From left, are Eric Ahner, retiring ALCS director, and Wayne Sherwood, new ALCS director
By Margaret Hopper
Aldo Leopold has chosen a new director and the transition period has begun. The Governing Council, with four of its six councilors present, voted in Wayne Sherwood of Silver City at the appropriate time on the agenda. Council members present included Mary Gruszka, Dale Lane, David Peck and Ken Stone. Shawna McCosh was absent. Jose Herrera was available by phone from out of state.
In the absence of Harry Browne, business manager, Director Eric Ahner presented the check register for April and May, and the application for Title II, $5475, for the next year.
Ahner also gave a number of committee reports, commenting on some, and giving a longer visual presentation on the Risk Management Committee report. For that one, he had made a list of eight recommendations for future consideration. Among them were ideas for better vetting of chaperones on trips, roll call, (not head count) for accounting for students, upgrading medical plans and reviews for students, student self-reporting of injuries, and more information on bike conditions before their bike trips.
He quickly ran through the standing committees, informing Sherwood, which need monthly reports, quarterly, or Gǣas neededGǥ attention.
He also reported on student hours donated for environmental and community involvement. He cited 5846.75 hours for community events and another 2212.25 hours for the environment. Saying their time donations were the great strength of the school, he urged both board members and Sherwood to continue pushing the staff, and thus, the students, to keep these volunteer hours at a high level.
Ahner was able to show increases for parent volunteer time in the program for the present year over last year's statistics. In 2014-2015 hours given were 1,975; for 2015-2016 they were up to 2,500. Remarkably, four families had donated 966 of those hours. 24 percent of the parents had donated at least the minimum of 18 hours; 33 percent had not donated at all. 57 percent of parents had donated hours.
Another effort on Ahner's part was to set a means of measuring achievement toward Aldo's charter goals, the four GǣCsGǥ: collaboration, communication, creativity and critical thinking. That is another work in progress, for the next renewal period, a few years from now, he said.
Election of Governing Council officers for next year was given considerable discussion, but with two members not present and apparently the need for more consideration, the group decided to take no action until the July agenda. Ahner suggested that Sherwood email each member personally to be sure they would be at the July 14 meeting, and to avoid the appearance of a rolling quorum in the process.
There was much discussion of the straight lease agreement for the middle school, also on the agenda, which would allow the administration to continue making plans, as there were time lines to be met and other negotiations to be worked on.
The ideas ranged from actual finances needed at certain points, to how to arrange the sequence or phases of transition to the new property. Once the straight lease was approved, Phase I would allow the owners to start renovations for the 6th grade classrooms.
Chairman Ken Stone called for a closed session to discuss the contract negotiations for the director's position and the current director's annual review. That portion lasted about half an hour, then resumed to go into the action items voting.
They approved Sherwood's appointment and contract, and the Title II application. The officers' elections could wait until July, they decided, and after another 50 minutes of discussion on the middle school straight lease, finally approved that.
Plans are for the regular July meeting to be held on July 14, at 5:30 p.m., at the 1422 address as usual. This meeting adjourned at 7:50 p.m.