The Planning Committee has a lot on its plate for this year as Sean Slattery shares here.
I am excited to be part of an outstanding group of committed Christ-followers and Maranatha parents serving on the Maranatha Academy Board of Directors. As you know, I recently began serving as the Chair for the Planning Committee where we consider and draw up plans for MA for the next 3-5 years. We think and plan about the future of MA in light of our mission, The Mission of Maranatha Academy is to train and equip students for life and for service to Jesus Christ through a biblical worldview, character development, and academic excellence. Last spring I lead a Board devotional describing our approach to planning. I thought I would share some of the key points for the readers of the MA blog.
Our Approach to planning considers 3 key areas:
Providence of God + Prayer + Preparation = Proper Planning
I. Providence of God in Planning
Source is from God
Proverbs 2:6 "For the Lord gives wisdom, and from His mouth come knowledge and understanding."
Warning Against Leaving God Our of Planning
Proverbs 19:21 "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails."
II. Prayer: Asking The Lord to Intervene
Proverbs 15:29 "the LORD is far from the wicked but He hears the prayer of the righteous."
Phillippians 4:6 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to god. and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Jesus Prays for all Believers: He is our Example
John 17:20 "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message..."
Matthew 7:7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."
III Preparation: Actively Manage What God Has Entrusted To Us
Matthew 6:14-30 The Parable of the Talents
* School Leadership
* Experience from the Board of Directors
* Input from Parents
New Landscaping
Beautiful new landscaping
Monday, August 30, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Can you lower everyone's tuition?
I have been pondering that question for some time. The finance and the development committees have been wrestling with how can we operate Maranatha and keep tuition costs down for months if not years(remember, tuition is 95%+ of top line revenue). As mentioned in the update on the development committee they are working on several ideas.
This post's purpose is to pose to you (how is that for alliteration?) how you could help lower tuition. Yes you can impact it. I am sure there are other ways, but I have one idea for you to kick around. What if every parent and student became part of the marketing arm of Maranatha? I think if we all were properly motivated and sought to encourage other families to join our Maranatha family, I think we could see enrollment go up significantly. If enrollment goes up, expenses get spread out more, and perhaps we could lower tuition for everyone.
Perhaps we will formalize this as a strategy for the 2011-12 school year. That is for the board and administration to work out, but just thought I would throw it out there for your consideration and comments.
This post's purpose is to pose to you (how is that for alliteration?) how you could help lower tuition. Yes you can impact it. I am sure there are other ways, but I have one idea for you to kick around. What if every parent and student became part of the marketing arm of Maranatha? I think if we all were properly motivated and sought to encourage other families to join our Maranatha family, I think we could see enrollment go up significantly. If enrollment goes up, expenses get spread out more, and perhaps we could lower tuition for everyone.
Perhaps we will formalize this as a strategy for the 2011-12 school year. That is for the board and administration to work out, but just thought I would throw it out there for your consideration and comments.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Enrollment Numbers
Although all the movement hasn't stopped, Dr Daugherty did say that our enrollment numbers are a little higher than we were expecting. We are at 504 students enrolled in K-12. A couple of weeks ago we were expecting around 491. Praise the Lord! This is slightly down from last year, but extends our streak of 20+ years with enrollment in the 500's.
It is fun to see some full classes in the Jr High and always wonderful to welcome new students and parents into our family. A special note of welcome to our students from Korea. There are nine in total that are a long way from home, so let's all be an encouragement to them. Thank you to the host families who have taken these kids in.
It is fun to see some full classes in the Jr High and always wonderful to welcome new students and parents into our family. A special note of welcome to our students from Korea. There are nine in total that are a long way from home, so let's all be an encouragement to them. Thank you to the host families who have taken these kids in.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
August Board Meeting
I love it when God works His plans in spite of us. I spent a lot of time praying, thinking and planning things I would like to cover in the Board meeting tonight. Well, come to find out, God had a different order of events. Due to some scheduling conflicts, we did not get started until 15 minutes late and even then not all of the members were there. So we started with prayer, and what a wonderful time of encouragement and laying ourselves at His feet. Those of you who have heard me speak recently know that prayer is one thing I wanted to emphasize. Seems like God had already been working in all of the Board members drawing them into prayer before I said a word.
We then went through all of the committee reports which I have shared in previous posts and we are of one mind that we must keep the Mission as the main thing. Again, this was a point I wanted to emphasize, but Kevin Bergerhofer beat me to the punch and passionately made this point. Praise God! So his point was that we have limited resources - humanly speaking - we can not do everything. We can't even take action on every good or even great idea. So as we take on tasks or ask the administration to do things, we must continually evaluate whether we are advancing the Mission or distracting from it. Remember that our Mission is "to train and equip students for life and for service to Jesus Christ through a biblical worldview, character development, and academic excellence". And when parents choose to stay or to leave the school, we must take immediate action if they leave because we are not adhering to our Mission. If they leave because of extracurricular activities, finances, etc, we should only address those things if they don't distract from the main thing. Note that any thing we do, we should do with the best quality we can give it as long as it doesn't distract us from the main thing...catching a theme here?
So the only thing I had to cover was the emphasis on communication. We want to be present at as many activities as we can and voice a unity of voice about matters of the school. We want to listen to the concerns and needs of the Maranatha family. I believe everyone was in full support of it. In fact many demonstrated that commitment at recent events such as the ice cream social.
So a successful evening with all the credit to our Lord. Plus we were done in under 2 hours!
We then went through all of the committee reports which I have shared in previous posts and we are of one mind that we must keep the Mission as the main thing. Again, this was a point I wanted to emphasize, but Kevin Bergerhofer beat me to the punch and passionately made this point. Praise God! So his point was that we have limited resources - humanly speaking - we can not do everything. We can't even take action on every good or even great idea. So as we take on tasks or ask the administration to do things, we must continually evaluate whether we are advancing the Mission or distracting from it. Remember that our Mission is "to train and equip students for life and for service to Jesus Christ through a biblical worldview, character development, and academic excellence". And when parents choose to stay or to leave the school, we must take immediate action if they leave because we are not adhering to our Mission. If they leave because of extracurricular activities, finances, etc, we should only address those things if they don't distract from the main thing. Note that any thing we do, we should do with the best quality we can give it as long as it doesn't distract us from the main thing...catching a theme here?
So the only thing I had to cover was the emphasis on communication. We want to be present at as many activities as we can and voice a unity of voice about matters of the school. We want to listen to the concerns and needs of the Maranatha family. I believe everyone was in full support of it. In fact many demonstrated that commitment at recent events such as the ice cream social.
So a successful evening with all the credit to our Lord. Plus we were done in under 2 hours!
Development Committee Topics
Dr Daugherty serves as the chairman for the Development committee. He provided these highlights from their meeting this week.
Themes from parent survey - the committee discussed several questions that revolved around the potential of the community giving to the development of the school. Their observation was that we are a blue collar community. Most parents are willing to financially support the school but don't have much means to do so. Those who can are most interested in supporting a capital campaign and scholarships.
Fund Raising - 1) continuing to work toward a goal of not depending on fund raising and gifts for operations. We want to reserve those funds for projects. We have reduced our dependency on gifts and fund raising for our operations budget by $60,000 over the last 2 years. We current rely on 2 all-school fundraisers: Spirit of 12:44 Annual Fund and Corporate Partners. 2) Exploring alternative methods for generating substantial revenue outside of tuition such as a service oriented business.
Marketing Strategies - 1) Redesigning our website, 2) More emphasis on radio marketing, 3) Bill Boards, 4) Leverage traffic to Swarner Park with more signs, 5) consider cable TV and 6) get a professional assessment of our marketing materials and tactics.
Preschool Enrollment - the preschool is a critical component to Maranatha's financial viability. So additional attention will be given to make sure we have the preschool in optimal shape (marketing, staff, facilities, programs, etc) to maximize enrollment. This will start with internal and external evaluations.
As you can see, the Development committee has a lot on its plate, and it is all very crucial business. Please pray for God's wisdom and leading for this committee as it thinks, plans and works.
Themes from parent survey - the committee discussed several questions that revolved around the potential of the community giving to the development of the school. Their observation was that we are a blue collar community. Most parents are willing to financially support the school but don't have much means to do so. Those who can are most interested in supporting a capital campaign and scholarships.
Fund Raising - 1) continuing to work toward a goal of not depending on fund raising and gifts for operations. We want to reserve those funds for projects. We have reduced our dependency on gifts and fund raising for our operations budget by $60,000 over the last 2 years. We current rely on 2 all-school fundraisers: Spirit of 12:44 Annual Fund and Corporate Partners. 2) Exploring alternative methods for generating substantial revenue outside of tuition such as a service oriented business.
Marketing Strategies - 1) Redesigning our website, 2) More emphasis on radio marketing, 3) Bill Boards, 4) Leverage traffic to Swarner Park with more signs, 5) consider cable TV and 6) get a professional assessment of our marketing materials and tactics.
Preschool Enrollment - the preschool is a critical component to Maranatha's financial viability. So additional attention will be given to make sure we have the preschool in optimal shape (marketing, staff, facilities, programs, etc) to maximize enrollment. This will start with internal and external evaluations.
As you can see, the Development committee has a lot on its plate, and it is all very crucial business. Please pray for God's wisdom and leading for this committee as it thinks, plans and works.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Board Members and Committees
As I have been visiting the different committees that are part of the Board structure, I thought it would be good to remind you of what those committees are, their purpose and who serves on each.
Development - Dr Daugherty (Chair), Brandyn West, Shawn Stewart & Dennis Wiley. There is also a strong contingent of non-board members on this committee - Kristy Swank, Linda Jennings, Devona Troutman, Cary Shiner, Lauren Miller, Jennifer Sneider, Karen Bond & Jana Thomas.
Purpose - to help the school connect with our family and the community and provide opportunities for giving and generating additional revenue.
Planning - Sean Slattery (Chair), Jim Cotton & Chris Wojcik.
Purpose - to lead the Board in looking forward and aligning around our mission, vision and goals.
Facilities - Kevin Bergerhofer (Chair) & Andy Hageman.
Purpose - to oversee our facilities and ensure we have a plan for maintenance and enhancement.
Finance - Mark Schultze (Chair) & Blake Welch. Additional non-board members are Curtis Crawford, Bernie Zarda and Rob Metcalf.
Purpose - to oversee the financial aspects of the school to ensure we are wise in our spending and thoughtful in governing our revenue.
Dr Daugherty attends all of the committees and is a wealth of information and insight. I plan to attend all of the committees as my work schedule permits to encourage synergy and collaboration between the committees.
Please pray for our Board members and their work in leading the school. We covet your prayers. Also please feel free to reach out to them to share ideas and opportunities as related to their roles.
Development - Dr Daugherty (Chair), Brandyn West, Shawn Stewart & Dennis Wiley. There is also a strong contingent of non-board members on this committee - Kristy Swank, Linda Jennings, Devona Troutman, Cary Shiner, Lauren Miller, Jennifer Sneider, Karen Bond & Jana Thomas.
Purpose - to help the school connect with our family and the community and provide opportunities for giving and generating additional revenue.
Planning - Sean Slattery (Chair), Jim Cotton & Chris Wojcik.
Purpose - to lead the Board in looking forward and aligning around our mission, vision and goals.
Facilities - Kevin Bergerhofer (Chair) & Andy Hageman.
Purpose - to oversee our facilities and ensure we have a plan for maintenance and enhancement.
Finance - Mark Schultze (Chair) & Blake Welch. Additional non-board members are Curtis Crawford, Bernie Zarda and Rob Metcalf.
Purpose - to oversee the financial aspects of the school to ensure we are wise in our spending and thoughtful in governing our revenue.
Dr Daugherty attends all of the committees and is a wealth of information and insight. I plan to attend all of the committees as my work schedule permits to encourage synergy and collaboration between the committees.
Please pray for our Board members and their work in leading the school. We covet your prayers. Also please feel free to reach out to them to share ideas and opportunities as related to their roles.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Finance Committee Topics
The Finance Committee met today and our agenda included:
* The July Financial Report
* Delinquent Accounts
* Approving Wayne Bridges & Co for compilation with tax return
* Enrollment update
* Committee goals for 2010-11
* Responding to parent's survey feedback
* Planning for budget review approval meeting in September
So all of these items will be reported on to the full Board at our meeting on the 19th. What I can share at this point is that enrollment looks to be a a little lower this year. We are tightening up our policies for dealing with delinquent accounts while demonstrating grace and understanding as each situation is different. We have identified a few goals we are considering as focus areas for the Finance Committee and we will solidify that list down to a couple next month.
More to come later, but one goal we are considering is how can we leverage all of the collective wisdom and resources of the Maranatha community to help us address top line revenue and expenses. Perhaps after the Board meeting, we can start getting you involved in working on some of the ideas we have already.
* The July Financial Report
* Delinquent Accounts
* Approving Wayne Bridges & Co for compilation with tax return
* Enrollment update
* Committee goals for 2010-11
* Responding to parent's survey feedback
* Planning for budget review approval meeting in September
So all of these items will be reported on to the full Board at our meeting on the 19th. What I can share at this point is that enrollment looks to be a a little lower this year. We are tightening up our policies for dealing with delinquent accounts while demonstrating grace and understanding as each situation is different. We have identified a few goals we are considering as focus areas for the Finance Committee and we will solidify that list down to a couple next month.
More to come later, but one goal we are considering is how can we leverage all of the collective wisdom and resources of the Maranatha community to help us address top line revenue and expenses. Perhaps after the Board meeting, we can start getting you involved in working on some of the ideas we have already.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Our Teachers and Staff
I had the priviledge of attending the all staff and teachers meeting this morning. What a blessing! Many of these people are veterans of many school campaigns, and yet their passion for the kids and awareness of their impact for the kingdom was very evident. I went to introduce myself, encourage them and share from a Board perspective. I left encouraged and challenged. There stirring testimonies of how God worked in and around them this summer was remarkable. It reminded me that our staff and teachers are human and the devil is anxious to divert them from their mission of developing our kids with a bedrock of a Christian worldview and strong character. I am reporting today, that the devil is working overtime, but our Lord is invincible!
My enthusiasm and energy to seek God in using our Maranatha community and especially our staff and parents, to further His kingdom just got ratcheted up several degrees. I encourage you to pray for our staff and teachers, and I urge you to get to know them. I guarantee you will be blessed.
My enthusiasm and energy to seek God in using our Maranatha community and especially our staff and parents, to further His kingdom just got ratcheted up several degrees. I encourage you to pray for our staff and teachers, and I urge you to get to know them. I guarantee you will be blessed.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
August Board Agenda
Well this is the busy time of the month for me as we get ready for the monthly board meeting. This month we are meeting on August 19th at 7:00 at the school. In my role, I met today with Dr. Daugherty to discuss the agenda and what the Lord might have in store for the school and the Board this year. I always enjoy visiting with Dr Daugherty, and the excitement and energy at the table today still has me going. We talked about facilities, web sites, volunteering, and what is the main thing(see earlier post for several of these topics). I am also planning on visiting all of the Committees (Development, Facilities, Planning and Finance - where I serve as chair) to get a feel for their work.
Below is the Board agenda for the meeting. It does not have a lot of detail about the topics this time, but we will work on that. I am also hoping that after the meeting, I will be able to post a high level summary of the meeting. In the Scripture reading, I plan to present a case for raising the bar on our commitment to prayer based on the book of Nehemiah. Pray for me that I might deliver the challenge as the Lord would have me do so. In the Chairman's Welcome, I want to further challenge us to keep a couple things at the top of our list this year: communication (listening and sharing) and effectively monitoring the health of the school and responding appropriately. Pray for the Lord to provide us wisdom to do so.
In the coming days, I will share topics from the Finance Committee - enrollment numbers, final budget status from last year, and other issues. Looking forward to seeing you at the Ice Cream social on August 15th!
Scripture Reading & Prayer
Agenda Revisions
Chairman's Welcome
Campus Chatter
Committee Reports - Facilities, Development, Planning, Finance
Standard Business - reviewing the minutes
Old and New business - none identified right now
Information sharing - enrollment updates
Below is the Board agenda for the meeting. It does not have a lot of detail about the topics this time, but we will work on that. I am also hoping that after the meeting, I will be able to post a high level summary of the meeting. In the Scripture reading, I plan to present a case for raising the bar on our commitment to prayer based on the book of Nehemiah. Pray for me that I might deliver the challenge as the Lord would have me do so. In the Chairman's Welcome, I want to further challenge us to keep a couple things at the top of our list this year: communication (listening and sharing) and effectively monitoring the health of the school and responding appropriately. Pray for the Lord to provide us wisdom to do so.
In the coming days, I will share topics from the Finance Committee - enrollment numbers, final budget status from last year, and other issues. Looking forward to seeing you at the Ice Cream social on August 15th!
Scripture Reading & Prayer
Agenda Revisions
Chairman's Welcome
Campus Chatter
Committee Reports - Facilities, Development, Planning, Finance
Standard Business - reviewing the minutes
Old and New business - none identified right now
Information sharing - enrollment updates
Monday, August 2, 2010
Financial Priorities
In talking with parents of Maranatha students, it becomes quickly apparent where Christian education lies in their financial priorities. It is a challenge to make the commitment of thousands of dollars a year to enlist a partner to teach our children a godly world-view. So some give up when other - sometimes selfish - needs or desires call. Some make deep sacrifices.
I have admired those who have sacrificed much to make this happen. Their stories challenge me as to my commitment to using my resources for godly things. The world certainly questions and redirects our thoughts and desires toward investing in selfish things. So it is wonderful to hear stories of Christian brothers and sisters who are not being selfish, but rather coming alongside those who are struggling with amazing acts of generosity.
Isn't that part of what makes being a Maranatha family member so worthwhile? God says He will reward those who help those in need, and He honors those who sacrifice to obey Him(He commands us to teach our children in His ways). So when all of that is happening in one family, it is a wonderful thing to be a part of.
So I ask you to do a couple of things: 1) Pray for all our families as they recommit to providing Christian education for their children and 2) Look for those that may be struggling and give of yourself and your resources. Blessings await!
I have admired those who have sacrificed much to make this happen. Their stories challenge me as to my commitment to using my resources for godly things. The world certainly questions and redirects our thoughts and desires toward investing in selfish things. So it is wonderful to hear stories of Christian brothers and sisters who are not being selfish, but rather coming alongside those who are struggling with amazing acts of generosity.
Isn't that part of what makes being a Maranatha family member so worthwhile? God says He will reward those who help those in need, and He honors those who sacrifice to obey Him(He commands us to teach our children in His ways). So when all of that is happening in one family, it is a wonderful thing to be a part of.
So I ask you to do a couple of things: 1) Pray for all our families as they recommit to providing Christian education for their children and 2) Look for those that may be struggling and give of yourself and your resources. Blessings await!
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