Minutes of Board, January 26, 2010

Wornick Board Meeting – 1/26/10

Attending: Joelle Kaufman, Maury Alchek, Andy  Fradkin, Madeleine Benson, Bill Post, Aliya Gordon, Dennis Eisner, Marty Izenson, Don Newman, Ilan Jude, Dana Spanger, Paul Lipman, Kathryn Karp, Susan Weintrob, Mark Abelson, Kathy Williams, Alisa Spivak, Jodi Chall, Brian Lipson (member of Finance Committee, not on Board)

Late: Gina Rosenfield, Sharon Hartley, Josh Smith, Katya Girgas (chair of Marketing Committee)

• Debi Seligman discussed the CAIS/WASC accreditation visit, the objectives and detailed schedule for the meetings 1/31 – 2/3, types of questions that will be asked, output recommendation and potential outcome (our expectation is for a 6-year accreditation with a 3-year progress report)
• Joelle gave a Dvar Torah on the week’s parsha
• The minutes from the last Board meeting were ratified
• Madeleine Benson introduced Clair Thomas of Armanino McKenna, our outside accountant
• Clair reviewed a presentation on the school’s financial position (year ending 6/30/09), required communications and benchmarking against peer schools
• It was noted that the cash held by the campus was not factored into the benchmarks – which would materially impact certain of the benchmark metrics
• It was noted that the school is highly efficient in terms of fundraising expenses as a % of fundraising revenues
• Clair noted concern about the school’s deficits going forward, especially given the school’s impact on the overall campus’s ability to meet its’ bond covenants
• Madeline Benson reported back on a meeting that she and Bill attended to review the combined financial statements for the campus.  The campus has real concerns that we will be unable to renew our line of credit in 18 months due to an inability to meet our covenants.  The campus requested that the school generate a plan to break even after debt service.  Discussion ensued on this topic
• Bill reviewed the December financials.  It was noted by Joelle that the amount of campaign contributions in the report was inconsistent with what is being reported in our development reports from Joanna Hafter.  Bill noted that we are approximately $30k over budget through 12/31/09 – before debt service obligations.  Discussion ensued on this topic
• Bill led a discussion on tuition levels for next academic year
  • It was noted that the model is highly sensitive to the number of students enrolled in the school
  • Discussion ensued regarding a number of the enrollment assumptions by grade. Bill noted that we need to set tuition, and then work to maximize enrollment
  • Madeleine noted a number of expense assumptions including a 3% raise for the faculty (there was no increase last year, in addition to reduction of certain staff benefits), discontinuation of 403(b) contributions and re-structuring of the business office
  • Brian Lipson asked whether we have any information on price sensitivity to tuition levels – the data here is anecdotal.  Bill noted that we are in the middle of the range for peer schools
  • Bill also noted that we give more tuition assistance than we raise in contributions.  Bill noted that 107 out of 217 students receive tuition assistance.  Discussion ensued on this topic
  • The Finance committee proposed tuition of $17,500 for grades K-5 and $19,800 for grades 6-8.  The proposal for tuition assistance was $927,000 ($885,800 of scholarships and $41,200 of professional discounts)
  • Discussion ensued regarding tuition levels, tuition assistance – and options for balancing the two under various scenarios
  • The proposed tuition increase was agreed by the Board
  • Maury Alcheck proposed a motion to cap scholarships at $800,000.  The motion was passed
  • It was decided to delay passing the overall budget until a later Board meeting
• Katy Girgas led a discussion of the results of the parent survey.  Some of the observations covered included:
  
  • Overall the school is doing well in terms of satisfaction
  • It is not possible to cut for 8^th grade in the “likely to return” question
  • Families who have been here for more than 5 years with 2+ children are an “at risk” group from a retention perspective
  • We have a large % of “satisfied” parents – and we need to move them up to “very satisfied” to positively impact retention
  • Various tactical ideas were discussed to improve parent satisfaction
  • The executive summary of the survey will be shared with the parent community in early February 

• Andy asked a question about the school tour statistics in Susan’s Head of School report.  Susan said that the differences in time periods were not material – we are seeing significant increase in all key areas of interest in the school 

• Joelle noted that Ron Wornick has increased his minimum gift to the school, and established an un-capped Rashi Challenge – matching all new Rashi gifts

• The Board moved to Executive Session at 8.40pm
• The meeting was adjourned at 9.20pm