BAY MILLS - After learning at their April 24 board meeting that Mosaica Education Inc. Chief Operating Officer Gene Eidelman had said his company wanted nothing to do with the management of the Bay Mills Ojibwe Charter School high school, the OCS Board of Directors are still waiting to hear from him in regards to the fate of Mosaica's management contract with the school.
At that April 24 meeting, and after accepting Mosaica's offer to terminate their management contract for grades six through 12 by June 30, the board also unanimously agreed to consider terminating the contract in its entirety at their May 8 meeting, which would include the kindergarten through fifth grade portion, as well.
However, before any kind of agreement can be reached, the board must have some kind of dialogue with Eidelman so an agreement can be put into writing. Mosaica currently has five years left on their contract, which would carry them through June 30, 2011.
At their regularly scheduled June 12 meeting and with the June 30 deadline right around the corner, board member Aaron Tadgerson expressed his concern about Eidelman's absence from the meetings and lack of contact with the OCS board.
"We've been waiting for [Eidelman], as a board and as a community, for over a month now," Tadgerson said. "We've been trying to make a decision for over a month now. It's the school that's been backed up against the wall and we need this issue resolved immediately. Time is of the essence."
Mark Dobias, an attorney hired by the board to review the school's management contract with Mosaica, said he had spoken briefly with Eidelman on June 1. Dobias said he had invited Eidelman, who was out of the country at the time, up to have discussions with him and several members of the board and was still awaiting his answer.
Mosaica Director of Finance Jim Andros assured the board that Eidelman's absence from the previous board meetings was not personal, but rather, the result of a hectic schedule that includes stops across the globe.
"I think we all know he is certainly accustomed to travel," Andros said of his boss. "He is always traveling and has even taken single engine planes just to make it to board meetings up here on time. He just needs to find 24 hours in his schedule to make it up here and get this issue resolved."
Andros said the board could also consider speaking with Mosaica Chief Executive Officer Mike Connolly, or possibly try to set up a group conference call with Eidelman.
Dobias, who said he would like to see this issue resolved as soon as possible, offered to meet Eidelman in Lansing if he had to, where he was scheduled to make an appearance later in the month. Board President Shelly Deuman said there is no reason why Dobias should have to travel to Lansing to meet with Eidelman, adding it was his responsibility to come to the board. The board opted to try and set up a conference call with Eidelman later in the week.
In other news, Andros proposed a revised budget where the board could pay off their $180,000 note with Mosaica and still end up with a fund balance of $147,822. Board member Terry Carrick advised the board to accept Andros' offer and get out of the payment, which would include $170,000 in principle and $10,000 in interest. The board shared the same sentiments as Carrick and unanimously agreed to pay off the remainder of the note, which symbolically was also their last financial tie to the management company.
Andros also advised the board to adopt a 2007 budget to either include grades K though eight, or K through 11. Even if the board plans to make changes to the budget in the future, Andros said a preliminary budget is of importance because it is needed to obtain loans and to establish a line of credit.
He also advised the board to consider his opinion that there is no way Mosaica could possibly manage the elementary portion of the school while someone else managed the high school. The board unanimously agreed that their 2007 preliminary budget would include grades K through 11.
The next regularly scheduled OCS Board of Directors meeting is on July 10.
