Present
Aaron W.
Darnell W.
Jon B.
Rhett Y.
Paula B.
Carol H.
Bernadette H.
Anjali R.
Joel A.
Sarah W.
Tui H.
James I.

Agenda
1) Name, logo, location, transportation
2) Blue Heron/Harvey's Farm
3) Title of Incorporation
4) Board of Trustees
5) Fundraising, grants, tuition
6) Closing of SITC, Aaron's resignation, Carol's?
7) Free School in Session
8) Graduation

Notes

1) Meeting in session at 7:40. Aaron facilitator, Carol note taker, Jon timekeeper.

2) The location for the school will hopefully be at either Blue Heron or Harvey's Farm. Aaron will meet with Blue Heron probably this week (to be rescheduled with them). Should they eventually accept us, we can set up trailers, with a long-term goal to build a building. Blue Heron is approximately 15 miles out of Chapel Hill off Jones Ferry Road. Harvey's Farm is approximately an hour's drive.

3) Rhett asked about the old Health Department Space at CarrMill Mall. Fred may know about this. Aaron will look into it.

4) Harvey's Farm is 1 hour away, and Blue Heron is about 20 minutes. We will probably get a van or bus, and transport students daily to the location from a central location. From there, we will schedule trips to other places, such as Harvey's Farm, Davis Library, the public libraries, etc.

5) Aaron asked if anyone has a proposal for a name. Its important for fundraising and so we can get the school set up as a legal entity. He asked people to think about it, and propose names over the next few meetings. A possibility is to discuss with Blue Heron using their name, should we be located there, such as Blue Heron School or Blue Heron Free School. This was tabled for now.

6) Aaron is designing an animated 3-D logo. Others are also invited to contribute.

6) Jon proposed School 54, and the name was seconded. Comments elicited included “wrong image,” “stupid,” “joke,” and “cool.” Jon withdrew the motion.

7) Aaron suggested we vote to form the Free School. The motion follows:

    The Free School is now official, and we will expedite getting the paperwork in order. Everyone present at this meeting now constitutes the full voting membership of the School and its Governing Board. At this time, there is no tuition requirement for students.

This motion was seconded and passed unanimously at 8:00 PM.

8) Members need to review the proposed Policy Guide this week to discuss it next week. Aaron will move then to adopt the Policy Guide as the official guide for the school. (Note – there will be some changes to it, including things discussed tonight. Aaron will distribute the revised edition.)

9) Title of Incorporation – Aaron has the paperwork to file. He will visit the NC Non-Profit Resource Center in approximately two weeks for help in starting up a non-profit. For now, Aaron is the acting accountant for the school's finances. It will probably be required in the future to have a CPA fill this position.

10) Board of Trustees – this is required legally, and is also a way to plug in fundraisers and patrons. We need to think about it and what it will look like. Aaron suggested having the Board act as a Judicial Branch. It was also suggested that Board be a figurehead Board with legal and fiscal responsibilities. Aaron suggested we write in by-laws to elect the Board of Trustees annually to act as a check and balance if they have more power. It was generally agreed for now that the Governing Board makes policy and financial decisions, and hire and fire staff, and that the Board of Trustees will be a legal entity to interface between the school, government, and patrons. Aaron will write up a policy to do this, and the Board will vote on it at the next meeting.

11) Fundraising, grants, and tuition – It will take several months to gather startup funds for September. Blue Heron, assuming a partnership, will probably allow us to use them as a temporary umbrella for the purpose of gathering funds. Potential fundraising contacts at this time – Noah's family, a potential computer lab donor, and Fred's contacts. Our fundraising goal is $750/student/month.

12) Another option is a sliding scale tuition to supplement the fundraising, from $0 to full tuition. There are waiting lists, especially among younger students, of children wanting to go to other local private schools such as the Friends’ school. It was made clear that all students will be required to go through the standard application procedure, regardless of the potential tuition from that student.

13) Closing of SITC – Aaron’s last day at SITC is Friday, March 26. Carol got unanimous support to resign from SITC as well. Students planning to leave SITC while it's in session are encouraged to remain enrolled, even should they not attend. This gracefully helps SITC continue, and fulfills the legal obligation of enrollment in school. Aaron will look into short-term possibilities such as home school registration.

14) Free School in Session – Aaron will continue the History of Vietnam War class, his astrology class, and computer tutoring. He will speak with Lyle about options for getting computers for The Free School. For these and any other sessions, we can meet at OWASA conference room, Aaron’s, Carol’s, the Skylight Exchange, and the various libraries in the area. We also can speak with the Town Hall in Carrboro for potential future classroom space. We can meet weekly for the Board meetings, and have spontaneous and planned discussion groups. Individual studies will continue as usual.

15) Graduation – The school cannot apply for accreditation until it's existed for at least one year. After this time, we can apply to the Southeastern Board of Colleges and Schools to study and evaluate our program. This will be expensive, perhaps even up to $60,000. There are questions and concerns about colleges and the Army recognizing unaccredited diplomas.

16) To graduate, students will need to convince the Board and Faculty of their ability to graduate. Students create their own curricula, which is a strength we offer over most public schools.

17) Meeting adjourned at 8:35. The next meeting is scheduled for the evening of Monday, March 22, 1999. Time and location to be announced.

New Business for the Next Meeting

1) Name and Logo
2) Policy Guide
3) Board of Trustees