The Anchor School
Minutes
Board of Directors Meeting
Agenda posted by: October 16
Date and Time
Wednesday October 23, 2024 at 7:00 PM
Location
The Anchor School
2460 Wesley Chapel Road
Decatur, GA 30035
Directors Present
A. Pressey, C. Humphrey, E. Desprez Isbell, J. Burton, J. Whittington, N. LeBlanc, S. Birch, S. Kollu, S. Torres (remote), V. Thompson
Directors Absent
None
Directors who arrived after the meeting opened
A. Pressey, J. Whittington, S. Kollu
Ex Officio Members Present
J. Pinto Taylor
Non Voting Members Present
J. Pinto Taylor
Guests Present
M. Felts
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
E. Desprez Isbell called a meeting of the board of directors of The Anchor School to order on Wednesday Oct 23, 2024 at 7:05 PM.
C.
Approve Minutes
E. Desprez Isbell made a motion to approve the minutes from Board of Directors Meeting on 09-25-24.
N. LeBlanc seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
D.
Public Comment
II. General Updates
A.
Executive Director Report
A. Pressey arrived at 7:11 PM.
- Dr. Pinto Taylor shared items from the Executive Director Report: (1) Operations Updates, (2) Communication Updates, (3) Financial Updates, (4) Academic Updates, (5) Enrollment Updates
Upcoming Important Dates:
- December 18th – Fall Showcase of Projects (Special Program) - evening, time to be determined
- December 19th – Fall Dance Showcase – The Nutcracker - during school hours, time to be determined
- Enrollment for 2025-2026 has begun with the application. Goal is to have at least 30 applications a month and we are at 28 applications in October.
Action Items:
- Dr. Pinto Taylor will add a y-axis for the academic charts for in the future.
- Vanecia and Dr. Pinto Taylor will explore marketing options, potentially with a scope of work focus on recruiting 8th grade enrollment.
- Finance committee will determine revenue source for marketing vendor in the future.
J. Whittington arrived at 7:19 PM.
S. Kollu arrived at 7:24 PM.
B.
Community Engagement
Jasmine discussed updates from recent community engagement and board engagement activities, details are in the agenda attachment.
- New member board training is on Tuesday, October 29th 7-9pm virtual.
- Board winter retreat and training will be in January. The board will potentially complete approximately 6 hours of required governance training with Cobalt 21.
- Trunk or Treat will be on October 31 at 6pm.
- Red Ribbon Week will take place this Oct 28-Nov 1 with dress down days for scholars.
Action Item:
- Request for candy and any DJ contacts for Halloween Trunk or Treat.
- The board can join Parent Square if desired. Let Jasmine know if you'd like to join.
III. Academic Achievement
A.
Academic Dashboard Review
- Josh and Emily presented the Academic Dashboard which includes the culture indicators, demographics dashboard, and academic dashboard.
- First Micro-Village meetings are on Friday, October 25.
Action Item:
- Request for percentage column next to overall on demographics dashboard.
- Add gifted student count in the IEP/504/EL count.
- Alphabetize the race/ethnicity demographics column.
- For November Academic Committee meeting, the Academic Dashboard should be updated with either Interim Assessment or Renaissance (grade level standard-aligned) data.
- In the Academic Dashboard, there is a typo. Where it says "reading" progress it should say "math."
IV. Finance
A.
FY24 Financial Audit & DE46 Final
The FY24 Financial Audit has been completed. Notes from the audit are attached to the meeting agenda.
B.
Facilities Scope for SY25-26
- All 3 scenarios will work for school year 25-26 based on budget constraint, but more than 3 classrooms would be ideal for serving 6th, 7th, and 8th grades.
Action Item:
- Sahitya will connect with Dr. Pinto Taylor to begin conversation about building out the high school portion of TAS.
C.
Financial Dashboard Review
The Financial Dashboard Review included an overview of:
- FY25 Approved Budget vs. Current Forecast – Overview
- FY25 Previous Forecast vs. Current Forecast – Waterfall Chart
- FY25 Previous Forecast vs. Current Forecast – Variance Table
- Monthly Cash Projections
- Grants Summary
- Growing Dashboard
- SCSC Dashboard
- Financial Summary - August
Action Item:
- Josh to share the donation packet with the board prior to Giving Tuesday.
D.
Vote: Submit Final Audit Report to SCSC
J. Whittington made a motion to submit our final audit report prepared by Bambo to the SCSC, for the Nov 1 deadline.
V. Thompson seconded the motion.
Action Item:
- Josh to send the completed audit report to the SCSC and the board chair copied. In the body of the email, Josh should note that he has cc-ed the board chair and finance committee chair (per Morgan's Cobalt 21 recommendation).
V. Governance
A.
Vote: Continuing Services with Hive180
N. LeBlanc made a motion to approve the proposed contract for continuing services with Hive180.
S. Kollu seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
B.
Hive180 Professional Development Update
Hive 180 Professional Development Updates were provided through the Executive Director Report. Dr. Pinto Taylor has shared monthly progress on the professional development plan with Nicole and Jasmine.
C.
Vote: Drug & Alcohol Policy
N. LeBlanc made a motion to adopt a new policy that details restrictions on drug and alcohol usage, with the condition that a definition of tobacco is included in the definition portion of the document.
A. Pressey seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
VI. 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 8:54 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
N. LeBlanc
Public comment from a family member of an Anchor School scholar sharing appreciation for all we do at TAS.