The Anchor School
Minutes
Board of Directors Meeting
Monthly BOD Meeting
Date and Time
Wednesday June 26, 2024 at 7:00 PM
Location
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82409991402?pwd=FgasPZ1aLkn7MgTwwSzma3oqeCDGjr.1
Meeting ID: 824 0999 1402
Passcode: TAS
Directors Present
D. Gregory (remote), D. Grissom (remote), E. Desprez Isbell, J. Anfield-El (remote), J. Burton (remote), J. Whittington, L. Stephens (remote), N. LeBlanc (remote), V. Thompson (remote)
Directors Absent
None
Directors who arrived after the meeting opened
E. Desprez Isbell, J. Whittington
Guests Present
Jamilyah Hardway (remote), M. Felts (remote)
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
N. LeBlanc called a meeting of the board of directors of The Anchor School to order on Wednesday Jun 26, 2024 at 7:06 PM.
C.
Approve Minutes
V. Thompson made a motion to approve the minutes from Board of Directors Meeting on 05-22-24.
N. LeBlanc seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
II. Finance Updates (Treasurer / CFO)
A.
Enrollment Dashboard
J. Whittington made a motion to adopt the Enrollment Dashboard for the 2024-2025 school year.
D. Gregory seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
B.
Financial Statements
- Current forecast (as of May 31): $188,618
- Ended May with $312K, projected to end FY24 with $95K, 14 days of cash on hand
- Expecting to receive $150–200K in grant drawdowns and reimbursements in July (next 30–40 days)
- Need to stay mindful of our expenditures
C.
Fractional CFO (Vote)
J. Whittington made a motion to authorize sourcing for a fractional CFO for the 2024-2025 school year to support the Board and TAS school leadership with strategic financial decisions; aligned with our 2024-2025 annual budget.
J. Anfield-El seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
D.
SY24-25 Budget (Vote)
- Operating income will stay the same
- EdTech ad Head of School have started creating a first-draft scenario for 200 students
- Money that we receive will be primarily spent on students (enrollment-based revenue accounts for 75% of total)
- CSP and state revenue largely replace philanthropy in new school year
- Net five additional positions to be added in FY24
- Cash flow will still be tight, and will remain a critical focus in FY24
J. Whittington made a motion to approve the FY24-25 annual budget.
D. Gregory seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
III. Public Comment
A.
Public Comment
- No members from the public
IV. Operational Updates
A.
Staffing Dashboard (Vote)
- Vanecia asked if there’s an opportunity to incorporate certification status (provisional, certified) in the staffing dashboard.
- Board can make a conditional approval to incorporate this. An action item for the Ops Committee would be to develop a cadence for development.
J. Anfield-El made a motion to adopt the Staffing Dashboard.
D. Gregory seconded the motion.
- Conditional on incorporating teacher certification status.
B.
Personnel Actions - Hiring Approval (Vote)
- Committee recommends a board vote that authorizes Head of School to execute a contract for a personalized learning teacher after committee review.
J. Anfield-El made a motion to authorize the Head of School to extend an offer to a personalized learning teacher after committee review.
D. Gregory seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
C.
Employee Handbook - Intermittent Approval (Vote)
- After a committee review, the committee recommends a board vote for intermittent approval of the Employee Handbook — will include HR best practices and recommendations.
- Dr. Pinto-Taylor will need to vet handbook with HR and Legal, and then the final draft of the handbook will be submitted in BoardOnTrack.
D. Gregory made a motion to approve the Employee Handbook, conditional of final review and approval by HR and Legal.
D. Grissom seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
D.
Offer Letter & Welcome Letter Policy (Block Vote)
J. Anfield-El made a motion to adopts the attached Offer Letter and Welcome Letter Policy templates.
D. Gregory seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
J. Whittington arrived.
E.
Custodial Vendor (Vote)
J. Anfield-El made a motion to to allow the Head of School to execute a contract with Jabin Clark, LLC as the TAS custodial vendor for 2024-2025, aligned with the 2024-2025.
D. Grissom seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
F.
Nutrition Vendor (Vote)
J. Anfield-El made a motion to to authorize the Head of School to execute a contract with School Gourmet as the TAS nutritional vendor for 2024-2025, aligned with the 2024-2025.
N. LeBlanc seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
G.
Vendor Updates
- Two open items regarding a bus/transportation and furniture vendor:
- Bus: met with vendor twice. Head of School received a draft contract
- Furniture: received a quote below budget for furniture for 2024–2025.
- Also received awards for redistribution of furniture.
- The Finance Committee will follow up on furniture.
V. Academic Updates
A.
Academic Dashboard (Vote)
E. Desprez Isbell arrived at 7:44 PM.
E. Desprez Isbell made a motion to approve the FY24-25 Academic Dashboard.
N. LeBlanc seconded the motion.
New additions:
- Breaking out four MAP scores
- Adding separate year-over-year milestones tabs
- Reserving the right to request weekly or monthly assessments and progress
B.
Student & Family Handbook (Vote)
New additions:
- Attendance policy: more data that’s considered for retention conversations
- Uniform policy: adding clarity on belts and tucked-in shirts; outwear
- Progressive discipline: clearer guidelines for leveled consequences and disciplinary actions (including detailed guidelines on escalation to expulsion)
- The Board-approved grievance policy has been added to the handbook.
- Community access to the handbook
- Cell phone policy
- Grading scales and language
E. Desprez Isbell made a motion to approve the Student & Family Handbook for FY24-25.
V. Thompson seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
C.
Phonathon
- Have until June 20 to complete Phonathon calls
- Emily believes this has been a great opportunity to connect with families
VI. Governance
A.
Board & Committee Meeting Calendars (Vote)
D. Gregory made a motion to approve the board and committee meeting calendars for FY24-25.
J. Anfield-El seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
B.
July Meeting (Vote)
D. Gregory made a motion to hold intermittent board meeting on July 17 from 7-8pm to vote on additional items, with an extra hour for training.
N. LeBlanc seconded the motion.
- Includes vote on Head of School contract
- Jasmine proposes using the second hour for continuous improvement training (closed to public)
- Emily won’t be able to attend
C.
Head of School Contract Extension (Vote)
D. Gregory made a motion to extend the Head of School's contract until July 31.
J. Anfield-El seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
D.
Communication Policy (Vote)
J. Anfield-El made a motion to establish a Communication Policy across the Board and administration.
D. Grissom seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
E.
Personnel Action - Hiring (Vote)
E. Desprez Isbell made a motion to Approve embedded support for the Head of School in FY24-25.
L. Stephens seconded the motion.
The board approved Hive180 Educational Consultants to provide HOS advisory services for the next six months, contingent upon budget alignment. N. LeBlanc and J. Anfield-El weren't present for the vote, but both conveyed agreement and support with contracting Hive180.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| J. Whittington |
Aye
|
| J. Anfield-El |
Absent
|
| N. LeBlanc |
Absent
|
| J. Burton |
Aye
|
| D. Grissom |
Aye
|
| V. Thompson |
Abstain
|
| D. Gregory |
Aye
|
| L. Stephens |
Aye
|
| E. Desprez Isbell |
Aye
|
F.
Personnel Action - HOS PDP
The board went into the executive session at 8:53pm to discuss a personnel matter, and exited the executive session at 9:39 PM. The board agreed to the elements of the PDP, which the Executive Committee will further develop and disseminate back to the board for review.
D. Gregory made a motion to Approve the categorical elements of the PDP.
D. Grissom seconded the motion.
The board approved the following: financial, communication, organizational leadership, and operational management.
G.
HR Consultant (Vote)
D. Gregory made a motion to continue our contract with our HR consultants as budgeted. Additional deliverables will be proposed to Board for a separate vote.
J. Anfield-El seconded the motion.
- Executive Committee recommended to continue services with our current HR consultants on a retainer basis, and to contract these consultants for specific HR deliverables.
H.
Governance Coaching (Vote)
N. LeBlanc made a motion to Continue services with our governance consultants for the next six months in support of the Board.
D. Grissom seconded the motion.
The board approved 21Cobalt to provide governance coaching for the next 6 months.
I.
Board Recruitment
- A board recruitment slide deck and interest form will be shared with the Board
- Recruiting season is June/July
- Board will vote on new members on August 28
J.
Annual Committee Calendar Details
- Asking each committee to dive into details for our updated annual calendar
VII. Closing Items
A.
Adjourn Meeting
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 9:42 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
D. Gregory
Enrollment updates (as of today):