MASBO - The Minnesota Association of School Business Officals.

Members Present:

Patricia Magnuson	Jim Westrum	Jeff Solomon
Donna Luhring	Earl Athman	Sue Crockett
Kim Josephson	Colleen Mertesdorf	Recorder: Donna Walseth

Agenda Item	Notes/Decisions	Follow Up/Action Items
Meeting Agenda	Changes to Agenda: Sue requested that the following items be added to the agenda: Fall Conference, Sponsorships, Review of Bylaws and Board Decisions. Colleen requested to add: Correction to 11/2007 Minutes. Jim requested that the meeting be limited to 1 hour since some of the Board members have another commitment.	Colleen Motioned, Donna L. 2nd to approve Meeting Agenda - unanimous
Consent Agenda 2nd Qtr Financials 2nd Qtr Receipts & Disbursements	2nd Qtr Financials Comments: Institute – no revenue yet Membership – membership is up for 2nd qtr but down for 6 mos. Revenue will increase as company associate members renew in time for annual conference. ASBO Convention expenses are high: $27,000 to date before Leadership expenses against a yearly budget of $28,000. Expenses are net of Hospitality room. Meeting expenses are up due to: speaker fees, 4th track added to fall meeting resulting in additional room & AV expenses. Meeting revenue also is up.	2nd quarter financials will be approved at the February 22 Board Meeting.
Reports – Sue Certification Program Proposal	Board was asked to provide feedback on Certification Program proposal submitted by Communication & Engagement Committee. Sue provided a list indicating what other states are charging for their certification program. Consensus was the Communications & Engagement committee did an impressive job putting together the proposal. Tina, committee chair, will present proposal – as work in progress – at the Winter Meeting and request feedback from membership. Time will be built into opening session to allow members to discuss and note comments. Comment sheets will be turned in to Communications Committee for review. A table will be staffed next to the registration table, allowing members to ask questions throughout the day. Should the program be a revenue generator for MASBO? Colleen feels the per-coarse fees are high; particularly if members will pay the fees and not be reimbursed by school districts. A marketing piece will be prepared to generate buy-in from MASA and MSBA. Sue commented that it is not the intent for members to pay the fees personally Reference/letter of recommendation is only required for Grandfather Option of program. There is no liability since the program is voluntary.	Questions for follow up: Develop a name for the program (acronym?) Should the program be a revenue-generator for MASBO? Sue – communicate with Tina plans for member discussion/feedback at Winter Meeting.
Alliance Project Proposal	The Alliance for Student Achievement is requesting $2,000 from each of its 10 members to conduct research and implement a public-information campaign on education funding, student achievement in Minnesota, and quality of Minnesota schools. (Sue distributed a sheet describing the proposal in detail.) Discussion and questions for follow up: Board members did not feel they would use the video and it would become obsolete quickly. As treasurer for the Alliance, Sue reported the Alliance has a fund balance of $30,000. MASBO pays $100 annual dues. Most Alliance members have already sent in $2,000 payment for the project. Is there a charge for districts to rent/buy the video? If so, what are the plans for the profit generated? Dan Pyan is the MASBO rep on the Alliance. What is his opinion of the project proposal? Did the Alliance vote on the decision to host the project?	Motion made by Patricia, 2nd by Jeff; & unanimous: As part of the Alliance for Student Achievement, MASBO will support the initiative; although MASBO does not feel it will provide value to MASBO members.Sue will get opinion of Dan Pyan, MASBO rep to Alliance, request answers to questions, and communicate MASBO’s decision to Alliance.
Tax Levy Video Cast Information	At the November Board Meeting, there was discussion about taping or video casting the Tax Levy Workshops as an option to enable broader participation from out state members and as an avenue to partner with Regions. Sue volunteered to explore cost factors prior to presenting the option to the Communications Committee or School Finance Committee for consideration. Projected cost to tape a Tax Levy Workshop, record on a DVD is approximately $2,000. (Cost includes room rental expense.) The DVD could be sold to districts or posted on the MASBO Website. A charge could be assessed to members to be given a password to access the video. Cost to “simulcast” the Workshop would be approximately $4,000-$5,000. Benefit: Enable more members to participate in workshops Drawback: Members who participate via DVD rather than attending workshops would lose value of networking.	Sue – Present information to School Finance Committee for feedback. Possibly follow up with survey to members?
Committee/Director Program Responsibilities	The School Finance Committee and Heide Miller are having a difficult time meeting deadlines for lining up speakers and sessions for conferences. Discussion: Do the responsibilities need to be more clearly defined? (role of Director, role of School Finance Committee, role of staff) It is not appropriate to have one person deciding on conference sessions. Recommendations need to be made by the entire School Finance Committee. Should the Director be in charge of putting together workshop agendas and the School Finance Committee be responsible for putting together the meeting agenda? Is the issue logistics, is it finding speakers and session topics, or is it lack of delegating responsibilities? Sue furnishes a conference checklist to Heide, and to the Director in charge in advance of each conference.	Donna L. will attend the School Finance Committee meeting and request that a structure and assignments be formulated for conference program coordination. Directors – will facilitate topics and speakers for workshop days.
Sponsorships	Sue reported that company associate members are willing to sponsor events and functions at MASBO conferences. Currently, sponsorships are limited to the Annual Conference. Does the Board want to consider sponsorship options for more meetings and conferences for 2008? Jim thought it may be helpful to see a list of current sponsorship opportunities.	Sue – provide a list of current sponsorships to Board.
Fall Conference	Sue presented a financial comparison of fall conferences, 2005 through 2007. Factors contributing to negative revenue balance in 2007 are: Conference costs are on the rise – meeting room expenses, AV equipment costs. A fourth track was added to the meeting day. The 2007 workshop speaker charged a fee. The number of paid registrations to 2006 workshop is lower than the number of paid registrations to 2007 workshop. Why is the revenue higher in 2006? Members received a discount if they registered for both the workshop and meeting. Some members register for meetings and workshops but do not pay. (Unpaid are sent invoices after the conference.)	Sue – review financial on Fall Conference
Review of Bylaws & Board Decisions	An annual review of bylaws and board decisions should be conducted.	Sue – Include agenda item on April Board Meeting agenda.
Jim Westrum – Schedule for Board Meetings	Jim reported that the Executive Committee meets frequently, but the total board does not. He proposed putting together a regular monthly schedule for Board members to meet; preferably in person. Conference call meetings may be an option on an occasional basis. It was suggested to rotate location of meeting to each board member’s district.	Jim – send out email request to board members for prospective monthly dates for Board Meetings.
Donna Luhring – Annual Conference Theme	The theme for the 2008 Annual Spring Conference is “Striving for Balance” and will include topics on wellness, budgeting, leadership.	A meeting to discuss annual conference is scheduled for Thursday, January 31 following the Winter Workshop with Donna L., Heide Miller, Sue & Donna.
Earl Athman – Vendor of the Year Award	Earl requested that the Board revisit his request to implement a “Vendor of the Year” award, similar to the award presented by ASBO.	Sue – Add Vendor of the Year Award to the next Board meeting agenda.
Kim Josephson	A total of 14 are currently registered for the Institute. Email reminders have been sent to members. A reminder is also included in the January newsletter.	Sue – Have copies of the Institute Brochure available at the Winter Conference. Promote Institute at the Winter Conference and add to introductory comments on Meeting day.
Colleen Mertesdorf MSDLAF User Group Report Recommended MSDLAF Representatives	Colleen provided the names PFM recommended as a prospective replacement for Dave Buck’s position on MSDLAF User Group. MASBO needs to provide the name of the new representative to MSDLAF by February 19.	Jim & Sue – conduct conference calls with following to determine interest in serving on MSDLAF (listed in order of preference): 1. Bruce Lamprecht 2. Kim Eisenschenk 3. Marj Rolland
Amendment to July Board Minutes	Executive Director contract services amount should be $102,495 and not $102,945 as noted.	Sue – amend minutes.
Jeff Solomon	No News to Report
Patricia Magnuson	No news to report
	NEXT BOARD MEETING – February 22, 2008 1:30 – 3:30 pm	Colleen motioned to adjourn the Board Meeting. Patricia – 2nd motion Meeting adjourned at 7:20 pm