Cincinnati Waldorf School Minutes of a Meeting of the Board of ...

Cincinnati Waldorf School
Minutes of a Meeting of the Board of Trustees
July 11, 2011
In attendance: Jack Michaels, Chelsea Green, Chris Evans, Christine Masur, Sally
Noble, Colleen St. John, Dick Alexander, Melanie Meyers, Nicole Gunderman, Evonne
Morales and Sarah Singer-Nourie.
Absent: Maria Schade, Jim Paulsen, Peter Kennedy, Chris Sekley and Amy Wakeman.
Approval of the June Minutes: The Board approved the minutes of the June 2011 Board
meeting as previously circulated with minor changes by Maria Schade.
Introduction of new Board Member: Evonne Morales joined the Board.
Finance Committee:
Chelsea Green read from the minutes of the CWS Finance Committee (“FC”) meeting
held on July 5, 2011 previously circulated to the Board by Maria Schade, Business
Manager (the “Minutes”). Items discussed were as follows:
1. July Cash Flow and Journal Entries: The Minutes stated that some annual tuition
payments for 2011-12 are outstanding.
2. Derby Lease: The Minutes reported that Summit Academy, renter of the school’s
Derby Road property, moved out without notice on June 30. Summit is obligated
under a 5-year lease with two years remaining. Christine Masur reported that
Summit has represented that it intends to honor the lease, which generates
$24, 000 of annual income to CWS. The Minutes state that there is no termination
clause in the lease. Christine asked the Board to consider what actions are
necessary with regard to the building and grounds. She described efforts made to
identify other renters and to secure and monitor the property. Christine reported
that a neighbor reported that someone was entering the red shed on the property.
Administration recommends boarding up the two modulars and the shed. The
Board discussed the current tax incentives for land sales and the benefits of
obtaining an appraisal. Jack agreed to negotiate an acceleration of rental income
with Summit.
3. South Meadow: Jack Michaels reported that he and Jim Paulsen had talked to
Anchor properties development with regards to the property. Jack reviewed the
history of the property and the Board’s actions thereon. The Board discussed the
benefit of placing a sales sign itself in order to save some commission expense in
the case of a sale. Peter Kennedy reported via text that he is researching appraisal
value. The Board discussed the need for continuous monitoring of the physical
state of the property, the impact of decisions with regard to the property on the
CWS Community, and whether the property should continue to be viewed as an
option for a permanent school location.

4. Magic Meadow: The Minutes stated that Tammy Duvall has been hired to manage
the Magic Meadow. She has been working with Maria and Christine on summer
orders for the school to acquaint her with some of the vendors used by The Magic
Meadow.
5. EdChoice Update: The Minutes reported that the 2011-12 Ohio budget has
doubled the number of Ed Choice scholarships available next year and expanded
the list of schools that qualify in the program. There will be a second application
period for Ed Choice scholarships from July 1 st through August 15 th . This means
that anyone who applied for a scholarship in the first application period and
qualified will receive a scholarship. There will be no lottery. We also have at
least one family who is now assigned to a newly qualifying school that can apply
for a scholarship. Christine reported that Karen Crick, the Enrollment Director, is
not accepting any grade school admissions due to an insufficient amount of time
for CWS’ proper evaluation of applicants. She has received one call at the grade
school level. The Board discussed the school’s decision not to advertise with
regard to Ed Choice acceptance but to continue to state on its web site that is a
proud supporter of Ed Choice.
6. End of Year Reports: Christine Masur reported that Administration would like
funds to purchase software and a database management system in order to better
support the Faculty’s completion of year-end reports. Christine to further
research what other schools use and the costs of such product.
7. 11/12 Budget Process Update/Tracker Update: The Minutes stated that the
updated budget with the latest tracker numbers, Little Flower rent increase of
7.3% versus the budgeted increase of 5%, a few personnel changes that affect the
budget resulted in a $20,000 deficit.
8. Extended Care Budget Clarification – The Minutes stated that Carmy Malora (EC
Chair), Cathy Driscoll (former Extended Care lead), Emily Cordray and Natsuko
Dyer (current Extended Care teachers) met to discuss implementation of the new
staffing model for Extended Care. The Board reviewed the proposal splitting the
tasks that were formerly the responsibility of the lead teacher and requesting a
small increase in hours, representing $2,400 increase in expenses, to enhance
communication and cleaning time. The Minutes stated that the FC recommends
accepting the proposal with the approval of the College. The Board discussed the
proposal and voted to approve.
9. Eurythmy Floor: The Board reviewed the quotes for the purchase and installation
of a portable dance floor for the eurythmy room of approximately $20,000
obtained from the Master Floor Company. The FC also recommends that we
obtain two additional quotes for portable dance floors. Melanie Myers stated that
CWS parent Joe Demoe, a person familiar with dance floors, supported the
purchase from the Master Floor Company and was of the opinion that there were
no comparable options. The FC recommended funding this expense through the
line of credit or a combination of the line of credit and the South Meadow money
market account with a current balance of approximately $15,000. Christine
explained that these funds represent the earnest monies paid by Anchor in
accordance with the South Meadow sales agreement previously entered into. The
Minutes stated that the FC recommends that CWS research the viability of the

using the flooring obtained from UC several years ago. If this turns out to not be
a viable option, FC recommends that we sell the UC flooring. Any funds realized
could go toward the purchase of the final eurythmy flooring. The Board
discussed the matter and voted to authorize CWS Administration to make a
decision as to whether to sell the UC Flooring and at what amount. The Board
voted to purchase the eurythmy flooring at the quoted rate from the Master Floor
Company using funds in the South Meadow money market account and after
those funds are exhausted, borrowing for the purchase from the line of credit with
PNC Bank.
10. Financial Review for FY2011 – The Board reviewed the Barnes Dennig (“BD”)
quotes for Financial Reviews/Audits for the next three school years. BD provided
two quotes; one for a review in both 2011 and 2012 and an audit for 2013 and a
second quote for a review in 2011, audit in 2012 and review in 2013. The Board
discussed the need for audited financial statements for grant writing purposes.
Nicole Gunderman stated that, based on the middle size of our school, an audit
every third year should suffice. The Board discussed the options and the benefit
of engaging an audit firm on a yearly basis versus for a three-year term. The
Board voted to engage BD to perform a review of the CWS financial statements
dated July 31, 2011.
11. Audit Recommendation Task List – The Minutes reported that FC is obtaining
several quotes for compilation services, one quote attached. Jim is working on
the accounting policies manual recommended by the auditors as stated on task
list.
Administrative Report: Christine reported that there is a potential candidate for the
position of eurythmy pianist but that no offer has been made. She stated that all but one
self-evaluation had been turned in for the Administration evaluations. The Board
discussed the need for the Board to adopt a policy for the annual performance evaluation
of the Administrative team. Jack agreed to meet with Administration and make a policy
recommendation to the Board at a future meeting.
Faculty/College Report: Colleen St. John, Faculty Chair reported on the status of the
AWSNA accreditation process. The feedback from AWSNA has been positive. We are
expecting an October visit.
Children’s Campaign: The Board discussed strategies that could be used for fundraising
purposes with regard to this fall’s Children’s Campaign. Diversity was discussed as a
case for support. The Board is asked to submit ideas.
Questions and Comments: Sarah Singer-Nourie brought the following comments and the
Board discussed them:
1. The perception of CWS by certain academics.
2. Cresthills Country Club in Amberly as a possible school site. Jack to talk to
Amberly Mayor, Sarah to talk to Cresthills Country Club.
3. Policy regarding performance evaluations of CWS teachers.

The Board then met in Executive Committee.
Respectfully submitted by Chelsea Green, Vice President.