Vertus High School
Minutes
Board Meeting
Date and Time
Tuesday July 22, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Location
MCC Downtown Campus
Trustees Present
A. Bell, C. Gantt, D. Johnson (remote), D. Paul, E. Gallina, J. O'Connell, J. Wynn, M. Mandina, V. VanVoorhis
Trustees Absent
S. Ash, S. David-West
Guests Present
J. Locey, Julie Willcott, L. Bennett
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
C.
Approve Minutes
II. Consent Agenda Items
A.
Month At A Glance
B.
Board Statistics
C.
Recruitment Update
We are ensuring a balance of enrollment for each grade level served by Vertus. Enrollment is going great and we are having some discussion regarding students who are aging out for what is allowed at Vertus. We are also seeing legacy enrollment. We are on target for enrollment for fall 2025
III. Finance
A.
Budget vs Actual & Cash Flow
A review of the budget from 2024-25 was discussed. Cash flow is looking strong and we are preparing for the 2025-2026 school year.
Title IX and IV funds have not been allocated yet to Vertus for 2025-2026. Julie is staying on top of the updates.
A discussion took place regarding the fundraising and discussed how it is reflected within the budget sheet for 2024-2025. We discussed the need to increase fundraising efforts for 2025-2026. We are looking at grants and fundraising streams.
We also discussed the focus regarding the capital campaign and how time is distributed by fundraising coordinator and whether additional support is needed.
B.
Signatory Approval
IV. Discussion Items
A.
Junior High Application Update
B.
Cell Phone Policy Review
The board received a copy of the updated cell phone policy for Vertus. We already had a policy and it was updated to be compliant with NYS. Due to be uploaded in the portal by August 1, 2025.
The board received a copy of the updated cell phone policy for Vertus. We already had a policy and it was updated to be compliant with NYS. Due to be uploaded in the portal by August 1, 2025.
C.
Annual Report Financial Disclosure Requirement
Reminder that the Annual Financial Disclosure is due to Julie by no later than August 1, 2025. Paper copies distributed at the meeting.
V. Committee Reporting
A.
Committee Membership for 25-26 School Year
We reviewed the committee membership for 2025-2026. New members were added to the standing committees.
VI. Closing Items
A.
New Action Item Review & Report Out
- Employee Recognition Events were discussed. Reminder of email from Levi sent to all board members
- Discussed Board retreat and a reminder of the date was provided.
- Onboarding for new board members was discussed.
- Save the date for the gala was discussed
- Reminded to find "high value" items for the gala.
- Action Item: Tori to set up a meeting with Jean Claude Brizzard
We had a discussion around how attendance is recorded around regents exams and credits earned. We also had a discussion around student suspensions and any trends we are experiencing.