St. Patrick’s School Board Minutes

September 11, 2006

Present:  Don Ridder, Kimberly Fangman, Pat Adler, Wendy Anderson, Charley Olson, Cindy Engel, Jackie Coco, Staci Witkowski, Steve Morrissey, and Mike Socha

We began with an opening prayer and an approval of last month’s minutes.

Home and School Committee

Staci reported that committee members passed the scrip tuition reimbursement program at the first Home & School meeting. She added that scrip sales have increased since the tuition reimbursement program was passed. Thirty percent of all scrip profits will now go toward the building fund.

Monthly “fun nights” at local restaurants were also approved, and all funds raised by these events would go toward the building fund.

Religious Formation

Jackie reported that 524 students have enrolled in the RF program. This is an increase of 15% over last year’s enrollment. The RF program also has 41 children enrolled in preschool at the 9:30 and 11:00 masses (with openings still at 11:00), 153 students eligible for First Eucharist, and 61 Confirmation candidates.

Pastoral Council

Mike reported that the sale of the St. Patrick’s house should help with budget concerns for the 2nd quarter. Tickets for the house will go on sale in November for $50 a piece with no limit on how many tickets one person can buy. Mike said we would be printing 10,000 tickets.

Finance Committee:  Mike had nothing to report.

Development Committee

Charlie said he will have the results of the parish feasibility study at the next meeting. Early signs indicate, however, that the chances of reaching our building goal look good. Charlie stated that he will be leaving the Development Committee to join the Athletic Committee; Mike volunteered to replace him.

Archdiocesan School Board:  Charlie had no report.

Facilities

We discussed the use of portables for the next school year. We brainstormed where we could best locate the portables to avoid construction conflicts; we also discussed the most efficient use of the portables. Further ideas and suggestions should be directed to Cindy or Steve.

Safety Committee

Staci asked for an update on the future construction at 204th and West Maple. Steve mentioned there was a construction meeting on September 20, and he would know more after the meeting. Don asked if construction would begin before summer. Steve thought not but said he would ask during the meeting. Stacy asked if Steve could suggest that turning lanes be increased to a seven-car depth in both directions, and Steve agreed to raise the issue.

Staci then discussed past parking lot problems that had occurred when extended care parents picked up their children during RF classes on Wednesday afternoons. Jackie mentioned that the RF committee has addressed many of the previous concerns, and she thinks this year will go more smoothly. Staci and Don agreed to meet to talk about smoother pick-up of extended care students on Wednesdays.

Continuous Improvement Committee:  Pat and Kimberly had no report.

Communication Committee

Wendy and Cindy have been looking into the possibility of buying a sign for St. Patrick’s. The objective would be to provide better communication from the parish and school to all parishioners and school parents. Since we are zoned as residential, we could not have an electronic sign posted on the building, but we could have one posted on the grounds. Mike mentioned that the Finance Committee has also discussed replacing the old sign in front of the church with an electronic sign. Cindy noted that an electronic sign would run about $10,000, and a non-electronic sign would run around $2,000. The School Board voted to endorse the purchase of a sign for school/parish purposes, and Don said he would bring up the issue at the next staff meeting.

Wendy then raised the issue of making the school more visible in the Elkhorn community. She suggested creating a list of community organizations that might need volunteers, and our students could then participate in more service projects in the community. We all agreed this was important. Jackie mentioned that the RF committee has discipleship groups organized for the Confirmation candidates, and that RF, too, would be eager to know what community service opportunities are out there.

Principal’s Report

Don discussed the “how full is your bucket” program that he’s implemented with school staff members. This program encourages everyone in the St. Patrick’s community to be positive and supportive of one another. The teachers are also introducing the program to students. One of the authors of the book on which this program is based will be speaking to staff members during an in-service on October 12 from 2:15 to 4:30 in the parish center. Don mentioned that School Board members and school parents are invited to attend.

Don reported that both the 9/11 school tribute and the “State of the School” address went well.

We adjourned with a prayer, and Don graciously gave each School Board member a How Full is Your Bucket? book to read before the next meeting. Our next meeting will be at 6:30 on October 9th, one day after Wendy’s birthday.

Respectfully,

Kimberly Fangman, School Board Secretary