The Executive Director noted that the state recently received a third local charter school approval, indicating that Senate Bill 82's efforts are encouraging local charter authorization. The Executive Director announced the September 15 training for state charter schools on the SCSC's new Epicenter platform. 

Additionally, the SCSC updated its Charter School Program (CSP) grant transfer application, on the advice of the United States Department of Education. We are currently awaiting a decision.

The SCSC Academic Evaluation Manager provided an overview of state charter school academic trends. The report reviewed College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI) results, emphasizing content mastery, progress, and related performance measures in the SCSC's Comprehensive Performance Framework (CPF).

The Academic Evaluation Manager identified factors that may impact the state charter school results, including school tenure and data sample sizes. Overall, state charter schools continue to outperform comparison schools/districts. Staff responded to the commissioner questions relevant to SCSC academic support initiatives.

The SCSC Senior Associate General Counsel reminded commissioners that the monitoring cycle will start later than usual this year. Monitoring orientation will occur on September 15 from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Schools should register to attend this training. 

All monitoring tasks must be completed by October 31, giving schools approximately seven weeks to upload the required documentation. Health and safety visits will occur in September and conclude in November. Initial results should be available in February 2026.

The Approved Auditor program is underway. The finance team is in touch with auditors to monitor progress. In addition, state charter schools were notified of state-level financial submission deadlines. It appears that all state charter schools have met current submission requirements.

The Zest Preparatory Academy Vice Chair, Finance Committee Chair, Chief Financial Officer, and Executive Director read a portion of a letter from the governing board chair regarding the school's operational and financial circumstances. 

Commissioners Scafidi, Sweeny, Vice Chair Good, and Chairman Dudgeon reiterated the importance of submitting the audit on time and ensuring appropriate financial oversight. School representatives responded to the commissioners' questions as follows:

• School representatives affirmed twice that the school's FY25 would be submitted on time.
• School representatives confirmed that the governing board chair would be in monthly contact with the SCSC Director of Finance. 
• The School's Finance Chair identified himself as the school's Treasurer. He explained that the Finance committee meets monthly, usually for about 1.5 hours before the board meetings. At a recent board meeting, the board spent a subsequent 30-40 meetings discussing finances after the Finance Committee meeting. 
• The CFO reported that the school currently has 30 days of cash on hand and will end August with a net positive. 
• School representatives described process changes made recently to improve financial oversight, including a new reconciliation process, recording debt and asset transactions in a register with a schedule, and reviewing transactions. In addition, the board approved a budget review policy, which requires board approval of financial documents monthly. Further, the school has reconciled back payments with TRS and is implementing a reconciliation process for TRS payments moving forward.
• Regarding facility planning, the school's Executive Director shared that the school has been working with its new back office provider to develop facility plans for this and next year. The CFO explained that the school's priority was to stabilize its financial circumstances. It is working with contractors to review a number of facility scenarios.

The school was commended on its use of contractors but reminded of its obligations to oversee its financial situation. School representatives explained that they understood the importance of the school's current situation and its oversight obligations. Commissioners will visit the school on October 1. The school's Executive Director welcomed the visit. 

The commentator explained her disagreement with standardized testing and urged commissioners to find another way to evaluate student academic performance.