The Anchor School
Minutes
Board of Directors Meeting
Monthly BOD Meeting
Date and Time
Wednesday March 27, 2024 at 7:00 PM
Location
The Anchor School
2460 Wesley Chapel Rd
Decatur,Georgia 30035
Directors Present
D. Gregory, D. Grissom, E. Desprez Isbell, J. Anfield-El, J. Whittington (remote), L. Stephens, N. LeBlanc, T. Ramsey (remote), V. Thompson
Directors Absent
J. Burton
Guests Present
gina@transact.com (remote), gstevens@gacharters.org, taushagresham@hotmail.com
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
D. Gregory called a meeting of the board of directors of The Anchor School to order on Wednesday Mar 27, 2024 at 7:06 PM.
C.
Approve Minutes
J. Anfield-El made a motion to approve the minutes from Special Board Meeting on 02-20-24.
D. Grissom seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
D.
Public Comment
II. Board Training
A.
Board on Track Training
- Training led by Gina Fafard from BoardOnTrack.
- Presentation: Charter Board Structure for Success (in Board Documents folder).
- Board members and Head of School are encouraged to take Board Assessment in BoardOnTrack.
- Urgency to develop an annual board calendar (template provided from BoardOnTrack).
B.
Board Assessment
- Request for all board members and Head of School to complete assessment by April 3rd.
- This assessment will inform future trainings, board recruitment, retreat agendas, and more.
C.
Board Fiduciary Training
- Chris Adams, a legal rep for the school, walks through fiduciary duties for governing board directors.
- Duty to act in good faith
- Overview of protections of board directors
- Best practices that go beyond legal duties
III. Academic Updates
A.
Enrollment Dashboard
- Current enrollment (as of today): 84 students
- Slight increase in enrollment since last month
- Offered seats
- 145 students are enrolled/confirmed
- 54 rising 6th graders
- 91 rising 7th graders
- 77 6th grade students have re-enrolled application (over 90%)
- 120 new enrollees have been offered seats
- 145 students are enrolled/confirmed
- Enrollment strategy: Media, flyers, targeted outreach
B.
Academic Performance Dashboard
- At mid-year, students on average, are on pace to grow more than a full year in Math and Reading.
- In Math, more students were below grade level at start of school year.
- Attendance rate is 95.77% for the year
C.
Staffing Report
D.
Operational Updates
- The Anchor School has officially qualified for the national school lunch program
E.
Building Technology RFP Update
Dr. Pinto-Taylor has asked the Board to vote on One Accord Technologies as a preferred technology vendor for the school. This vendor will provide more access points (WiFi extenders) so the school has more internet access as we expand facilities.
- This was the only RFP, but school maintained open bidding process for 30 days
- Derrick brought up bandwidth considerations for increasing access points and considerations; believes the school should reach out to Comcast (our ISP) and potentially obtain more vendor proposals
- Unsure if deferring vote until April's meeting will deter us; working to keep up with Phase 2 buildout
- Board feels most confident to vote if capability contingency language can be included in contract.
J. Anfield-El made a motion to approve One Accord Technologies as preferred technology vendor for internet expansion.
E. Desprez Isbell seconded the motion.
- Contingent on amended capability language that allows contract to be voided if capabilities cannot be met.
IV. Finance Updates
A.
Financial Health & Sustainability (CFO / Treasurer)
- February 2024 update
- Misc. adjustments and QBE update drive $13K net operating income decrease
- Ended Feb with $495K, projected to end FY24 with $30K, 4 DCOH
- Grants summary: School is preparing to draw down federal funds after additional allocations
- Awarded $1.5 mil CSP grant
- Developed comprehensive FY25 budget draft
- EdTechs systems
- Financial system
- Financial software
- School financial reports
- FY25 budget overview
- Will schedule additional time with notice to review FY25 budget
B.
Budget Process & Timeline
Tabled till the April board meeting.
C.
GCSA Financial Training Overview
Tabled till the April board meeting.
D.
CSP Grant Update
Tabled till the April board meeting.
E.
Federal Grant Policies
- Executive Committee must develop a federal grant policy upon receipt of the CSP grant.
- Board must vote in federal policy once drafted.
F.
Public Comment
- Public comment from a parent
- Demands a change to extracurricular activities
- More clubs
- Interest in sports (basketball, cheerleading, etc.)
- Marketing ideas
- Atlanta School Guide
- Newspaper ads
- Traffic is an issue
- Suggesting the school utilizes funds for a patrolman
- Issues with vandalism (security measures)
- Opening the back of school - what safety measures to put in place?
- Uniforms
- The school should reach out to other local vendors instead of demanding uniforms from one vendor
- Community lunch should change
- It's about community relations
- Expresses that student loves attending the school
- Demands a change to extracurricular activities
G.
CSP Grant Award, Terms, & Conditions Approval
D. Gregory made a motion to Accept CSP State Entity subgrant award (FAIN S282A220006) of $1,500,000.00 grant, complying with all applicable terms and conditions.
D. Grissom seconded the motion.
The Anchor School has been awarded a CSP State Entity subgrant award (FAIN S282A220006) of $1,500,000.00 by the State Charter Schools Foundation of Georgia (SCSF) to support the (opening and preparation for the operation of a new / opening and preparation for the operation of a replicated high-quality / expansion of a high-quality) charter school in Georgia.
H.
Facility Underwriting Fees Vote
- Board must vote to approve increases on the facility underwriting fee, one-time and up to $38,000
E. Desprez Isbell made a motion to approve increase on the facility underwriting fees, one-time and up to $38,000.
D. Gregory seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
I.
Fundraising Dashboard
Tabled till the April board meeting.
V. Governance
A.
Governance Progress Report
- April 17th: In-person governance training
- 6 additional online hours due by April 30
B.
HR Consultant Services Vote
J. Anfield-El made a motion to authorize the Board Chair (Dr. Gregory) to allocate up to $39,000 of our Special Projects budget towards 21 Cobalt (governance) Candy Yu/Avolon (financial), and Tausha Mabry (HR) consulting services.
D. Grissom seconded the motion.
- Dr. Pinto-Taylor recognizes that we need many services as a new school, but encourages the board to be mindful of how these services are incorporated into the budget; also wants to understand more about the items listed in Tausha Mabry's deliverables-based proposal.
- The scope of services across these vendors will be determined by the Executive Committee in a follow-up session.
- The Board feels most confident to begin services with 21 Cobalt first.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| E. Desprez Isbell |
No
|
| J. Burton |
Absent
|
| T. Ramsey |
Absent
|
| V. Thompson |
Abstain
|
C.
Financial Health Check-up Proposal Vote
Motion to Joseph Anfield EL.
D. Grissom seconded the motion.
The board voted and approved services, see section B for details.
D.
Governance Support Services Vote
Motion to Joseph Anfield El.
D. Grissom seconded the motion.
The board voted and approved services, see section B for details.
E.
Compliance & Training Review
Tabled till the April board meeting.
VI. Facility Updates
A.
Facility Expansion Updates
Tabled till the April board meeting.
VII. Community Engagement
A.
Co-Design Meeting Update
Tabled till the April board meeting.
B.
Community Events & Activities.
- 5 students presented innovations at Georgia Tech this month
C.
Leadership Engagement Calendar
Tabled till the April board meeting.
VIII. Closing Items
A.
Summary of Commitments
- All board members and Dr. Pinto-Taylor will complete board assessment by April 3rd
- Dr. Pinto Taylor will reach out to board members who are interested in enrollment strategy
- Board will attend in-person governance training on April 17th (if they haven't completed already)
B.
Adjourn Meeting
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 10:51 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
N. LeBlanc