The Morris Brandon School Council met in regular session on May 10, 2011 at 7:15 a.m.
The meeting was held in the Library at Morris Brandon Main Campus, 2741 Howell Mill Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30327.
School Council Members Present:
Karen Evans, Head of School
Julie Bassett and Katie Mori, Parent Representatives
Logan Ide, Lee Pritchard and Joseph Rogers Business Representatives
Betsy Nettles, Faculty Representative
School Council Members Absent:
Allie Fleckner, Faculty Representative
Others Present:
Pete Settelmayer, Primary Center Administrator
Rush Levitt, PTA Co-President
Hyde Desloge, PTA Co-President-Elect
Seven School Council members were present, representing a quorum.
1. Call to Order
Logan Ide called the meeting to order at 7:25 a.m.
3. Approval of Agenda
Logan Ide presented proposed Agenda. Moved, seconded and carried that the agenda be approved.
MOTION: Lee Pritchard; SECOND: Julie Bassett
VOTE: 7 Yes; 0 No
3. Approval of Minutes
Logan Ide presented draft minutes from the March 2011 meeting. Moved, seconded and carried that the minutes be approved.
MOTION: Katie Mori; SECOND: Betsy Nettles
VOTE: 7 Yes; 0 No
4. Report on Year-End
Karen Evans reported on issues related to the end of the school year. Karen reported that she anticipates 13 new teacher hires: 6 to replace teachers who are retiring or resigning; and 7 to fill new positions. At this time, APS has a hiring freeze, so Karen is will interview candidates now so that she is prepared to fill positions once the freeze is lifted.
Karen also reported that she had requested six portables from APS for the 2011-12 school year. The APS facilities department has convinced her to hold off on installing portables at this time due to the high cost of installation and the likelihood that APS will institute a long-term solution to Brandon’s overcrowding in 2012-13. Karen will continue to evaluate whether Brandon requires portables for the 2011-12 school year.
Council members also discussed issues related to Brandon’s budget and enrollment projections. Karen noted that APS projects Brandon’s total enrollment for 2011-12 as 1,293; however, Karen anticipates a lower number – approximately 1,260 students.
5. Election of New Members
Council members discussed the upcoming School Council election of a parent representative to replace Julie Bassett and the appointment of at least one business representative to replace Lee Pritchard and Logan Ide. In addition, Council members discussed nominations of Brandon staff to replace Betsy Nettles.
6. Surveys
Pete Settelmayer discussed the current responses to the final survey regarding Brandon fundraising. Council members agreed to send a reminder to the parent community to encourage further participation in this survey. Current responses include concern about classroom sizes; concern about the overall school size; and concern about the music instruction. Although responses about satisfaction with the administration was largely positive, Council members believe that we need to continue educating our community about various roles in the school. Council members also discussed the findings regarding Brandon’s fundraisers, primarily the need to consider reducing the number of fundraisers, the need to educate our community regarding fundraising accomplishments, and the desire of parents to have a voice in where fundraising dollars are spent.
7. School Improvement Plan
Council members discussed future needs regarding the School Improvement Plan. Karen Evans noted that she would like the School Council, the PTA, and the Morris Brandon Foundation to work together to establish a 5-year strategic plan for Morris Brandon.
8. Brandon Capacity Issues
Lee Pritchard led a discussion regarding the status of discussions with APS regarding Brandon’s capacity issues. Lee distributed a summary of accomplishments and actions to date, and Council members discussed key developments and open tasks. Notable open tasks include the upcoming demography community meeting, the pending response from APS to School Council’s April 2011 letter, and a potential invitation for APS representatives to attend the next meeting of the School Council.
Council members also discussed pending long-term tasks, including the need to understand the precise scope of the next phase of the demography study. For example, Council members noted the necessity of ensuring that the external demographers access and incorporate updated APS enrollment numbers and projections. In addition, Council members agreed that we need to understand whether the demography results will appear on a cluster level or a school level, so that we can form an opinion regarding possible solutions to overcrowding at Brandon and in our cluster.
9. Year-End Planning
School Council members discussed the need to maintain continuity in the Council’s efforts and initiatives.
10. Adjournment
With no further business to come before the school council, the meeting was adjourned at 8:40 a.m.
MOTION: Lee Pritchard; SECOND: Karen Evans
VOTE: 6 Yes; 0 No
The next meeting of the Morris Brandon School Council will be held on Thursday, June 2, 2011 at 7:30 a.m. in the Morris Brandon Main Campus Conference Room.