location: Chris reported on the new location at 109 Millstone. Chris shared that
it is a nice open space with lots of light. The demolition is complete (walls taken down, a trench
dug for plumbing to accommodate 2 additional bathrooms). The building permit was issued
this afternoon and the plumbers came to test the pipes today. Concrete will be poured on
Monday and framing will begin on Tuesday. The builder has been very open and willing to
cooperate with us, allowing us to supply sweat equity and materials. The lease was signed on
July 11 and that very night a group of 8 parents worked to remove carpeting, doors, etc.,
lowering the cost by $500. A parent has secured most of the building materials we need as
donations from his workplace (Duke) and he is working to obtain the rest.
Questions:
1. Is the fire alarm in? No it cannot be put in yet. The firewall is being built and they
are doing work in the crawlspace; the HVAC system had to be moved to the other
side.
2. Are the interior walls up? There is only one main interior wall and the bathroom
walls. These have not been put up yet; framing starts Tuesday.
3. How do we explain the delay? We have been waiting on the building permit following
demolition inspection. The builders have committed to working through weekends to
reach our move-in goal.
4. Have we determined a drop-off plan? Board member and parent Earl Lewellyn is an
expert in traffic flow and is in charge of the plan. He reports that he has a list of
students and their classrooms and is working on a schedule. We are anticipating
setting up staggered drop-off times and are also considering an alternate drop-off at
the other side of the playground utilizing the neighbor’s drive. Parents with kids in
different classrooms will of course drop their kids off together. We will not have any
parking at the end of the parking lot closest to the school. Cars will use this space as
a loop for drop-off and pick-up.
5. Have inspections been lined up to ensure timely construction and when will the school
occupy the building? Our builder has given us a move-in date of the weekend of Aug.
15th. This would give us plenty of time to hold an open house and start school on
time. If there is an unforeseen delay and we have to start school a few days later these
days will be added onto the end of the school year. The next four inspections have
been arranged. The building inspector Don Knight has a great relationship with
Pinewoods and has been very supportive and helpful.
6. How long is the lease? We have signed a lease for 2 years with the option to add 2
more years. We also have the first right of refusal on the 1,336 sq ft. adjoining space,
which could be similarly up-fitted to allow for up to 2 additional classrooms.
C. Update on the playground. Jennifer reported on the new playground space. Last Saturday,
Jennifer and several volunteers cleared portions of the property. The playground will sit on a 1
acre lot. It will have lots of shade in warm months and plenty of open space. There is
shrubbery blocking the road view. We are hoping to have gates on two sides. Stuart reported
on the equipment and fencing that are still at the old location. We own these per our lease.
Two weeks ago we asserted our right to our property, requesting directly and through our
attorneys to be allowed to remove this property. We were denied access. We contacted the
Dispute Settlement Center this week to initiate mediation. The landlord has been invited to
mediation and has not responded as yet. We are exploring every option to get our equipment
and fencing back and are also working on a back-up plan as a temporary solution.
Questions/Comments:
1. Have we gone to the press or considered this as a beneficial option? We have tried
throughout this conflict to be respectful and thoughtful. We have taken this option
into consideration but as yet not decided to pursue it.
2. A parent shared the position that the landlord is taking on this, i.e. that either there is no
mold in the building or if there is it is the fault of the school. She explained that the
landlord believes we have breached our contract with them, leaving the building
without paying rent. This parent indicated that Kelco has retained the property as a
form of payment. The board asserted their understanding is that legally Kelco cannot
keep the school’s property. In addition, it is the school’s position that the landlord
breached the lease by not providing space fit for a school.
3. How can the landlord deny access to the outside of the property? The landlord
indicated via e-mail that we will be trespassing if we are found on the property.
4. A parent suggested that it would be prudent to take photographs of the equipment in
case the landlord damages it. The Board indicated that pictures have already been
taken.
5. Has the Board considered calling around for donations of playground equipment? Yes,
the Board has made some calls and is still working on this as a back-up plan.
6. Are there low-cost fencing options, for example similar to the fencing at Camp New
Hope? The Board chooses to have a real fence for safety given the busy road.
7. Is the layout done for the new playground? Basically. We have not decided whether
we will mulch the whole space or selectively mulch around play structures.
D. Financial update. Stuart reported on the financial position of the school. She noted that we
have 58 students enrolled (Chris added that there has been a new enrollment bringing it to 59).
Using the figure of 58 students Stuart determined that the school has a $30-40,000 cushion after
paying for all the expenditures we have encountered. If we fill ½ of the open slots we will have
over $50,000 cushion. We normally enroll 10 students in August. Seventy-two is our capacity
in this space (with 3 classrooms).
Questions:
1.
How is it that we have a cushion? Donations of time and money have helped. We
also have fewer expenses this year with fewer classrooms. Rent is lower than at
the previous building.
2.
Are all assistants coming back? Have all assistants been hired? Chris and Jennifer
are lead teachers for pre-primary and Joanne is the elementary teacher. We are
in the application/interview process for some assistant positions. It is normal at
the beginning of August to not have assistants set.
3.
Did we raise all of the $44,000 we were hoping for? The original building estimate
was $64,000. Due to parent involvement and some updated estimates the cost has
come down to a projected $54,000. So far we have raised over $10,000. The
school has the money in the budget to cover the remaining cost of the up-fit.
E. Question and Answer/Comments (Opened the floor to parents to ask or say anything).
1.
Have we required the owner of the new building to certify it, such as checking the
HVAC, addressing the insects found during demolition? This has been addressed.
2.
There have been e-mails going around from concerned parents. Have there been
changes in enrollment related to this? Most of these parents have given verbal
confirmation of enrollment and we have not received written notification of
withdrawal from them. Correction: We have received verbal and written requests
for withdrawal for 5 children; two followed the e-mails.
3.
Who is the new Board chair? Currently, the Board does not have a chair. Donna
Booth, Vice-Chair, is handling the Chair responsibilities until the Board elects a
new Chair. The Board anticipates electing a chair at the next board meeting.
4.
Who elects officers? The Board elects its officers as outlined in the Bylaws.
5.
When are the general elections for new Board members? In April.
6.
What happened with Sarah Doolittle’s Board position? Over the summer we have
sent out several communications asking for parent volunteers. Ms. Doolittle was
one of 5 parents to offer to join the Board and the Board had elected her to join.
Within days of her election, Ms. Doolittle sent her e-mail out to the school
community. The Board explained its expectation in terms of communication of
grievances, that is, a parent is expected to share his/her concern with the child’s
teacher if the concern is related to the classroom; the next step in the chain of
communication is the Head of School, and if the matter is not resolved by the
Head of School, the parent is expected to then bring the concern to the Board of
Directors. The Board asserted its position that Ms. Doolittle’s e-mail to the
community demonstrated a lack of appropriate judgment. The Board relied on the
Bylaws in determining how to handle this situation. The Bylaws explain the
expectations of a Board member, and Ms. Doolittle’s behavior was outside of
those expectations. The Bylaws also outline how to vote on removal of a member.
Relying on this information we voted to remove Ms. Doolittle from the Board.
Ms. Doolittle will be eligible to run and be elected by parents in the general
election.
The Board went on to explain that confusion about the division of roles has been
part of the reason for parent frustration. The Board oversees the Head of School.
The Board is responsible for long-range strategic planning. The Head of School
runs the day-to-day operations. Montessori.org has documentation about the
roles of Head of School and a school Board. The Board uses this information as
a guide. This structure has been somewhat different over the past few months due
to the sensitivity and the big decisions required related to the situation with the
building. Every decision that has been made through this situation has been done
as a group (Board + Head of School), including the decision to leave the old
property, to sign the new lease, to accept the construction bid, the hiring of
assistants, and decisions about communications with parents. Chris thanked the
Board for their donation of extensive hours to assist her with these decisions.
7.
Is the Board full now? Yes, we added additional positions in response to the Board
members’ need for additional support and to better provide for our Board
committee structure. Correction: The Board amended the by-laws to allow for a
9-13 member board so that the school will have flexibility in the future to meet its
Board membership needs. We are currently up to 11 members (10 are filled and
we have one vacant position reserved for a member outside of the Pinewoods
community). We anticipate that this number of board members will meet the
Board’s current organizational needs.
8.
Lauren Walker noted that the Board has contacted her to inquire about improved
avenues for communication. She explained that she has a 2nd version of the website
ready to go live and has a lot of ideas for it. What are the plans/goals and process for
this? The Board will be establishing a Communication committee at Monday’s
Board meeting. This committee will oversee updating of the website, adding
information and helpful links as well as creating new avenues for parent
discussion. The Board expressed that we understand there has been some
frustration with the amount of communication we have given to the community.
Some parents prefer less and others prefer more. We have worked hard to strike a
balance to meet the needs of the entire community. We ask that if a parent ever
has questions to please ask us these so that we may respond directly.
9.
Parent ideas for the website: add a blog; put up the bylaws and Board member
names and links to Montessori.org. We hope to have a moderated discussion list.
We also plan to have a single Board e-mail address to make it easier for parents to
access us and to recognize communications from us.
Minutes submitted on August 2, 2008 by Angela Parris, Secretary. Finalized and approved by the
Board on August 4, 2008.
Note: After she reviewed the minutes, Stuart Brown (speaker) noted that she did not intend for her
comment regarding Sarah Doolittle's e-mail to be hurtful or inflammatory. She apologizes if the
comment was perceived in that way.