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Board Meeting Minutes Archive » BOD Meeting Minutes – November 10, 2015

BOD Meeting Minutes – November 10, 2015

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

ABS 7th Street Building

Winston-Salem, NC

Tuesday, November 10th, 2015

In Attendance: Heather Smith, Brittany Emery, Charles Cleveland, Margaret Taylor, Debbie Linville, Laura Luykx, Renee Semones, Kevin Nunley, Robin Hollis, Paige Raper, Michelle Lawrence, Amy Lanning, Kelly Carswell, Eric Prior, Emily Ball, Chad Cleveland, Doug Punger, Joan Marie Belnap,

AGENDA

  1. Meeting Called to Order 5:45PM – Heather Smith called the meeting to order. Heather introduces Debbie Linville who is a returning board meeting after moving back to Winston-Salem from out of town.
  2. Approval of October 2015 Minutes – ACTION REQUIRED   5:45-5:47PM – Motion to approve the October minutes made by Eric Prior, Chad Cleveland seconds, all are in favor and no one opposed so the October minutes are approved.
  3. Review of Revised 2015-2016 Budget (Renee) ACTION REQUIRED    5:47-6:00PM – This new draft is based on the approved ADM by the state. This reflects an increase in $84,000 for charter schools. Also increase local funds by $19,000 and change. With the new revenue, the budget wasn’t balanced anymore so $98,000 added to the reserves line. The reserve is at $351,000. The motion to approve the revised budget was made by Kevin Nunley, seconded by Doug Punger, all are in favor, none opposed so the motion carries.
  4. Review of October Financials (Renee) 6:00-6:05PM – The October financials did not have the amended budget in it. We have a $61,000 positive variation. Renee Semones reports that she used to pull out capital expenses and revenue for the capital campaign. We have exhausted those funds so anything spent for capital now will be in the regular budget lines. Our expenses are at 66% remaining so we’ve spent a little less than 40% of our expenses.
  5. Principal’s Report (Robin)  6:05-6:30PM – Mrs. Hollis shared part of the Inside/Outside Self documentary and spoke about the fourth grade project and event at SECCA. Mrs. Hollis reviewed MAP test data from fall 2015. She explained that the MAP test does not take as long as other tests and is adaptive. We get information now so teachers have all year to make a difference in a child’s academic growth. Also, the EOG doesn’t give us specific information on what a child does and doesn’t know. We have far outscored the national average. There are students scoring below grade level and students scoring very high above grade level. This information is an average. The growth expected at lower grades is larger than at older grades. By 10th grade, the expected growth is .6. Chad asks if we see higher growth at 3rd grade as the first grade of testing. Mrs. Hollis says it depends some on the cohort. Mrs. Hollis reviewed Read to Achieve data. Across the state, 50% of the kids didn’t show proficiency on the EOG. The state allowed other ways of showing proficiency. We use MAP data and mClass scores as well. The BOG is given to 3rd graders early in the year. If they don’t pass that, don’t pass the first MAP test, and don’t pass mClass tests, we are required to alert parents through a letter. Those letters have gone out. When this happens, teachers put in interventions to help. The state requires the interventions at third grade to be documented. Late last year, there was money provided for summer interventions. We look at each child and decide what is best. Doug Punger asks if we have info on our students’ preschool attendance. We ask for prior schools but have never tracked that to see how those students perform once testing starts.

The state report card has sent a preliminary report and we look like we’re receiving a B. Last year we received a C. Last year, the state changed the grading scale and changes may continue or this may be eliminated. June Atkinson has said that they have considered using the MAP assessment, which would be great for us since we already use it. Mrs. Hollis will share the report via e-mail or at the next meeting when it is published. It needs to be sent to all parents too.  African Tales performance is coming up – 2nd grade in the ABS backspace.

  1. Other Business  6:35-6:40PM – We have heard from the YMCA that they no longer have grant money to provide free swimming lessons to our grades 1, 2, 3 students. They would have to charge $44 per child. This would amount to about $8000 each year. We don’t pay $8000 for Romeo and Juliet. Mrs. Hollis would like to talk with the teachers and see which grade level(s) might most benefit from this. The next round is January and we will need to decide. Emily Ball asks if the fee could be passed on to parents without making it mandatory. That is a large amount for some families. Heather Smith reminds everyone that the activity fee for the year is $30. Emily Ball asks if it could be an afterschool activity. It is hard to get pool time after school. Chad Cleveland asks from where the grant money comes. We don’t know. Joan Marie Belnap mentions the Annual Campaign and wonders if we could use this as part of our goal. Heather Smith mentions that the state has changed the requirement for boards to have 8 meetings per year. December meeting may be cancelled. Margaret Taylor makes the motion to skip the December meeting and Debbie Linville seconds it. All are in favor with no one opposed. The December meeting is cancelled.
  2. Adjournment  6:40PM – The meeting is adjourned at 6:40.

 

UPCOMING BOARD MEETINGS/EVENTS:

 

o    Tuesday, December 8, 2015

o    Saturday, December 12 Board/Staff Holiday Social

o    Saturday, January 16, 2016 Annual Board Retreat