Jamie Hodgson, a NECCA coach, said that on Saturday several coaches of the New England Center for Circus Arts met with a 3rd party representing the board, Gordon Bristol, in an attempt to work out an agreement for going forward.
“They discussed several things in detail and Gordan (sic) expressed confidence that the agreement would be well received by the board,” she said by email, “and that he felt some version of this agreement may be signed by the board by the next morning.
“The coaches were contacted by Mel, the board president, this morning 7/16. While he expressed interest in talking and optimism that we could move forward, he did not agree to any of the terms of the agreement.”
Here’s the draft agreement up for discussion:
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For Public Distribution
Proposed Agreement between NECCA Coaches and NECCA Board of Trustees July 16, 2017
Facilitated by Gordon Bristol
• Linda Schiffer will remain on NECCA’s Board in the spirit of compromise and to allow for continuity.
• Coaches who have resigned will be rehired immediately.
• Michael Helmstadter will resign within a couple of days, goal of Wednesday July 19th.
• An interim Administrative Committee will be put in place immediately in order to run day-to-day operations and facilitate Michael Helmstadter’s departure.
• Interim Committee members: Erin Lovett-Sherman, Jordan Polan-Clarke, Victoria Quine, Jamie Hodgson. Aimée Hancock acting in advisory capacity.
• Mel Martin will resign from NECCA’s Board as soon as possible, no later than August 15th, 2017.
• Tracy Prentiss will resign from NECCA’s Board as soon as new board members are brought on so board will be in compliance with law. Alternatively, Tony Duncan or Bill Perry can be brought on the board immediately so maintain the minimum of 3 and Tracy can resign immediately.
• Coaches group has a list of 7 members of the community who are ready to be brought onto the Board effective immediately. We are not including their names in this document out of respect for their privacy. Goal is to have this board in place and meet by July 22nd, 2017.
– Coaches group understands that there may be push back on one or two of these nominees from the current board and are ready to discuss.
• The intent of the coaches group is for the Founders to return to NECCA in a meaningful capacity. The Founders themselves do not wish to return as Executive Directors or as Artistic Directors, but will be part of the conversation with the new board and artistic direction committee in determining what they want their roles to be as we restructure.
• Artistic Direction will be by a committee of the coaches as defined by the coaches’ group.
• Immediate to-do as transition happens: establish ‘Safety Committee.’
•Near-term to-dos:
– Establish personnel committee
– Review and address problems with pay structure, changes, etc.
– Begin work on rewriting bylaws
