Dear RMAE Community:
Thanks to all who attended the March 9
Board meeting. For those not in attendance, we would like to provide an
update on noteworthy discussion items from the meeting.
The search
for a new school Director/Principal continues. Five candidates have
applied to-date, and the 15-Member Search Committee will continue to
accept applications through the end of March before proceeding with the
hiring process as outlined in our last Board letter. Please refer any
potential candidates to the job description/application which is posted on the RMAE website. We will continue to keep you informed as the process moves along.
The
next major discussion topic concerned spring elections for the school’s
Board of Directors, including how many Board seats, if any, to put up
for election. The Board’s informal February survey received a strong
response, with approximately fifty percent of parents & staff
indicating a preference to postpone elections until next school year,
while the remaining fifty percent preferred either putting three or five
Board seats up for election this spring. While carefully considering
this input, as well as our desire to perpetuate stability for the
School’s governing body, the Board reached a general consensus that the
School would be best served by putting three Board seats up for election
in the spring. Upon the recommendation of the Policy Committee, we also
expect to make a change to the School Bylaws which would extend the
Board term to three years from the present two-year term, thus providing
for a balanced rotation of the 9- member Board over time. These changes
are expected to be reviewed and voted on at the April Board meeting,
and a preliminary budget for the 2017-18 school year is also expected to
be presented for Board review and approval as well.
Lastly, the
Board discussed several related matters regarding the RMAE Preschool.
With the Preschool lease up for renewal at the end of this year, and the
overall budgetary challenges of supporting the Preschool next year
given lower than anticipated Preschool enrollment for 2017-18 (as well
as the K-8 school’s own anticipated budget challenges for 2017-18), the
Board decided that it would not take action to renew the facilities
lease with Congregation Beth Evergreen (CBE). However, based on
intentions expressed by CBE, we do expect that a preschool program,
(likely in the same form/structure as the present program), will be
offered next year, albeit under the management and direction of CBE
rather than in direct affiliation with RMAE. Please direct any questions
concerning this topic to Dr. Stueven.
One final note that RMAE
Annual Giving campaign continues, with your generous donations pushing
the school close to 60% of its fundraising target of $45,000. Thank you
all for your generous support of the school. Contributions are still
welcome – online donation link here – and again, your support of RMAE is very much appreciated!
Most Sincerely,
Your Rocky Mountain Academy of Evergreen Board of Directors:
Kyle Stults, President
Mike Geiger, Secretary
Gil Gomez, Treasurer
Amy Broxterman, Vice President
Jim Good, Parent Representative
Chris Lindsay, Parent Representative
Todd Crosbie, Parent Representative
Jon Warner, Parent Representative
Don Middleton, Community Rep