GEHLEN CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD MINUTES

Thursday, December 21, 2017

The Gehlen Catholic Board of Education met onThursday, December 21, at 7:00 p.m. in the Kolker Library/Media Center. The following members were present: Mrs. Lorie Nussbaum, Mr. Jeff Alesch, Mr. Jeff Arens, Mr. Andy Schmidt, Mrs. Tamara Kramer, Mr. Jim Tentinger, Fr. Matthew Solyntjes, Mr. Dan Goergen, Fr. Dan Greving, Mrs. Cristal Pedroza, Mr. Rick Kellen, Mrs. Anne Oloff, Mr. Mark Kallsenand Mrs. Lori Budden. Members not in attendance included: Fr. Bruce Lawler. Also in attendance wasMrs. Lisa Niebuhr, Mrs. Mindy Scheitler, and Mrs. Christina Kellen.

The meeting was called to order by Mr. Kallsenat 7:04 p.m. Opening prayer was held.

There was no one present for Public Forum.

It was moved by Mr. Arens and seconded by Mr. Schmidt to accept the minutes of the October2017 School Board meeting. All Board members approved and the motion carried.

STANDING REPORTS

Principal -

  • Neither Mrs. Nussbaum nor Mr. Alesch had anything to add to their reports.

Development –

  • Mrs. Niebuhr added that with the tax reform bill, the Development Office has had several people inquiring about making gifts/pledges prior to year-end.

Finance –

  • Mrs. Scheitlernoted that they had a conference call with Williams & Co. The year-end financials have been completed. The financial statement shows a loss, but that is due to capital improvements that were funded internally. All in all, last year was a good year. They are currently working on the budget.

JClub-

  • Nothing to add.

Fine Arts Boosters-

  • Nothing to add.

Technology –

  • Nothing to report.

Chaplain –

  • Nothing to report.

SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS

Catholic Identity –

  • Did not meet.

Academic Excellence –

  • Went over fall data. Will submit written report next month. Kids are struggling in reading, so they are working to address those challenges in elementary.

Buildings & Grounds –

  • Put flashing & downspouts on gutters in back gym. Hoping that will fix the water getting into the Honduras storage room. Waiting for the architect to get back to them about the cafeteria addition.

Enrollment Management –

  • Did not meet.

Governance –

  • Will be sending the Tobacco-free Environment Policy and Constitution/By-laws out for initial review.

Personnel –

  • Going to communicate via email to define their committee.

OLD BUSINESS

  • JH SB/BB – Mr. Alesch is contacting colleges to look for coaches. He noted that he believes we could lose some potential Spalding students if we drop this program.He will send out background information to parents so that they understand what has all been discussed this far.
  • Subcommittee New Members – Rick Kellenis now on Governance. All other new members are on committees, except Mr. Goergen.
  • JH Sports – Other teams & tournaments – Update – Mr. Alesch & Mr. Schmidt met with Adam DeRocher, Rick Logan, and Rick Fox. They were going to form a subcommittee, but Mr. Fox has dropped the issue a bit. It has been tabled for now. Mr. Schmidt does believe that the policy needs to be looked at and possibly revised to more accurately lay out the intentions. All agree that the policy can’t be changed this school year, but should be revisited prior to the next school year.

NEW BUSINESS

  • Band Trip Proposal – Was approved in November via email.
  • Cafeteria Naming – Mr. Alesch noted that they have not received anything back from the architects at this time. They currently have $149,012.80 earmarked for the cafeteria renovation. That does not include $50,000 from another donor, or another $50,000 that is unrestricted at this time. The Development Office received a gift of $12,000 from Northwest Bank, which is marked for cafeteria renovation or elementary bathrooms. The naming of the cafeteria has been tabled.
  • Negotiations – Mr. Schmidt and Mr. Kallsen met with the teacher negotiations committee. They had several questions that Mr. Schmidt and Mr. Kallsen have looked into. They may need some assistance in coming up with some of their other answers. They plan to have everything ready by the 2nd week in January, along with follow-up with Fr. Lawler in the next few days.
  • Prom Costs – Mr. Alesch had emailed school board members prior to the meeting about a request from the parents planning prom to decrease the cost of prom from $50 to $25 due to an excess amount of funds currently in the prom account. 5 members had responded that they would like to see the cost go down to $35, while 2 said yes to $25. Mrs. Scheitler noted that there is currently $12,000 in the prom account. In the last 4 years, they have gained roughly $2,200 every year. Mrs. Niebuhr noted that the meal will cost more this year due to Timmy’s no longer catering. We will have to pay for some items that were covered as a “donation” by Timmy’s. Mr. Arens made a motion to approve lowering the cost of prom to $35. Mrs. Oloff seconded the motion with all Board member approving and the motion carried.

Closing prayer was held and the meeting was adjourned at 7:48p.m after a motion by Mr. Tentinger, which was seconded by Mr. Arens with all board members approving.

Christina Kellen

Recording Secretary