Seven Oaks board meeting (“canceled, no quorum”), Oct. 13, 2016, 5:30 p.m.

Present: Headmaster Stephen Shipp; board members Matt Wolf, Terry English, Lindsey Weaver, Ian Hall (I think) by phone; Carla English

Is it an actual board meeting? says caller Ian on speaker phone to Matt Wolf. Just info from boy scouts, Matt says. No board business will be conducted.

Stephen Shipp: Sorry we can’t have an honest-to-goodness actual board meeting tonight.

Boy Scouts of America has brought info. General info about scouting program. Dr. Shipp and I met a few months ago, would like to eventually have entire family of scouting. Four types: Cub scout (more popular for schools—elementary aged program, now open to kindergarten age boys. High school aged one too. Explorer program—apprenticeship, co-ed for high school. Scouting is values-based youth development program. We think that’s a good fit with your pillars of character. Reads scout law. It’s all this. Great family program, very inviting to whole family. Not designed to be drop-off-kid, come back…we ask families to get involved. Siblings hang out, moms and dads can be leaders.

Has to be chartered by a group or entity…usually civic clubs, churches, PTOs, PTAs. Want connection to community. Open for you to make it your own. Boy Scouts provide literature, training. You guys get to choose leadership, core direction. It’s important, the cub scout pack could reflect this school. Methodist Church uses it as ministry option. Have to do service hours, learn to be good citizens. Usually easiest to start out with Cub Scout pack, that’s the age group that’s most excited about this type of thing. You could have a venture crew that could do Latin competitively, or academic superbowl.

Scouting has a nonsectarian belief…open to all religions. There’s a belief standard in a higher power. Makes it available to anybody who want to participate.

Lindsey Weaver: What’s name of Kindergarten program?
Boy scout: Lion scouts.
LW: Is it similar to Daisies for Girl Scouts?
Boy scout: Usually meets monthly for that age. Normally weekly, age specific. Scouting program follows school year calendar. Pack has start and end time.
Terry English: This would primarily require participation of parent volunteers? Not much role for board except to authorize use of facilities.
Boy scout: you would approve leadership—all goes through background checks. You would help them manage finances, awards, you would be governing body. They would be a line item on your agenda. Cub scout pack would raise money depending on your by-laws. Traditionally they sell popcorn. Part of what we’re trying to teach them is they work for what they get…but you could give them money, too.

SS: Do you have any other schools that charter a troop directly?
Boy scout: Normally through PTOs. I don’t know if Seven Oaks could charter or if board would.
MW: Might be different since we’re a separate entity.
Boy scout: There’s no rule on our end that says a school couldn’t charter.
Terry English: Did it all get resolved…anti-discrimination with scout leaders.
Boy scout: There was a thing that came up where they didn’t allow practicing avowed homosexuals to practice as leaders. Not sure about a lot of the history. Now they’ve said that sexuality and religious-based decisions are family decisions and chartering organization decisions. Scouts will go either way. Since you guys charter, you can make that decision.
Terry English: I assume this is limited to boys who are judged to be boys by birth certificate, as opposed to girls who want to be boys.
Boy scout: Currently, at this time, this is for boys who were born boys. We’ve been asked if it’s open for transgender.
Terry English: Is it PTO that makes this decision and can then contact you?
Boy scout: We can talk about insurance, scouts’ insurance covers whatever parents’ insurance doesn’t cover, however we are primary insurance for chartering property. Cost for scouting: 40-year charter fee. Each member pays $24 a year.
Matt Wolf: Is there a critical mass of participation? Say there are just 5 kids who are interested?
Boy scout: You need a minimum of five, and about same number of adults. Need at least 2 adults, open-door policy. All adults need training to remind them how to act with other people’s children.
Boy scout: There is a thriving boy scout program in town. How we look at it: Scouting says you can have a pack for every 100 boys in a school. Boys can join any pack they want, but easiest place to recruit is from your own walls. I would say town of Ellettsville is underserved in scouting. Lots of outings close by, one in Hoosier National Forest. Scouting is heavy on STEM right now.
Terry English: As I remember, it’s a pretty formalized program.
BS: Yes, each age level has a curriculum, they have to complete 5 to 8 things over school year.

Ian, do you have any questions?

Lindsey Weaver: I will bring this up with the PTCA

MW: We just need to discuss next meeting—is next Tuesday good for everyone? The 18th. Does 6:30 work?
Lindsey Weaver: I would have all my kids, and it’s scouts.
Stephen Shipp: 4:30? Ian: 5:30 works. MW: How about 4:30? Ian: I could make that work. Lindsey Weaver: I would have 5 children with me. I would ask Jazzmin. She would have all her kids.
MW: Do you want to see if someone could volunteer to watch kids during the meeting?
Lindsey Weaver: Yes, I can see. What works for you, Terry, on a regular basis?
Terry English: First Tuesday.
Lindsey Weaver: We want it later in month because of financial reports, don’t we? What about 4th Thursday?
Matt Wolf: Thursdays are bad for someone.
Lindsey Weaver: Now Thursdays are better for me.
Matt Wolf: So we can do third Thursday? Let’s propose that at next meeting.
Terry English: I would like to propose that moving forward, with policy things, since we have just about everything that needed to be rushed taken care of.... Propose we have first reading, circulation, pass it at next meeting, so we’re not doing them in one go.
Terry English: So we can clean up what’s on our plate right now.
Matt Wolf: I did give you agenda week in advance, didn’t I? Ian, anything else?
Ian: Thanks for letting me dial in.
Terry English: One of things we might want to do is figure out electronically how to amend by-laws. Can we do that electronically? We’d have to amend by-laws to show that voting like that is possible. I’m not sure if proxy, if you don’t show up, even looks like that. (I think he thinks it may have been irregular for Carla to have been his proxy in previous meeting.)

PTCA meeting is in cafeteria at 6:30.