The SCSC Executive Director gave an update regarding several agency personnel changes and division reorganization. 

The SCSC is wrapping up its annual authorizer evaluation on the Georgia Principles and Standards of Quality Authorizing with NACSA. Once available, the evaluation results will be shared. 

All governing board members had until June 30th to complete their annual governance training requirements for FY24. School leaders and governing board chairs should have received information about the Governance Training Certification process earlier this month. That application is due on August 16th.  

Visit the Training Page of the SCSC website for real-time updates and additional information. 

https://scsc.georgia.gov/school-resources/training-opportunities

Two new schools are scheduled to open this fall, Excelsior Village Academies in Stockbridge and Rocky Creek Charter Academy in Augusta. Both schools have met critical pre-opening milestones and remain on track for opening this fall.  

The newly approved schools, along with the schools that deferred their opening this past year, will be set up to begin working on the FY25 version of the pre-opening checklist in the coming weeks.  

Georgia Milestones results were published this past Friday. Staff are compiling and analyzing the data. A cursory review suggests state charter schools generally continue to improve performance levels. However, we will present more detailed results at the August board meeting. Additionally, the Value-Added Model (VAM) report is final and posted to our website. The results are the same as already shared with schools in their Comprehensive Performance Framework (CPF) report and presented at the April board meeting. The report just took a little more time to compile this year because we added some new box and whisker plots to help illustrate the statistical significance levels of school results. We appreciate the continued work with our research partners at Georgia Southern University who carry out the model for us. If there are any questions, feel free to reach out to Katie. 

Schools will be notified in August if they will be required to participate in  

High-Risk Financial Monitoring (HRFM)- for FY25, which involves completing quarterly financial reporting if a school meets one or more of the following criteria: 

• Are in their first year of operations; 
• Scores “Does Not Meet Standards” on the financial section of the CPF;  
• Significant financial findings from the SCSC or GADOE Financial Review Office;  
• Placed on Probationary Status by the SCSC;  
• Unrestricted days cash of less than 15 days or has a negative cash balance or; 
• Events at the school warn that its ability to manage funds may be compromised.  

Allotment Sheets - GADOE has posted updated FY25 state funding allotment sheets. Make sure to go to the GADOE webpage to find your school’s sheet. The SCSC will also be posting a Charter Supplement Detail so schools can see the funding details for their school. 

Federal funding allocation- The State Board of Education at its July meeting, approved the FY25 federal grant awards for the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Please visit the State Board of Education web page to see your school’s grant award for this school year View July State Board Meeting: eBoardsolutions 

FY 25 Operations & Fiscal Monitoring Timeline 

• Monitoring Webinar - August 19, 1:30 pm 
• Health and Safety Visit notifications to schools - August 19 
• SCSC Administrative Portal opens - August 20 
• Document submission window  - August 20-October 1 (6 weeks) 
• Health and Safety Visit window - September 9- October 31 

FY25 Monitoring Timeline

As a condition of probation, SCSC staff has been reviewing interim reports from The RISE Schools to ensure that the school is on track for its second year of operations as a state charter school. The school appears on track to have hired for all teaching positions. It has not located an Executive Director and has a vacant Director of Operations position on its leadership team. The school provided adequate interim plans for covering the obligations of these vacancies until the positions are filled. The school plans to onboard an additional governing board member, bringing the total number of board members to 6. Staff will continue to review interim reports from the school; however, the frequency of reports will likely decrease after the school year gets underway to allow staff to focus more fully on school operations. The school will remain on high-risk financial monitoring. 

Elizabeth Keohane-Burbridge, LaTasha Adams, and Zoe Adams spoke in favor of the Dominion Purpose Academy.