Vertus High School
Minutes
Board Meeting
Date and Time
Tuesday August 19, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Location
MCC Downtown Campus
Trustees Present
C. Gantt, D. Paul, E. Gallina, J. O'Connell, J. Wynn, M. Mandina (remote), S. David-West, V. VanVoorhis
Trustees Absent
A. Bell, D. Johnson, S. Ash
Guests Present
A. Brisson, J. Locey, L. Bennett
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
C.
Approve Minutes
Approved with edits
II. Consent Agenda Items
A.
Month At A Glance
We talked about the power loss that caused school to be closed for three days. We discussed the need for a building service assessment for the electrical boxes by O'Connell Electric and if the solution is a long-term fixed to minimize liability. This will be part of the Board's assessment regarding lease renewal and ensure student safety.
No finds from the asbestos assessment
B.
Board Statistics
We discussed the need to review (quarterly) the board statistics in more detail as a part of board meetings. We are examining the most efficient and effective way to share that information that allows for a review of statistics (data) that can be compared to previous years data. Academic assessment is central to Vertus' mission, so this is a high priority for the Board and Vertus leadership team.
C.
Recruitment Update
Discuss ensued around enrollment continuing to be strong. Due to strong enrollment, we actually had to turn away students. We have experienced an increase in students wanting to come to Vertus in their senior year with no regents and low credits. We also discussed the need to revisit our enrollment policy to ensure that we can successfully assist the student in their academic journey.
III. Finance
A.
Budget vs Actual & Cash Flow
We discussed the status of the current budget and were provided an update regarding grants that we were expecting. We did discuss that enrollment is up to help us trend toward budget for 2025-26. No concerns regarding the budget were expressed.
IV. Discussion Items
A.
21 Humboldt Lease
We reviewed the current lease agreement for 21 Humboldt Street I, LLC and the potential increase for 2025-2026 of approximately $1,300/month for the next 5-years. We discussed the need to decide about the least by December 31, 2025. Additional discussions will take place to discuss the expansion needs, the terms of the lease and how those terms might change once additional information is received.
B.
2025 Safety Plan Adoption
All board members were asked to review the safety plan prior to the board meeting. We discussed some updates to the plan and some minor changes in terms of reporting structure. We posted it as per New York State law for parents to provide feedback. No feedback was received.
Approved with edits.