Minutes: September 17, 2007


	American Educational Association Board Meeting Minutes: September 17, 2007 7:00 pm, Secondary Library Board Members: Present: Robert Wert Robert Boni Brent Lindsey Carlos Alberto Lopez Jane Hutchinson Toni Lampell Sandra Irvine Edgar Muñoz Marianne Walter Quorum present? Yes Others Present: Toni Romero US Ambassador’s Representative Peter Zeitoun Superintendent/Secondary Principal Marcy Pareja Elementary Principal Rich Dierkes, María Inarra Teacher Representatives Julia Zubieta Natalia Mercado Student Representative I. Opening: A. Meeting called to order at 7:05 p.m. B. Agenda was approved C. Ms. Romero explained to the board members that she did not have time to prepare the minutes from the previous board meeting. II. Community Reports provided by: Community, PTA, Faculty Rep, Student Rep. A. Community: a) The representative of the community asked if the board had already set a date to begin working on a marketing strategy to attract more students to the school. b) The community also wanted to know if the contract for the cafeteria was going to be renewed. Mr. Wert, representing the board responded that the board did not set a precise date to begin working on a marketing strategy yet. In regards to the cafeteria, the board needs to review the contract to confirm the contract’s expiration date. B. Student Representative: The student representative reminded all the concurrence about the Parents Night event organized by the PTA, and encouraged all the members to participate in the event. C. Faculty Representative: The faculty representatives were concerned about the contracts for next year. Their main concern was to know if the board was contemplating a reduction in staff or salaries. The board did not address the salaries issue and at this point is not sure if the salaries will be modified. In terms of a reduction in staff, the board does not foresee a reduction in staff yet. In case of a staff reduction, they will be informed with enough anticipation. The budget will be finalized by September 24, 2007 and the board will be able to address the faculty concerns in more detail. Ms. Julia Zubieta asked the board if there was any information about the tax issue. She wanted to know if signing an agreement with the Ministry of Education would help reduce the amount of taxes to be paid by the school. Mr. Wert explained to the participants that an agreement would probably help reduce the taxes; however the Ministry of Education did not make any promises about a possibility of signing an agreement. He furthermore explained that he contacted “Guevara & Associates” to have them look at the agreement and provide some advise. Guevara and Associates believe that the school can get a lot of the benefits included in the agreement without having to sign it. Some of those benefits include the exemption of Bolivian taxation for U.S. Teachers, tax exemptions on donations, and Social Security for local teachers. The Board is also considering the creation of a Compliance Committee to run the school in a more transparent fashion and to follow the Bolivian laws. D. Chair: Superintendent Search Status The recruiting for a new superintendent is already in place. The board received several applications. The interviewing process will start the second week of November. So far, Mr. Peter Zeitoun and three other outside candidates were selected for the interview. E. PTA: Character Model the School is moving towards: The school is looking for strategies to attract more students. However the board does not want the school for follow SAS model. Instead they would like to sustain the model the school had five or six years ago. F. The student representative requested the board members to spread the word about the Family Day Picnic and encouraged all the parents to attend it. III. Superintendent Representative a) Enrollment The school enrollment went up 2 more students today, one student in the first grade and another one in the third grade. b) Exit Survey An exit survey was sent to every student. Only four surveys were turned in. All the students departing from the school according to the surveys are due to company or embassy transfers. c) International Baccalaureate Mr. Peter Zeitoun presented a slide show containing information about the International Baccalaureate. The board agreed that the cost of the program compared to the benefits that our students would obtain from it is not justifiable at the present time. IV. Board Reports A. Communication Committee – See green sheet for details 1) The parents expressed their interest in getting the school communications both in English and Spanish. The Committee suggested the hiring of a translator. Mr. Zeitoun added that the admin support personnel in the office do not have the time to translate all the communications sent to parents. Mr. Wert called for motion to find money for a translator. Motion was approved by 8 to 2 2) The Committee is working towards improving the communication within the school. The Communications Committee representative requested the support of all the members for the Parents Night. The Committee also informed that they placed a suggestion box in the office to receive the comments and suggestions from parents, faculty, and students. As another effort to improve the relationship between the board, the faculty, and the parents, the committee is planning sport events for parents and members of the staff. A survey of activities will be placed in the internet to get the parents input on the school activities and academic performance. The survey will be ready and available at the parent/teacher conferences in October. 3) School Facilities: The alumni association was inquiring about the possibility of using the school facilities. Apparently in the past the school policy authorized the alumni to use the school facilities, however, at the present there is nothing in the policy that allows the access of alumni to the school facilities. The board will request Mr. Pacheco to review previous policies to determine when the policy was changed. 4) Some organizations requested that the rental fees for theater be lowered. At the present the rental fees for the theater are US$40 per hour. The fees are considered low as they are and the theater is booked for the whole month of October. The board will not consider a modification on the rates to rent the theater right now. B. Policy Committee – See green sheet for detail. The Policy Committee suggested changes in the following articles of the school’s statutes: 1) Article 15b – “Board Designation”. The Committee considers that it is always better to have an odd number of members to reach decisions sooner. The proposed to change the composition of the board from ten members to nine members, four US citizens, three Bolivian citizens, and two third country citizens. The PPA representative did not agree with this new composition arguing that it does not represent the school body. The board composition according to her understanding should not mention nationalities. The president of the board asked the participation if there were other views. Several board members considered that it was important for the school to maintain an American directory. Other members suggested that an increase in the number of members of the board to 11 would balance the number of American and Bolivian representatives. The president of the board said that if the American Embassy and the foreign students pay more, they want to protect their interests. Mr. Lopez, on the other hand, argued that the board wants an American outlook because the majority of the members of the board are Americans. The president of the board recommended that the board analyze the changes proposed and make a recommendation for the general assembly to vote. The general assembly can suggest other options. Mr. Wert invited the Finance Committee to present their issues and then come back and vote for the modification of Article 14b. The Finance Committee had nothing to discuss during this board meetings. 2) The Policy Committee also proposed the modification of article 14c of the school statutes “Designation of Chair and Vice Chair” so that the positions of Chairman and Vice Chairman alternate yearly. In the event of the resignation of the Chairman, the Vice-Chairman would assume the position for the remaining of the year and the following year. The Board did not make a final decision on the changes proposed for Article 14c. 3) The Policy Committee also proposed to change article 23 to read as follows: “The Superintendent shall have the academic preparation required by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools of the United States”. If at any time the Accreditation Association would change, this article would have to be modified once again. Ms. Marcy Pareja proposed to change I to read as follows: “The Superintendent shall have the academic preparation required by the relevant accreditation body in the United States”. The motion was called for voting: The motion was approved 10-0. The Chairman emphasized that the changes approved by the board can be changed by the second general assembly. The board agreed that it is important to preserve the character of the school. The PPA representative argued once again that the composition of the school board should reflect the composition of the student body. The motion to defer the voting on the proposed changes for Articles 14b and 14c was called for voting. The motion was approved 6-4. V. Summary of Decisions. Motions and decisions: Find the money to seek the services of a translator to translate into Spanish the school notices, newsletters, and other written publications. The rental fees for the theater will not be modified at the present time. Article 23 the school statutes would be modified as follows: “The Superintendent shall have the academic preparation required by the relevant accreditation body in the United States”. Defer the voting on the proposed changes to Articles 14b and 14c. VI. Adjournment. Meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m.