Bill Ramey works at Thornton Byron, LLP as an Estate Planning and Tax Attorney. He is married to Marin Ramey, a first grade teacher at Garden City Community School. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Whitworth College, in Peace Studies, a Juris Doctor from Vermont Law School, and a Masters in Tax Law (LL.M.) from the University of Florida. He was born in Texas, but raised in Lewiston, Idaho, from the age of three. During his undergraduate studies, Bill traveled to the Netherlands, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Germany, where he studied politics and the process of democratization. He also spent a summer during law school in Romania working with a legal clinic and assisting them in developing a legislative proposal to the parliament regarding family law and police rights to intervene in domestic violence situations. When he isn’t working, Bill enjoys spending time with Marin and their dog Harvey, running, snowshoeing, and playing guitar. After living in Portland for three years, he and Marin decided it was time to move back to Idaho and are enjoying everything the Treasure Valley has to offer. He is excited to be in a position to assist in the growth of this important school and to have a positive impact on the development of Garden City and its children.

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Martha Monroe, Ph.D.
Secretary

Marti is a family educator, parent and teacher coach, and a marriage and family therapist, with a specialty in Adlerian psychology. She does Granny 9-1-1 visits to homes and sees clients privately in addition to teaching classes on the most important job in life, that of parent. Her work in Idaho has been with the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation's Open Book Initiative through the Lee Pesky Learning Center, Coordinator in Continuing Studies in Education at Northwest Nazarene University, Director of Family Education at the Landing Community Center in Eagle, and as a public school teacher and college instructor and administrator. Marti also serves as a director of the Mary Parker Follett Foundation. She and Jan Blum teach a three day Nonviolent Communication course monthly at the Idaho POST Academy (Peace Officers Standards and Training). GiraffeJuice.org is the organization under which she and Jan Blum teach varied communication classes.

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Tim Richey, CPA
Treasurer

Tim Richey is a CPA and a Senior Associate auditor at Eide Bailly, LLP. He received a Bachelors degree in accounting from Utah Valley University and Master of Accountancy degree from Boise State University. Tim was born in Rexburg, Idaho and was raised in Gooding, Idaho (Go Senators!). He served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Maracaibo, Venezuela. He moved to Boise four years ago with his family. Tim and his wife, Katie, have been married for seven years and are the proud parents of Marcus and twin boys Owen and Eli. Katie stays home with their boys which is a full-time job in itself. Tim enjoys athletics, reading, working in his yard, and spending time with his family.

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Janet V. Thomas, ED.D., LCPC

Jan is an Adlerian counselor and family educator. She received her bachelor's and master's degrees at the College of Idaho, and her doctorate in Counseling and Educational Psychology at the University of Nevada-Reno. Jan worked 40 years in educational settings from kindergarten to the graduate college level, including 25 years as an elementary counselor for the Boise School District. Jan is also CEO of Diamond L Development, Inc., a land development company, with her two sons, Gary and Mike, offering beautiful view lots in Wilder.

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Matthew Shapiro

Matthew Shapiro initiated the effort to establish the Garden City Community School. While facilitating the design of the GCCS model and writing the charter, he served as founding board president. When the school opened, he taught the Seekers class (grades 6-8) for the school’s first two years. He holds a B.A. in Elementary Education, and is currently working on his Ed.D. at Boise State University. Prior to his involvement with GCCS, Matthew was a special education assistant for Boise Schools, a wind power consultant, and a social entrepreneur. He is founder of the Mary Parker Follett Foundation, was long active in the North End Neighborhood Association, and was once a candidate for mayor of Boise. Matthew is also the author of several books, including a community profile of Southwest Idaho; a study of education reform in Idaho; a study of the three-way relationship between nature, culture, and human development; and a theory of reality. He has also published several articles in scholarly journals and has been an invited contributor to books on democratic engagement and participatory design. A native of Brooklyn, New York, Matthew has lived in Idaho for fifteen years. Apart from advocacy and activism for positive change, Matthew enjoys dancing, movies, exercise, playing the tinwhistle and the mandolin, reading, and sharing time with loved ones. He is also excited to be a brand new father.

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Laurel York Odell

Laurel received her master’s degree in Philanthropy and Development from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota in 1996 and served as “Fund Development for Nonprofit Organizations” course instructor at Boise State University in 1998 and 1999. In 1997, Laurel established Concepts In Writing, Inc., to provide technical assistance to organizations and businesses in organizational development, strategic communications and fundraising. Since its inception, Concepts In Writing, Inc., has provided services to over 100 organizations throughout Washington, Oregon, Montana, Nevada, Arizona, Alaska and Idaho.

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Michael Tetrault
Parent Representative

Michael Tetrault has been active in the field of education over the past 15 years as both a substitute teacher and a middle school science teacher (for the past 13 years in Kuna). He received his education degree from Boise State University and also has another undergraduate science degree from the University of Manitoba in Canada with his area of focus drawn from the fields of biological and earth sciences. He was born and raised mostly in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and immigrated to the United States (Boise, Idaho) eighteen years ago. He’s been married to his wife Alyssa for sixteen years and they have two sons (Gavin – age 7 and Rowan - age 3) with Gavin having attended GCCS for the past two years. Michael enjoys spending time with family, traveling, and reading, along with the sports of curling, disc golf and beach volleyball. Other outdoor pursuits include whitewater rafting and canoeing, backpacking, backcountry skiing and snowshoeing, urban exploration and even a little spelunking when he can ‘squeeze’ it in. He hopes to bring his energy and enthusiasm into the mix during his term as parent rep in order to help GCCS continue to grow and succeed in shepherding students into becoming bright, literate and concerned citizens through the application of the school’s philosophy and its ideals.

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Sara Covington, B.S., C.P.M.
Parent Representative

Sara Covington works at Riverside Rehab Inc. as a Psychosocial Rehabilitation Specialist and Case Manager working with children and adults who have mental illnesses. She received her Bachelors degree through Boise State University in Psychology and is currently working on her Masters in Psychology with a specialization in Clinical Psychology. Along with receiving her bachelors, Sara also became a Certified Professional Mediator through the Idaho Mediation Association and the Idaho Supreme Court specializing in Divorce and Child Custody Mediations. Sara enjoys hiking at Table Rock, dancing, going on long drives, and watching movies with her family Travis and Rileigh. She has one daughter Rileigh (10) who attends GCCS.

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Board Meeting Calendar

Generally, the regular board meeting will be held on the third (3rd) Monday of every month. If there is an exception to this, it is noted below. Agendas are posted 5 days in advance at the school, at Garden City City Hall, and on the website. The open session of the board meeting generally begins at 7 p.m. All meetings are held at the school, 9165 Chinden Blvd., Suite 101.

2009-2010 Board Meeting Calendar

August 17th
September 21st
October 19th
November 16th
December 21st
January 25th (exception due to MLK holiday)
February 22nd (exception due to Presidents holiday)
March 15th
April 19th
[notice of budget hearing must be in newspaper 10 days prior to budget hearing - May 7 (send to paper by April 30)]
May 17th (this meeting will include the budget hearing for the following year)
June 21st
July 19th (Annual Meeting)