May 3, 2017

  • 1May 3, 2017 4:00 pm

    Time: 4:00 pm
    Place: BCS/BCSF Board Room – St. Pat’s

    Present: Ken Frazier, Chair
    Karen Fagg, Vice Chair
    Carlos Arce
    Leo O’Brien
    Mary Susan Fishbaugh
    Ashley Harada
    Ryan Huppert
    Brian McGovern
    A.J. Miller
    Bob Cerkovnik
    Alex McCready
    Shaun Harrington, BCS President
    Jan Haider, Foundation President
    Kaitlin Overton, Finance Officer
    Kathy Harris, Marketing Director
    Shel Hanser, Principal BCCHS
    Deb Hayes, Principal SFP

    Opening Prayer: Leo

    Approval of Minutes: Vote: Brian made a motion to approve the School Board minutes from April 5, 2017. Bob seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously.

    Vote: Bob made a motion to approve the School Board minutes from April 19, 2017. Alex seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously.

    Foundation Update: Mayfair: Mayfair starts tomorrow. A truck has been rented and volunteers scheduled for moving the items. There are 55 tables sold which is down from last year at 62 but they may still sell more. Darren from the Diocese will be at Mayfair to talk to anyone with concerns about the Diocesan bankruptcy.

    Tours: The priest were given a tour of the St. Francis School and another tour was given today. The first layer of sealer has been put on the gym floor. It cannot be walked on for a month. The siding has not arrived and the fence that is in front of the building now will be taken down when construction is complete.

    Business Committee Report: MONTH ENDED 3/31/2017
    Statement of Financial Position: Cash and cash equivalents are $1.8 million which is down about $250,000 from prior year. Current assets are $2.5 million which is down about $75,000 from prior year. Current liabilities are $2.1 million which is up about $57,000 from prior year.

    Cash and cash equivalents change is due to many of the same factors effecting net income including excess spending for BCCHS boiler and iPad program. Tuition, parish and bus receivables reduced in the current month by payments received. A/R BACET consists of February and March credit card statement. Other A/R is mainly due from BCCHS activities fund for credit card activity. Tuition receivable is about $136k higher than previous year. This is mainly due to more families participating in payment plans this year and the use of Smart Tuition to facilitate direct deposits.

    Accounts payable is lower than last month however there are some March bills that have not been entered including the credit card bill has not been entered (less than $10,000). We started receiving registration fees for 2017-2018 school year at the end of January. These receipts are being coded to prepaid tuition and registration fees in the current liability section.

    Statement of Activities: Revenue before special projects is $4.6 million which is about $14,000 higher than prior year and $7,600 under budget. Expenses before special projects are $4.8 million which is about $181,000 higher than prior year and $7,600 over budget.

    Tuition and registration fee revenue is about $45k over budget. Revenue before special projects being under budget is mainly due to the following revenue sources being under budget, other fundraising, rental income and preschool revenue.

    Technology expense and plant operations and supplies are over budget by $42k and $19k respectively.

    Cash Flows: Tuition revenue, registration fees and interest income received for the year is over $3.7 million. Cash paid for Dorothy Porter, Mayfair special project and Gergen for the year is nearly $393k.

    Our cash flow from iPad repairs and the rental property for the year is negative.

    Board Discussion of Financial Report: A board member as if the boiler expense at the high school had been capitalized. Kaitlin and Leo responded that it had not be capitalized. They expected this to be an audit adjustment next year.

    Kaitlin reported the Fortin Foundation grant invitation was overlooked last summer (2016-2017 grant) but will be applied for the upcoming school year.

    Additional Comments from Business Committee Meeting: This is the last year for approximately ½ of the iPads in the school system and the technology committee is reviewing options for replacement. Kaitlin reported that the cost of an iPad has gone down. They were $350 for full-size and the minis. The full-size is now under $300. This will result in lower payments when schools transition to new iPads in the 2018-2019 school year.

    Vote: Karen made a motion to approve the financial report. Bob seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously.

    Salary Matrix: The Business Committee recommends a 1.5% salary increase for the 2017-2018 fiscal year. That is the base increase. However, teachers with fewer than 10 years of experience will move up a step on the matrix as well so they receive more than the 1.5% increase. The proposed raise will increase the salary expense by 2.7 percent in 2017-2018.

    Vote: Mary Susan made a motion to accept the 1.5% salary increase for the 2017-2018 fiscal year. Bob seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously.

    Catholic Culture Committee: CCC is trying to meet with school staff before the end of the year for a question and answer session. Connecting with all BCS schools will be a challenge because it is so close to the end of the school year. Last week CCC met with SFI and they will be at SFP on the 9th. CCC will try to meet with some of the staff at SFU and BCCHS before school ends. CCC has been focusing on the Catholic bench marks and requested feedback from the teachers.

    Marketing/Enrollment Report:
    Website: Kathy presented an informative demonstration of the new website. Information will go out to the parents on using the new website. The website is set up to be mobile phone compatible. Jen DuVal will manage the calendar of events on the website.

    Enrollment Numbers: The pre-kindergarten numbers are calculated separate from the Kindergarten through 12th grade. Pre-kindergarten has 80 students registered, St. Francis has 513, and the high school has 252. There are 89 graduates and the 8th grade going into the high school has 67 students. The smaller classes will impact the high school enrollment until the current 4th grade graduates because they are all small classes.

    There will be a minimum of 3 exchange students this year and there is a possibility of more. The Vice President of Huaren Immigration Services will be visiting BCCHS. The comment was, ‘if they are impressed with Billings Central they could fill the entire proposed 34 room Sacred Heart Center project.’ The exchange students are all high school students.

    President’s Report: Mayfair Donation: Shaun reminded the Board members of the Mayfair donation.

    Moving Plans: BCS will rent “Go Mini” storage units for the move to St. Francis. The units will be delivered on May 22nd to each elementary school so the teachers can start loading their boxes of teaching materials, file cabinets, and other classroom items. On June 9th, the units will be taken to a secure storage facility and stored until they are taken to St. Francis when the school is ready.

    A separate storage unit will be delivered to the daycare and pre-school which is moving the week of June 5th through the 9th to SFI. The units will be unpacked in time for the summer program. Shaun is working on the paperwork and logistics with the state and A&E to get SFI licensed as a daycare. He will meet with the Sr. Pius representatives about the fence.

    Dumpsters will be delivered to each elementary school on May 26th and emptied as necessary while the cleaning process takes place.

    Closing of Buildings: The staff is wanting to close the current buildings with dignity and respect. There are tentative plans for a “progressive dinner” going from one elementary school to the other and possibly ending with a BBQ at SFU. The event is planned for Wednesday, May 31st. There is a time capsule at each building and the plan is to recover them and have a display. Details have not been worked out and any ideas are welcome.

    Scheduled Faculty Meetings: Shaun scheduled faculty meetings with the K-8 teachers to discuss the moving plans and address questions. Some of the discussion will be:
    • The Diocesan bankruptcy and how that may affect the schools
    • Standards based grading for next year
    • Moving plans and instructions
    • Teacher placement for next year

    Graduation May 28th, 6:00 pm: It is important to have Board representation at graduation. There will be enough chairs placed on the floor for any Board members that will not be sitting with family. It is important that the exact number so please RSVP by May 25th.

    Teacher/Priests Tour Of the New School: The K-8th grade teachers have all had the opportunity to see the new school and were told which room will be theirs. The staff was very excited as they checked out their new classrooms.

    Shaun and Jan gave the priests a tour of St. Francis and they offered some advice on matters related to the chapel.

    ACE Gathering: There will be an ACE gathering at Karen & Russ Fagg’s home on May 23rd from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. The School Board, Foundation Board, and the principals were invited.

    New Business: The School Board bylaws are being reviewed and will be discussed and voted on at a future Board meeting.

    Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 5:30 pm to an executive session.
    Respectfully Submitted: Shaun Harrington, Billings Catholic Schools President