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School Advisory Board Minutes

October 4, 2007

Members Present: Monsignor Mellone, Kathy Kilty, Peggy Mazzola, Andrea Morgan, Tara Roche, Nori Limarzi, Dustin Watson, Robin Tomaselli, Angela Solomon, Dorothy Primrose, John Vittone, Curtis McKay, Tim Breen, Andrew Price

Members Not Present: None.

Recorder: Dorothy Primrose

Order: Order was called by Andrea Morgan at 5:22 PM.

Old Business:

  1. Opening Prayer:

    Prayer was led by Monsignor Mellone based upon a reading from the Gospel according to St. Luke.

  2. Review and Approval of Minutes:

    Draft minutes of the September 2007 meeting were circulated to members for their review. Members were asked to e-mail corrections and/or comments concerning the minutes to Dot, Monsignor Mellone and to Ms. Kilty for approval by vote next month.

  3. Distribution of Reference Literature:

    Lists for voluntary Closing Prayer and Snack assignments were distributed by Angie to members, along with copies of the School Board Constitution, the 2007-2008 membership roster, and “A Board Member’s Prayer.” Copies of the June 2003 School Advisory Board Planning Report and the 2006-2007 School Advisory Board Report were also distributed. Red binders for all materials were provided to board members.

New Business:

  1. Guest Speaker: Mrs. Sampugnaro
    1. Middle States Accreditation:

      Mrs. Sampugnaro presented a comprehensive PowerPoint slideshow, “Renewing the Vision: Planning for Success,” which detailed the process for attaining Middle States Accreditation. The presentation covered numerous aspects of accreditation including but not limited to identification of the accrediting commissions, preparation of planning documents and formation of requisite committees, establishing and measuring goals, self-assessment and site visits.

  2. Administrators’ Reports:
    1. Pastor’s Report:

      Monsignor Mellone communicated a concern regarding the discrepancy between actual and perceived support of the Parish by families receiving in-Parish tuition. Families receiving the in-parish tuition have a financial obligation to support the Parish. Monsignor Mellone noted that approximately 17% of the St. Andrew’s families that receive in-parish tuition have no recordable contribution to the parish. It was made clear that this statistic does not take into account cash payments or other forms of payment with missing family numbers. Father then solicited suggestions on ways to help families actively and regularly contribute to the parish. Members offered and discussed the following suggestions:

      • Having Msgr. Mellone directly contact parishioners to verify the accuracy of parish contribution records, or otherwise, to ascertain reasons for low family contributions;
      • Posting general ads in the Thursday Notes reminding families to use their tithe envelopes to ensure proper credit of payments and;
      • Examining the possibility of offering automatic bank drafts for weekly offerings.

      The last suggestion was entertained by last year’s Finance Committee and by Monsignor Mellone with other pastors but no final decision was made at that time.

      Monsignor Mellone complimented and congratulated Ms. Kilty and Mrs. Mazzola on their monumental efforts toward helping St. Andrews earn its second National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence Award. He also commented on the beautiful award ceremony this week.

    2. Principal’s report:
      1. National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence Celebration:

        Ms. Kilty initiated an enthusiastic and proud discussion of the day-long celebration events and publication reviews following the official award ceremony recognizing St. Andrew’s as a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence. Members shared their experiences surrounding the events of the celebration, opinions concerning the news and television coverage of the event, and views concerning the Award’s significance and impact upon the school’s future.

    3. Chair’s Report:
      1. Maryland Federation of Catholic Schools

        Angie presented a brief summary of a recent Archdiocese of Washington meeting she attended. Angie then gave an informative PowerPoint slide presentation by the Maryland Federation of Catholic Schools Legislative Forum, highlighting the many contributions of nonpublic and Catholic schools to the Maryland public school systems, including the reduction of its financial burden. In addition to citing some of the challenges facing Catholic schools in particular, the presentation outlined some of the benefits of offering nonpublic school options to Maryland residents. A pamphlet from the Maryland Catholic Conference entitled, “Maryland’s Catholic Schools; Continuing the Tradition of High Quality, Affordable, Values-Based Education,” was handed out for review. Members were asked to consider two related web addresses, www.mdnonpubs.org and www.mdcathcon.org, for further interest in legislative action on behalf of Maryland nonpublic schools.

      2. Establishment of Committees

        At Angie’s request, Members indicated their interests, goals and possible initiatives for this year’s Board in order to establish priorities for our mission. Based upon the information shared, Angie will identify new committees needed or those to be reinstated from last year. Following prioritization of the committees, committee chairs will need to be proposed and selected.

Announcements:

  1. Donations to the annual fall Combined Federal Campaign (CFC ) is now accepting charitable donations.

  2. The Faculty School Board Reception will be held at Robin Tomaselli’s home on October 27, 2007 at 6:30PM.

  3. The Next School Board Meeting is on November 1, 2007, at 7:00PM.

Closing Prayer: