Members 2008-2009
Fr. Gary Regula, Pastor
Chris Klee, President
Lynn Beck, Vice Chair
Kathy Boyle, Recording Secretary
Bruce Lincoln
Bill Mager
Mike Rafford
Lynn Grennen
Joyce Petrowski
Eamonn Ahearne, Past president
Shelley Conner, Principal
Scott Brandt, Faculty Rep
Linda Korwald, Parish Council Representative
Advisory Board Summaries
October 27, 2008
The Board received reports from the Principal, Pastor and Faculty Representative; Development, Finance, Technology, Facilities and Communications Committees; plus updates from the Moms’ and Dads’ Clubs, PTO, and on the strategic plan at its Oct. 27th meeting. The highlights follow.
Principal’s Report. The school enrollment stood at 570 with the budget based on 580. The board reviewed the timeline for the building addition.
Pastor’s Report. St. Benedict’s was in the midst of a financial/internal review that the diocese performs for every parish. The parish fall festival was scheduled for Nov. 14-16, 2008.
Facilities. Stu Rayburn was thanked for his efforts in site plan development. The committee was waiting for feedback from the City of Phoenix on the ball field project. The board was apprised of the two Eagle Scout projects – garden relocation and south baseball field improvements. The Kindergarten canopy had been repaired. Tree pruning was ongoing.
Financial. Scrip revenue was down for the year; possible reasons attributable to timing when the reports were generated and the economy. The Committee was looking at growing endowment fund options and other fund options.
PTO. Everyone congratulated the Harvest Fest Planning Committee for a job well done including Ringmaster Eamonn Ahearne. Financial figures weren’t available for the board meeting but 665 children attended the event (the attendance seemed larger this year than last year). The PTO was searching for a volunteer to serve as Treasurer for the remainder of the school year.
Development. Speakers were set for the various parishes to discuss CTODP. The Annual Giving campaign had reached 1/3 of the goal; announcements in the Bite and teacher newsletters. The committee needed more volunteers.
Mom’s and Dad’s Club. The Moms’ Club had held elections. The next social meeting was November 11th at The Cork Wine Bar –The Promenade at Fulton Ranch at 6:30 pm. The next Dads’ Club event was Poker Night on November 14th.
Faculty Report. Several classroom projects and events were highlighted including the United Nations potluck lunch, saint reports, Nov. 4th voting, cultural fair, community service, and grossest food contest.
Community Issues. Plans were underway to survey recent graduates and parents at an upcoming social event around the first part of January, to find out how well the students were prepared for high school and to receive input for improving SJB.
The discussion/action on the revisions to the Board’s Constitution and bylaws were tabled till the next meeting.
The next meeting was set for Monday, November 24th at 5:30 pm. Please contact President Chris Klee 10 days before the meeting to request an item be placed on the agenda.
SJB Advisory Board Members: Chris Klee, President; Lynn Beck, Vice President; Kathy Boyle, Secretary; Eamonn Ahearne, Joyce Petrowski, Bruce Lincoln, Bill Mager, Mike Rafford, and Lynn Grennan. Ex-officio Members: Father Gary Regula, Principal Shelley Conner, Faculty Representative Scott Brandt and St. Benedict’s Parish Council Member Linda Korwald or Amy Fletcher.
September 22, 2008
The Board received reports from the Principal and Faculty Representative; Development, Finance, Technology, Facilities and Communications Committees; plus updates from the Mom’s and Dad’s Clubs, PTO, and on the strategic plan at its Sept. 22nd meeting. The highlights follow.
Principal’s Report. The Board spent time discussing the awards ceremony and the amount of awards given to students each semester because Principal Conner had received mostly negative feedback from the community. A special task force was formed consisting of Chris Klee, Lynn Beck, Scott Brandt and Principal Conner to review the award process. The Board received an update on the engineering plans and drawings for the proposed campus expansion (4200 square feet of classroom space near the Kindergarten wing) as a contract had been signed with ADM. Before a decision to build could be made, the Board needed to know costs. Positive feedback received on the Partners' Dinner held last week.
Diocesan School Board Leadership Meeting. The Board received valuable information from those who attended the meeting on board recruitment, board self-evaluation, and posting of committee reports for the community to see on the website using a common report template.
Facilities. One site plan was being developed for the City of Phoenix that included ball fields, lighting, and parking lot. The administration was waiting on estimates to replace the Kindergarten Canopy that was recently damaged by a monsoon storm. No major loss of trees from this summer’s storms but pruning continued by an outside firm.
PTO. Harvest Fest planning was going smoothly. The Oct. 25th school-wide event would start one hour early this year, 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Eliminated the chili cook-off, petting zoo and DJ but added pumpkin walk and selling T-shirts of the winning artwork. The Air Band and Costume Contests would return along with the Dunk Tank (get those throwing arms ready). Classrooms were expected to decorate doors for the event but not for competition.
Faculty Report. Besides classroom activities, Mr. Brandt informed the board of the various class wish lists. The administration would post links to the various wish lists on the website.
Community Issues. Discussion occurred on the mentor program for new families, continuing education on how to keep families informed, and bulletin boards outside each classroom.
The next meeting is set for Monday, October 27th at 5:30 pm. Please contact President Chris Klee 10 days before the meeting to request an item be placed on the agenda.
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August 25, 2008
Chairing this year’s SJB Advisory Board is Chris Klee. She opened the meeting by offering five areas that she wanted the board to accomplish this year:
- Confirm the Board’s identity with updated versions of the Board’s Constitution and Bylaws.
- Increase board visibility on campus
- Enhance communication within our SJB community (i.e. families, faculty, staff, etc.)
- Facilitate end-of-the-year surveys on various topics
- Improve recruitment of board members
The Board received reports from the Principal and Faculty Representative; Development, Finance, Technology, Facilities and Communications Committees; plus updates from the Moms’ and Dads’ Clubs and on the strategic plan.
It is the desire of the Board to begin communicating in more detail to the SJB community this fall on the ball field lighting and parking lot renovations, and Pre-K building and campus expansion. On the procedure side, the Board will be posting the meeting agenda and minutes on the website a week prior to the meeting for the community to see. Lastly, the Board has directed the Communications Committee to develop a Community Bulletin Board on the website. The call for more volunteers to serve on committees will be posted in a future Bite.
SJB Advisory Board Members: Chris Klee, President; Lynn Beck, Vice President; Kathy Boyle, Secretary; Eamonn Ahearne, Joyce Petrowski, Bruce Lincoln, Bill Mager, Mike Rafford, and Lynn Grennan. Ex-officio Members: Father Gary Regula, Principal Shelley Conner, Faculty Representative, Scott Brandt and St. Benedict’s Parish Council Member Linda Korwald.
Strategic Plan
View the PowerPoint from the November 29, 2008 Strategic Plan presentation.
- Goal 1 is Enhance and expand the faith experiences for the students, the contact person is Christy Lincoln at lbeck@aol.com
- Goal 2 is a staff goal for academics and staff.
- Goal 3 is Enhance financial performance while improving affordability; contact Eamonn Ahearne at sandi@wilsons.com
- Goal 4 is Maintain, improve and develop our facilities to meet the needs of the community; the contact person is Bill Mager at magersul(at)cox.net
- Goal 5: Develop and improve extra-curricular activities and programs. The first project of this group will be to create a survey of needs to go out to all families, and if you would like you may contact Chris Klee christineklee(at)cox.net.
- Goal 6 is Increase internal and external community participation and awareness; the contact person is Mike Rafford mrafford(at)cheyenneme.com
We have determined that a 7th goal and subcommittee will be needed to plan the Development Efforts. If you wonder if you have skills that might be a benefit to this effort, please contact Shelley Conner sconner@sjbosco.org
How to Apply
What does it mean to be a board member?
PERSONAL
• A willingness to give the time to serve conscientiously
• A willingness to attend board functions regularly
• The highest level of honesty, integrity, loyalty and prudence
• Ability to act without bias
• An inquiring mind open to both sides of an issue
• A willingness to disclose any existing or potential conflicts of interest
• Commitment to prayer and attend mass on a weekly basis
• Commitment to Catholic education
• Enthusiastic
• Innovative
• A Positive attitude
PROFESSIONAL
• A commitment to the importance of service to the school community
• A willingness to balance a prudent concern for fiscal stability with a spirit of creative risktaking
• A willingness to learn while serving as a board member
• Ability to look at the “common good”
• Ability to work with others
• Commitment to provide services to all students
• Commitment to observation and evaluation
• A willingness to mentor others
• A willingness to give of your time and talents and follow through on commitments
• Ability to further knowledge about Catholic education
BOARD
• A commitment to understand and support the mission of the Advisory Board
• A commitment to support the teachings of the Catholic church
• Supportive of the Administrator
• Be alert to alternative solutions by keeping an open mind
• Effort to be prepared for board meetings
• A willingness to serve within the directives outlined by the Advisory Board constitution and
by-laws
• An appreciation for maintenance of confidentiality
• A willingness to support the board decisions even if not fully agreeing
TIME COMMITMENT
• 2 hour board meeting once a month (currently the 4th Monday)
• 1 hour committee meetings twice a month (in person or by email)
• Some evenings/weekends
• Completing assigned tasks
• Preparation time for reviewing meeting materials
• Time for training with other school advisory boards and with the Dioeses.
• May be asked to participate in ad-hoc or special committee tasks
• 2 or 3 year terms
Still interested? We need you!
ApplicationApplications are also available in the front office.
