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BOD Meeting Minutes- August 13, 2019

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

ABS 7th Street Building

Winston-Salem, NC

Tuesday August 13th, 2019

In Attendance:

 

Kyle Barnes x
Kelly Emling x
Brian Cole x
Amber Dalholt  
Brittany Emery x
Chris Gilmore  x
Tomisha Gladman x
Chrissy Davis Hardy x
Ellen Heck   
Cheryl Hicks  
Jennifer Holman x
Michelle Taylor Kennedy  
Charlie McCurry x
Griff Morgan x
Dani Parker Moore x
Kevin Nunley  
Lara Hanes-Pierce  
April Ruffin-Adams  
Bill Scheidt  
Suzanne Shuford x
Dara Silver x
Margaret Taylor  x
Julia Toone x

Also In Attendance: Robin Hollis, Paige Raper, Mary Siebert, Leah Lavin, Ellen Coble, Sam Pearce 

AGENDA

 

*Board Orientation for new members – 4:45pm (Meet in the 7th Street Building) *

 

  • Meeting Called to Order – 5:45pm – Meeting called to order by Griff Morgan at 5:53.
  • Introduction of New Board Members – Griff welcomes Dani Parker Moore (Asst Professor at WFU). Jennifer Holman (Neonatologist at WFU Baptist Health) Dara Silver (Arts Council). 
  • Approval of June Minutes – ACTION REQUIRED – Motion to approve by Charlie McCurry, seconded by Chris Gilmore, all in favor with no one opposed. The minutes are approved. 
  • Review of June/July Financial Results (Brittany) – ACTION REQUIRED – Brittany reports that our audit is finished and there are no numbers yet. $96,000 loss for the year but it does not include a lot of receivables like $80,000 from Forsyth County. This also includes Whitney Jones payments. We will discuss what will be handled by the supporting org. Net deficit of $128,000 currently. This is mostly due to front-loading the purchasing of supplies for the new year. Motion to approve July financials by Kyle Barnes, seconded by Brian Cole, All in favor with no one opposed. The financials are approved.
  • Committee Updates (Facilities, Strategy, Marketing, Development, Others) – Facilities – Charlie McCurry – The board authorized us to go under contract on a portion of the Thomasville site. This is in between Patterson and Ivy at what used to be 12th Ave. We were offered the chance to buy the portion for $400,000 with $100,000 going back to our capital campaign. While we were working on the contract, another interested party came forth. The WS/FCS system is interested but they need more than the whole space. We are at a bit of a standstill at the moment. We don’t have a contract at the moment. The property owner is making decisions. Because of the former use of the space as a furniture plant, there are some environmental concerns. Charlie has looked at all of the available information and although there will be work to be done, he is not overly concerned with this site being a school if the work is done. All possibilities are on the table right now.  Drew and his team really like that UNCSA are also in the discussion. Tomisha Gladman asks about the costs to upfit that property after a purchase. We are closer to getting to a number for that but don’t have enough information to share a solid number yet. It is a multi-million-dollar project for sure. Brian Cole asks if we know the motivation of the school system right now. We don’t. There has been comments that WSFCS is looking for an alternate site for Brunson Elem and possible Ashley. The school system is often looking for acreage. Robin asks if we know the timeline of the school system. When does the Brunson bond need to be spent? We’re not sure. Robin mentions that there has been an architect working with us. This will give us more information on a total build cost. Griff mentions that we’re in good hands with this between Charlie and Kevin. They can advise us well as we make decisions. Marketing – Leah Lavin – Ellen Heck created really beautiful campaign materials based on the windows at ABS created by Duncan Lewis. Julia Toone – It has been a busy summer with lots of work done preparing for the capital campaign. We’re looking forward to moving ahead. Ellen Coble reports that Ellen Heck has done a tremendous amount of work with lots of feedback from several people. We have thanked her profusely and continue to do that. Julia Toone participated in the last capital campaign which helped create this middle school building and she is proud that she was able to have a small part in it. She invites board members to contribute now. Ellen Coble reminds us that we are on the capital campaign with the WS Foundation for May 2020. We are in the quiet phase now which is when we approach the people closest to us. We are looking at leaders in the community to help serve as campaign cabinet members. We may not begin the quiet phase this early, but BB&T is leaving town, they have supported us in the past. They sometimes provide 10% of the goal so we asked for $200,000 towards our $2 million campaign. Board campaign will be right now. It’s important to be able to tell the community that our board is supporting the campaign 100%. We raise money in an annual fund each year so the parent phase of the campaign will look a little bit different. Griff Morgan – We’ll be asking people to contribute to two different campaigns in the first part of the year. The annual fund is for operating expenses. We receive money already, but we also offer more than many other schools especially when it comes to the arts. The capital campaign is to help us complete construction in the current middle school building ($550,000) with music room and multi-purpose room in the current courtyard. The rest would go towards beginning a second school whether that means purchasing a building or purchasing necessary items to furnish a school. We can serve as an educational model for others. We can serve more students than we currently serve. The board goal will be 5% of the total goal or $100,000. 
  • Principal’s Report (Robin) – Thank you to Griff for taking on the board chair position. Enrollment – 528 enrolled for the school year. We build the budget on 520 so there is a little cushion there. First day of school is Aug 21st. We still have a waiting list at all grades. Teachers returned yesterday. There was an arts integrated project, writing training, a scavenger hunt to find works of art in Winston-Salem. Special Visits are when teachers get two days to visit each family at their home or at the school. New Parent Council Co-Chair is Sam Pearce. Sam is working with Becky Dickson. We hosted new families at orientation. We will have a parent rep breakfast next week. We’re already rounding up volunteers for Fall Fest and Book Fair to big events this fall. 
  • Approval of Faculty and Staff Roster – ACTION REQUIRED – – Motion to approve the staff roster made by Margaret Taylor, seconded by Kelly Emling. All are in favor. The roster is approved. 
  • Approval of Policy Updates for BTSP & AIG – ACTION REQUIRED – Paige Raper – BTSP stands for Beginning Teacher Support Plan. It is required that all public schools in the state have one on file. This plan is written to describe how ABS meets the state requirements of BTSP policies. Beginning Teachers are teachers in their first three years teaching. This does not mean first three years at our school. BTs have mentor teachers that help them navigate their first three years in the profession. Our veteran teachers volunteer to serve in this role and go through training provided by the state. New additions to the policies include mentor teachers needing to be evaluated in the state evaluation system and training about seclusion and restraint. Paige provides an orientation at the beginning of every year and mentors meet at least monthly with their BTs. They send minutes of their meetings so administrators can help work through any problems or concerns and we use that as part of our “evidence” of our plan when we are reviewed every five years. Motion to approve the BTSP as described by Brian Cole, Brittany seconds, All in favor. No one opposed. The motion passes. AIG – Academically gifted – Paige Raper . We wrote a plan five years ago when the state allowed charter schools to identify students as AIG. At that time we talked as a board, parent council, staff, etc. about how to identify and serve AIG students while still maintaining the way we do things at ABS (balanced and mixed classrooms, not an overemphasis on testing, etc.). There is no “AIG class”. We identify students in 3rd through 6th grade based on existing testing opportunities (MAP and EOG). Students scoring at the 90th percentile or higher in reading and/or math are identified. They are pulled out of class for about an hour a week to work with their AIG peers and an AIG licensed teacher. In 7th and 8th grade we offer high school math classes to those who qualify. In other subject areas, we expect teachers to differentiate as necessary (different books in literature circles, different projects and assignments in science and social studies. Motion to approve the AIG local plan made by Julia Tone and seconded by Tomisha Gladman. All in favor. No one opposed. Motion passes. 
  • Other Business – Charlie McCurry asks how many are on the waitlist right now. Approx. 400. 
  • Adjournment – 6:45pm Motion to adjourn by Margaret, seconded by Kelly Emling all in favor. The meeting is adjourned. 

 

Looking Ahead:

 

  • IMPORTANT DATES … MARK YOUR CALENDARS:
    • NEXT Board Meeting – Tuesday September 10th