Board of Trustees Meeting

William Allen* / Linda Aristondo
Sara Berman / Andrew Suzman
Dan Cohen / Michael Walrond
Giovanna Delucca*
David Gedzelman
Basil Smikle
Linda Tarry-Chard
Celia Wickham

February 8th 2017

6:30 PM

147 Saint Nicholas Avenue

New York, NY 10026

Minutes

Trustees Present Trustees Not Present

*via video conference

Also Present

Meghan Barrios, Associate Director for Hebrew Public

Jordan Grant, Associate Director for Hebrew Public

Robin Natman, Interim Head of School

Natasha Pallan, Co-chair of Harlem Hebrew PO

Judith Turner, Co-chair of Harlem Hebrew PO

8 HH Parents

1. Call to Order

Sara Berman called the meeting to order at 6:41 pm.

2. Adoption of Agenda (s)

Sara Berman made a motion to adopt the February 2017 agenda. Basil Smikle seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

4. Approval of Minutes

Sara Berman made a motion to approve the January 2016 minutes. Dan Cohen seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

5. Leadership Report

Ms. Natman updated the board on, developments in instruction and preparation for state testing in the spring (Ms. Grant further elaborated on this point), enrollment efforts and successes for the 2017-2018 school year, the backfilling of grades 3, 4 and 5 for the 2017-2018 school year and upcoming parent-teacher events. Mr. Rosenberg updated the board on scoring data and increasing diversity amongst the student body.

6. Construction Update

Elyse Piker updated the board on developments in the school’s ongoing construction project.

7. Committee Reports

a. Executive Committee

Ms. Berman reported that the Executive Committee met by phone on Monday, February 6th. The committee approved the agenda for this meeting.

b. Finance Committee

Mr. Cohen reported that the Finance Committee has been working regularly to approve expenses of $5,000 or more byemail. On January 30, 2017, the committee met by phone and voted to recommend that the Board accept the financial reports as of December 31, 2016.

8. Board Actions

a.  Motion to accept the financial reports as of December 31, 2016

Ms. Berman made a motion to accept the financial reports as of December 31, 2016. Mr. Cohen seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

9. Public Comments

An HH parent, asked the board for information about testing data, new after-school programs, progress in the search for a permanent Head of School. Mr. Rosenberg explained that all this information would be presented to the parents at future board meetings or as it became available.

Another HH parent, expressed his approval and appreciation at the way the HH community came together after the tragic death of a 4th grader.

A third HH parent, mentioned her desire for a HH parent to be added to the school board. She also asked if a fallback plan had been created should a closed street proposal by the school for student recess was ultimately not approved by the city. Mr. Rosenberg mentioned that a fallback plan and proposal for the introduction of a parent onto the board were both in the works and would be shared at an upcoming board meeting.

10. Staff Comments

None.

11. Parent Organization Comments

Ms. Pallan, Co-chair of the PO informed the board of progress being made to diversify the PO membership, PO assistance in the re-vamping of the school website, PO structure research and efforts to attract new vendors for the after-school program for the 2017-2018 school year.

12. Executive Session

Ms. Berman made a motion to go into executive session to discuss a personnel issue. Ms. Tarry-Chard seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

Ms. Berman made a motion to go out of Executive Session. Ms. Wickham seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

No votes or actions were taken during this time.

13. Adjournment

Ms. Berman made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Cohen seconded and the motion carried unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 8:44 pm.