BOD Meeting Minutes- November 10, 2020
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Virtual Meeting due to COVID Pandemic Winston-Salem, NC. November 10, 2020
In Attendance: Ellen Heck, Chris Gilmore, Kyle Barnes, Ellen Coble, Brian Cole, Brittany Emery, Kelly Emling, Chrissy Hardy, Michelle Kennedy, Shannon Meares, Griff Morgan, Lara Hanes Pierce, April Ruffin-Adams, Bill Scheidt, Suzanne Shuford, Tomisha Gladman. Robin Hollis, Paige Raper, and Becky Dickson also in attendance
Agenda:
Meeting called to order by Ellen Heck at 5:48pm
Ellen Coble offered an addendum to the notes for the 10/13/20 Board Meeting, adding her name to the list of attendees.
April Ruffin-Adams and Shannon Meares simultaneously moved to approve the Board Meeting Minutes from 10/13/20 and the Special Board Meeting Minutes from 10/6/20 with that change; Kyle seconded the motion. The motion passed without opposition.
Kyle Barnes presented the financials, noting that despite the finalized ADM coming in lower than expected, there is still a surplus in the budget. The revised budget with the updated numbers will be retooled after a meeting of the committee. Brian Cole moved to accept the financials and Chris Gilmore seconded. The motion passed without opposition.
Committee Reports: Executive Committee Report presented by Ellen Heck. A meeting of the committee was held on 10/20 after the Special Board Meeting. Plans were made to meet again on 11/16, just before the next Special Board Meeting on 11/17/20.
Facilities Committee Report by Robin Hollis. “Before” pictures of the courtyard were shared, noting that demolition began the day before on 11/9/20. The window inserts will remain with new glass surroundings similar to the 5th grade classroom. The handicap ramp will be demolished and moved to the other side of the stairs to make room for the music/band room. The gym/cafeteria space will occupy the corner and most of that side of the courtyard. The space will be divided almost evenly between those two rooms. The two rooms will be separated by a sectionals space, storage, and bathrooms that are accessible from both sides.
The total cost of the courtyard project is $678,625. We were reminded that in May 2020 the Board approved paying $200,000 in up-front costs from the Capital Campaign. The lease addendum agreement will cover the remaining cost, similar to the arrangement we used to cover the 5th grade space.
If weather cooperates, then the timeline estimate is to be ready for occupancy by Spring 2021.
Development Committee Report by Ellen Coble. An upcoming Committee meeting is scheduled for 11/12/20 at 3pm to discuss a fundraising strategy for the courtyard. A strategy that had been discussed offline was to target potential parent donors who could contribute to the courtyard project on top of their annual fund gift. With the Committee’s approval, this would happen in the month of December. Robin will be updated after the 11/12 meeting to discuss strategies on communicating the fundraising effort to a broader audience via social media and Thursday’s Notes, with acknowledgement and sensitivity given toward the fact that the Annual Giving Campaign just wrapped up.
The Annual Giving Campaign total is $36,250 with 30% of families contributing. Personal notes were sent from members of the Development Committee to those who gave at least $200. Ellen asked any volunteers from the Board who may consider writing 5 such notes to donors to contact her via email. 77% of the Board has contributed, with 5 members having not made a contribution yet. Reminders will be sent to those members so that we may get to 100%.
Robin added that parents had not yet been approached for the Capital Campaign.
Nominating Committee update by Ellen Coble. We just heard from Suzanne Shuford who decided to roll off at the end of her current 3-year commitment. This will be taken into consideration with upcoming nominations in January/February 2021.
Parent Council update by Becky Dickson. Parent representatives have been organized with each classroom having a parent rep. A social for the representatives is being considered.
Robin noted that the Council has created a virtual book fair that runs for 2 weeks. The link will be provided in the Thursday’s Notes.
Principal’s Report by Robin Hollis. Traditional testing has been hampered by the remote learning format. Despite this, 3rd-8th Grade families were offered the opportunity to take the MAP test. This was optional. Once testing is finalized this week and reports are generated, those will be sent to parents via USPS or the materials exchange. Results will be used to determine how best to move forward with the teaching process.
A staff development workshop series was started this week focusing on choosing culturally relevant literature for their students strengthening the commitment to racial equity across the board.
The annual in-person High School Information Night will need to be changed to a different format.
Policy Update by Robin Hollis. The Mental Health Plan and the Sex Trafficking Prevention Plan are both triggered by legislative requirements. Very specific requirements are clearly laid out for training and policy implementation. The Sex Trafficking Prevention training has yet to take place, but will be a virtual training once a resource has been identified.
Brian Cole moved to approve the Mental Health Plan and Ellen Coble seconded. The motion passed without opposition.
Ellen Heck moved to approve the Sex Trafficking Prevention Plan and Tomisha Gladman seconded. The motion passed without opposition.
Paige Raper spoke about the Beginning Teachers Support Plan. It is required of all public schools in the state. A mentor teacher is assigned to each teacher who is in their first 3 years of their career. Every 5 years the state evaluates the plan. An addition this year is the requirement of the Recent Graduate Survey for teachers in their 1st year of teaching.
Griff Morgan moved to approve the addition and Shannon Meares seconded. The motion passed without opposition.
Robin Hollis supplied information regarding the Weighted Lottery Policy update. The State provides clear guidance on how to implement a weighted lottery. Those guidelines were used in our template. The template was submitted to the Office of Charter Schools for feedback, and it received a greenlight there. Our Board must approve the policy before sending it to the State for approval.
The percentage of our students who qualify for free or reduced lunch fluctuates between 16-21% and is based on the Household Income Survey. We are proposing with the weighted lottery that we will work toward 24% to be in line with the statistics in Forsyth County.
April Ruffin-Adams moved to approve the policy and Ellen Coble seconded. The motion passed without opposition.
Shannon Meares moved to adjourn and Tomisha Gladman seconded. The motion passed and the meeting adjourned at 6:20pm.