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Environmental Charter Schools

ECS Board of Directors' Meeting

Date and Time

Monday April 9, 2018 at 5:00 PM PDT

Location

2625 Manhattan Beach Blvd, Suite 100, Redondo Beach, CA 90278 / Zoom info: Join from PC and Mac: https://zoom.us/j/147466498 Or Telephone: +1 669 900 6833 (Meeting ID: 147 466 498)
ECS Board Members                                                           Term   and    End Date    
Mr. Ken Deemer, President...................................................3 years  June 30, 2019
Mr. Anthony Jowid, Vice President........................................2 years June 30, 2019
Ms. Denise Berger, Secretary................................................3 years  June 30, 2020
Ms. Jenni Owen.....................................................................3 years  June 30, 2019
Ms. Cathy Creasia.................................................................3 years June 30, 2020
Ms. Zena Fong.......................................................................1 year June 30, 2018
Mr. Ernie Levroney.................................................................2 year June 30, 2019
Lawndale Elementary School District Representative...........Rotating Position      

ECS Staff      
Ms. Alison Diaz, Executive Director & Founder 
Ms. Tracy Bondi, Director of Finance and Operations 
Ms. Danielle Kelsick, Director of Curriculum and Instruction
Ms. Kami Cotler, Acting Principal at ECMS - Gardena 
Ms. Beth Bernstein, Principal at ECMS - Inglewood
Ms. KC Villoria, Principal at ECHS 

Mission
To create and deliver vibrant, innovative, interdisciplinary learning opportunities using the environment to engage students and connect them to the wider world.

Vision
Our vision is that students are equipped with the knowledge and skills to graduate from college, inspired to discover their own sense of purpose and empowered to become quality stewards of their own communities.

THE ORDER OF BUSINESS MAY BE CHANGED WITHOUT NOTICE
Notice is hereby given that the order of consideration of matters on this agenda may be changed without prior notice.

PUBLIC SPEAKERS AT BOARD MEETINGS
Notice is hereby given that consistent with the requirements of the Ralph M. Brown Act, special presentations not mentioned in the agenda may be made at this meeting.  However, any such presentation will be for information only. The public should be aware that the Board is unable by law to deliberate or take action on items raised during the Presentations from the Floor section.

Environmental Charter Schools recognizes that it benefits greatly from public input and perspective. Individuals are invited to address the Board on any topic or subject matter that falls within the Environmental Charter School's purview. Speakers may sign up in person immediately prior to the beginning of the Board meeting by turning in a Speaker Form (available at the check-in table in English and Spanish).

Should a member of the public wish to speak on matters not listed on the agenda, they may speak during the Presentations from the Floor section of the agenda. Speakers will be given a maximum of three (3) minutes each to address the Board (non-English speakers utilizing translators will be given a maximum of six (6) minutes each). Please note that the Board allows a maximum of 10 minutes to each subject as determined by the Board's presiding officer.

Should a member of the public wish to speak on matters listed on the agenda, they may speak during the Presentations from the Floor section of the agenda. Speakers will be given a maximum of five (5) minutes each to address the Board (non-English speakers utilizing translators will be given a maximum of ten (10) minutes each).

The public should be aware that the Board is unable by law to deliberate or take action on items raised during the Presentations from the Floor section.

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION WILL BE PROVIDED FOR ANY INDIVIDUAL WITH A DISABILITY
Pursuant to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, any individual with a disability who requires reasonable accommodation to attend or participate in this meeting of the Governing Board may request assistance by contacting ECS at (310) 214-3408, option 5.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
For more information concerning this agenda or for materials relating to this meeting, please contact ECS at (310) 214-3408, option 5.

Agenda

Section Number Topic Number Details
I. Opening Items
 
Opening Items
  A. Record Attendance and Guests
   
  • Dr. Betsy Hamilton, Lawndale Elementary School District (LESD) Superintendent (attending as LESD board representative for current ECS board meeting) - see bio here
  B. Call the Meeting to Order
  C. Approve Jenina Ramirez for Board Membership for three year term concluding June 30th, 2021.
   
  • Resume linked here.
  D. Approve the Agenda
II. Presentations from the Floor
 
Ad Hoc Technology Committee
  A. Presentations from the Floor on Non Agenda Items
   
Should a member of the public wish to speak on matters not listed on the agenda, they may speak during the Presentations from the Floor section of the agenda. Speakers will be given a maximum of three (3) minutes each to address the Board (non-English speakers utilizing translators will be given a maximum of six (6) minutes each).
  B. Presentations from the Floor on Agenda Items
   
Should a member of the public wish to speak on matters listed on the agenda, they may speak during the Presentations from the Floor section of the agenda. Speakers will be given a maximum of five (5) minutes each to address the Board (non-English speakers utilizing translators will be given a maximum of ten (10) minutes each).
III. Reports/Presentations
  A. CEO Update
   
  • Celebrations:
    • February Birthdays: Beth Bernstein, Danielle Kelsick, Tracy Bondi. 
    • Congrats to Jenni Owen on her new bundle of joy Ivy E. Owen. (Born Feb 12)
  B. Principals Updates
   
  • ECHS
  • ECMS-G
  • ECMS-I
  C. Financial Update
   
  • EdTec financial update here.
  • ECHS Feb 18 financials here.
  • ECMS-G Feb 18 financials here.
  • ECMS-I Feb 18 financials here.
  D. Strategic Dashboard Update
   
  • 2018 ECS Strategic Dashboard
  • HR Audit
    • Presentation is here
    • Full Report is here
  E. Development Update
   
  F. Equity and Diversity Update
  G. Brown Act and Finance 101 Board Member Training Recap
   
  • Brown Act Training
    • As part of ECS' annual board member training program, the ECS board was provided a training module and a 15-question quiz on the Brown Act.
    • ECS staff Jeremiah David scored and returned each of the board members' completed quizzes and worked individually with board members who had questions or asked for clarification.
    • As a whole, board members did very well the Brown Act Quiz, averaging 84% correct answers!
    • At the April 9 board meeting, Jeremiah David will highlight and review certain questions that tended to be answered incorrectly to create learning opportunities for the board.
  • Finance 101 Training
    • As part of ECS' annual board member training program, the ECS board attended a live one-hour Finance 101 training held by ECS Director of Finance and Operations Tracy Bondi.
    • Topics covered included CA Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), Federal Title I Program, state of the economy in CA, Menlo Charter Properties 501(c)(3) organizational structure, and others.
    • Training was recorded and has since been shared with ECS employees.
IV. Approve Consent Items A-J
  A. Approve Previous Meeting Minutes for January 29, 2018 Board Meeting
   
  B. Accept Minutes From the Following Board and Committee Meetings
   
  • Governance Committee Meeting Minutes on February 7, 2018 is here
  • Board of Directors' Meeting (Special) Minutes on February 8, 2018 is here
  • Development Committee Meeting Minutes on February 9, 2018 is here
  • Academic Excellence Committee Meeting Minutes on March 8, 2018 is here
  • Development Committee Meeting Minutes on March 9, 2018 is here
  • Equity and Diversity Committee Minutes on March 21, 2018 is here
  • Finance Committee Meeting Minutes on March 23, 2018 is here
  • Governance Committee Meeting Minutes on April 4, 2018 is here
  C. Approve January & February 2018 Check Registers
   
  • January 2018 Check Register is here.
  • February 2018 Check Register is here. 
  D. Accept Dec. 2017 - Feb. 2018 Private Donations Over $1000
   
As recommended by Finance Committee, accept Dec. 2017 - Feb. 2018 Private Donations Over $1000.
  • Private donations list is here. 
  E. Approve Candidates' Participation on the Following Board Committees
   
  • Updated ECS Board Committee Roster is here
    • Removed Farnaz Golshani-Flechner, Samson Pham from Equity and Diversity Committee
    • Added Ernie Levroney, Geneva Matthews, Michelle Torres, Tasneem Muhammad, Talia Dotson to Equity and Diversity Committee
    • Added Farnaz Golshani-Flechner to Finance Committee and Academic Excellence Committee
    • Added Jenina Ramirez to Facilities and Disciplinary Hearing Committee
  F. Approve Board Discipline Committee Members
   
  • Committee Roster is here.
  G. Approve Farnaz Golshani-Flechner's letter of resignation from the ECS Board effective Feb. 27, 2018
   

Farnaz Golshani-Flechner's letter of resignation is here
  H. Approve SchoolZilla 2018-2019 Contract Renewal
   
  • 2018-2019 SchoolZilla Contract Renewal is here.
    • ECS continues to successfully use SchoolZilla for data analysis and visualization for all ECS schools. This contract renewal is essentially the same annual cost as the prior year ($17,577 current vs. $17,588 renewal) but with an increase in contract services provided (ability to load college-going assessment student data from ACT/SAT/PSAT/CollegeBoard AP).
  I. Accept Second Interim Financial Reports as approved by Finance Committee
   
  • ECHS Second Interim financial report is here. 
  • ECMS-G Second Interim financial report is here.
  • ECMS-I Second Interim financial report is here.
V. Action Items
  A. Approve FY 17/18 - 19/20 Audit Proposal as recommended by Finance Committee
   
  • Recommend approval of CLA proposal for a 3-year agreement for audit services here. Total expected cost of FY 17/18 audit + Form 990 = $21,825. Outgoing years will be capped at no more than 3% increase.
VI. Upcoming Dates/Announcements
  A. Next ECS Board Meeting
   
  • June 4, 2018 at 5pm at Environmental Charter High School Auxiliary Office
  B. Next ECS Committee Meetings
   
  • Facilities Committee Meeting - April 11, 2018
  • Development Committee Meeting - April 13, 2018
  • Academic Excellence Committee - May 17, 2018
  • Equity and Diversity Committee Meeting - May 30, 2018
  • Finance Committee Meeting - June 1, 2018
  • Governance Committee Meeting - June 6, 2018
  C. Student Led Tours
   
  • Sign up for a tour here
    • Tuesday, April 17 at 10 AM at ECHS
    • Wednesday, May 2 at 2 PM at ECHS
  D. Upcoming Events
   
  • ECHS
    • Green Ambassadors Student Film Festival - April 13 6:30 - 8:00 PM
    • Lipsync Battle - April 19th 
    • Health & Wellness Fair - May 4th 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
    • Senior Thesis Presentations - May 21st 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
    • Earth Carnival - June 1st 8:30 AM - 11:00 AM
    • Graduation - June 19th
  • ECMS-Gardena
    • Green Up Day - April 21st 
    • Cultural Legacy Festival - May 12th 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM
    • Culmination - June 15th
  • ECMS-Inglewood
    • Grandparents and Significant Elders - April 12th
    • Earth Carnival/Science Fair - April 26th
    • Career Day - May 10th 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM
    • Math Night - May 10th
  E. Appreciations
VII. Transition to Closed Session
  A. Adjourn to Closed Session
VIII. Closed Session
  A. Public Employee Appointment
   
  • Title: Principal (ECMS-Gardena)
IX. Report Out of Closed Session
  A. Report Out
X. Closing Items
  A. Adjourn Meeting