Cotter Schools

“The board of directors by resolution shall appoint an executive committee, the composition of which shall include the chair of the board, the president/ceo of the corporation, the chair of each standing committee, the secretary of the corporation. The executive committee shall have and be vested with all powers of the board of directors, except as prohibited by law, and shall have the power to transact business of the corporation during the interim between meetings of the board of directors, provided that any action taken shall not conflict with the articles of incorporation, bylaws or policies established by the board of directors, and further provided that the executive committee shall refer all matters beyond the regular course of the corporation's business to the board of directors for its decision. The actions of the executive committee shall be reported at the next meeting of the board of directors. The executive committee shall also be responsible for submitting a slate of nominees for directors to the board of directors. The chair of the board, or his/her designee, shall preside at all meetings of the executive committee.”

“The proposed final draft of form 990 will be shared with both the operational vitality committee and cotter board of directors. The board of directors will be asked to take action approving the final draft prior to filing.”

“The members of the board of directors annually sign a disclosure statement regarding any conflicts or potential conflicts of interest they may have. An officer or director shall abstain from voting or attempting to influence the vote on any matter before the board of directors that places him or her in a conflict of interest. Employees are expected to report conflicts of interest to their supervisor immediately upon discovery or suspicion of the conflict. Each situation will be reviewed on its merits, and the employee will be notified of decisions made or actions to be taken.”

“Salaries and benefits for officers and all employees for the organization are reviewed annually. Comparison data is collected from area schools and through o-net online to help determine how salaries and benefits compare with other educational organizations of similar size. Those comparisons are used to help determine levels of compensation, and adjustments to level of compensation are included in proposed budget proposals which are brought forward to the operational vitality committee for review and for final approval by the board of directors. The process described here was last completed in 2024.”

“The organization makes its governing documents, conflict of interest policy, and financial statements available to the public upon request.”

“The financial statements, governing documents, and conflict of interest policy are available for viewing at the business office during normal business hours.”

“St. Mary's university transferred the valencia arts center asset to cotter schools. Cotter schools served as a host for the minnesota conservatory for the arts offering courses within each category of fine arts and performing arts. Tuition was charged for participation in each course. Cotter schools also opened two new facilities. St. Luke hall, the elementary school officially opened in august, 2023. All programming k-6 was officially moved to the cotter campus. St. Nicholas hall, our new early childhood center opened in june, 2024. Early childhood programming was expanded to include both infant care and an additional montessori program.”