The Anchor School
Minutes
Day 2: Board Retreat
Date and Time
Sunday January 26, 2025 at 8:30 AM
Location
The Anchor School
2460 Wesley Chapel Road
Decatur, GA 30035
Directors Present
C. Humphrey, E. Desprez Isbell, J. Burton, J. Whittington, N. LeBlanc, S. Birch, V. Thompson
Directors Absent
A. Pressey, S. Kollu
Ex Officio Members Present
J. Pinto Taylor
Non Voting Members Present
J. Pinto Taylor
Guests Present
G. Stevens, K. Cadman, L. McDonald, M. Felts
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
C.
Approve Minutes
D.
Welcome
II. Budget Workshop
A.
FTE/CPI review of FY24
- Reviewed the Weights for FTE Funding Formula report
- Reviewed the State Salary Schedule and Allotment Sheet
- Key takeaway: Coding is important
B.
Financial review of FY24 | State of FY25 | Suggested goals for FY26
- Studied TAS's Allotment sheet from FY 2025
- Never earn enough from QBE to cover all roles and positions we need in the school — we'll always have to supplement
- Review and discussion of salary and operations details related to T&E and health insurance for staff
- It is really hard to find dollars that cover people in schools
- Budget progression: Resources (financial resources- enrollment based, guaranteed grants?) > School requirements (basic needs/legal requirements - core staff, facility) > TAS Secret Recipe (our VP) > The Rest (what's left - 1Y incentives, leaving things on the table)
Key Takeaways from Hive180: Based budget planning on programs to maximize QBE (FTE and T&E) and the value of mapping earned vs. actual positions both in current FY and future FYs for strategic planning; determine if/how FY26 budget should reflect the superintendient/accountant allotments from QBE if at all
C.
Framework options for Board on key decision (budget/personnel)
- Reviewed and discussed a continuum of personnel/hiring possibilities for the Board and ED moving forward. The goal will be to determine/select a framework to begin in SY25-26
- Discuss the renewal and hiring timeline relative to budget planning
- March Governance meetings to discuss board succession planning and determine next steps for hiring framing with a goal of adopting a personell hiring framework by the end of this fiscal/school year.
Key Takeaways: In the Feb 2025 board meeting, vote to give hiring authority to JPT.
- Action Item: Shelby will help own this task
D.
Board discussion
See above
III. Lunch Break
A.
Lunch
N/A
IV. Introduction to the DECIDE Framework & High School Discussion
A.
Overview
- Leveraged a Decision-Making Framework to help with clarity, objective evaluation, consistency, improved outcomes, accountability/transparency, and facilities learning/improvement regarding TAS HS Expansion
B.
"Define"
See Above
C.
"Establish Criteria"
See Above
D.
"Consider Alternatives"
See Above
E.
Designate Committee Due Diligence Questions/Assignments
Key Actions: Committees will work on expansion diligence with a focus on finance, academic, and community engagement/PTO between now and July