Minutes - UWC Maastricht

UWC Maastricht Division Council
Minutes of the meeting of June 25, 2012 approved on September 17, 2012
Present:
Members: Frodo Oude Groeniger, Elizabeth Rossin, Colin Hogan, Peter Wijnker, Satyadeep
Srivastava, John Eberhard, Mariette van de Ven-Peeters, Olivia Campbell, Gijsbert de
Keizer, Angelique Paulussen, Golnar Motaharipour, Suzanne van Wunnik
Management: Simon Murray, Peter Howe, Catherine Copeland
Guest: Gerrit van der Veer (HR), Maddy Koekkelkoren
Absent: None
1. Meeting opened @18:10
2. May 14 2012 Minutes approved.
3. Gerrit van der Veer introduced as responsible for HR in secondary with an expanded role in
the future.
4. A reply from the UWCM Board was received in June in response to two letters sent from the
Division Council in April and May. The response was not discussed in detail.
5. June 18th Board meeting update from Peter Howe:
a. The Board meeting was attended by two UWC representatives, Keith Clark, Executive
Director UWC International office and Tim Toyne Sewell, UWC International Board Chair.
The general focus of the meeting was on governance and building an independent
structure.
b. A target date of October 2012 was established to demonstrate progress on adding
additional members to the Board. Harrie Boumans, formerly from DSM person will join
the board. Additional members, including a chair, are being sought out.
c. A target date of August 2012 was established to begin the process of handing over the
finances and human resources functions. This means that financial matters would be
directly managed by the school, parental fees and state funds (BRIN #) would come
directly to the school and no longer be routed via MosaLira or LVO.
d. With respect to finances, it was indicated that we still don’t have actuals for 2011, and
we won’t have 2012 numbers until September at the earliest. If indeed all financing and
HR is transferred to UWCM, it is the management of the school who can take care of the
financial transparency and we no longer have to approach the board on this.
e. UWC International reaffirmed its commitment to the future of the school
6. The DC Chair met directly with the UWCM Board Chair to discuss handover matters. The
UWCM Board Chair agreed to look into reconfirming the Division Council as defined under
the bylaws of the Cooperation.
UWC Maastricht Division Council
Nijverheidsweg 25, 6227 AL Maastricht, The Netherlands
Email: uwcm.council@gmail.com Website: www.uwcmaastricht.nl (→ School Life → Division Council)

7. The primary staff has elected Maddy Koekkelkoren to replace Suzanne van Wunnik as
primary school staff representative of the DC.
8. In September 2012, two primary school positions on the DC become eligible for re-election.
Golnar Motaharipour’s two year term is completed and John Eberhard will no longer have a
pupil in the primary section. Elections shall be held in September.
9. David Townend’s status in Advisory Council was discussed. David is on the UWC Advisory
Council as an independent advisor to the board and not as a parent representative. The
purpose of the advisory council, which has only met once in the past year is not clear. It was
agreed that parental representation on the Advisory Council would not be relevant and the
DC will continue seeking parental representation on the UWCM Board.
10. The Learning and Teaching Policy was approved by Division Council. This is submitted
annually for purposes of school inspection.
11. The 2011-12 Master Zorg Plan, required for primary, will be translated and submitted to DC
for approval in September 2012. Execution of the special education needs (SEN) program
takes place at both schools. Simon will take direct responsibility of the pastoral care in
Secondary as of 2012.
12. Standing input from School Management team.
a. A fee schedule was submitted to the Division Council for approval.
i. A new administrative fee was proposed when installment options are selected by
parents. DC advised that the administrative fee should be clearly explained in the
schedule. It was indicated that this increase could cause hardship for families
with numerous students; therefore a fee per family, not per child was suggested.
Lastly it was requested to establish standing orders with parents to avoid the
admin cost of sending invoices.
ii. DC indicated that fees were approved conditionally in the past based on
unfulfilled promises of financial transparency. The DC will now turn to the Head
of College for financial transparency.
iii. Division Council approved the 2012-2013 school fees based on the following two
conditions:
1. Full financial transparency next year.
2. All fees for 2012-2013 go directly to UWC.
iv. It was reiterated that this approval is based on the faith that the Head of College,
regardless of Board structure in 2012-2013, will meet these conditions. This will
be the last time the DC conditionally approves the annual school fees.
b. Secondary recruitment for 2012-2013 is complete.
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c. Primary recruitment ongoing.
13. Appointment procedure for new Staff (Primary) - A candidate selection committee is
proposed to fill the current vacancies in Y3 and Y6. The committee will be comprised of
Catherine, Suzanne (as primary representative) and Golnar (as DC representative). The Y5
position will be filled by a supply teacher.
14. Standing miscellaneous items:
a. Status of the Revised Development Plan – on hold pending financial reports, no input.
b. GMR – Gijsbert and Suzanne have been given GMR contacts for LVO and Mosalira and
requested to contact them directly in order to join the respective GMRs.
c. Smoking – The current campus will not be smoke free as it was not permitted by BLS.
The new campus will be smoke free. Concern was raised that more students (including
boarders) are starting to smoke. If the new campus will be smoke free, it was suggested
to tighten the rules now. The UWC Common Code of Conduct forbids smoking.
d. Smoking (continued) – A fence was erected to discourage smoking by the entrance. This
creates an alternative problem with people smoking under an awning during inclement
weather. It was unclear whether the fence is permanent or temporary.
15. Ecorys, an external consulting firm, performed a study projecting student levels to which
financial projections and development plans are based on. An updated study was performed
and DC requested a copy of said study.
16. Annual DC accomplishments will be drafted and sent for approval.
17. Sept 17 will be the first Division Council meeting for 2012-2013.
18. Schedule of dates 2012-2013, on agenda for September 2013.
19. Concern raised: In the 2010 Audited Financials, concern was raised regarding the substantial
deficit, which did not occur prior to 2010. Such a deficit is not a positive sign for the future as
it will either be covered by increased parental fees or a reduction in the quality of education.
DC wants to understand why this deficit and how is school working in 2012 to address. It
was added that losses were created by decisions taken by people who will not pay for them.
a. Reply from Peter: We are working now to reduce costs. There were numerous costly
salaries that needed to be paid for in the past, long term illness costs, and support
(secretarial and principle) which has been rationalized. It was added that it would be
difficult all specific losses as the causes remain undocumented in the 2010 Audited
statements.
20. In financial meetings with Theo, the long term planning for parental fees was discussed. A
capital fee was proposed for 2013-2014 that will be charged to parents. Management
indicated that this was only a proposal.
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21. The schedule for future meetings will end with a 15 minute internal recap after school
management leaves.
22. Agreement to revise DC regulations in September meetings.
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