Voices for International Business and Education
Minutes
Finance Committee Meeting
Date and Time
Tuesday January 17, 2017 at 6:00 PM
Location
IHSNO Community Room
Voices for International Business and Education http://public.boardontrack.com/VIBE_1
Committee Members Present
A. Tufail, C. Allen, D. Deno, H. Blumenthal, J. Carter, L. Lopez, M. Roney, S. Thomas, S. Wilson
Committee Members Absent
None
Committee Members who arrived after the meeting opened
S. Thomas
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance and Guests
Meeting called to order.
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
M. Roney called a meeting of the Finance Committee of Voices for International Business and Education to order on Tuesday Jan 17, 2017 at 6:08 PM.
C.
Approve minutes of December 15, 2016 meeting
M. Roney made a motion to approve minutes from the VIBE Finance Committee Meeting on 12-15-16 VIBE Finance Committee Meeting on 12-15-16.
J. Carter seconded the motion.
The committee VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
II. Finance
A.
Review of December 2016 Financial Statements
- The December financials were presented and we continue to be over budget for the legal fees pertaining the Labor Union lawsuit.
- The legal fees are reflected on the professional services rubric under the cash flow projection.
- The revised budget will be finalized by the end of this week as further discussion is needed. Items that are impacted by student count need to be updated to project how will we end the school year on financial terms.
- IHSNO is in conversations with First NBC bank and competitors as First NBC has not provided much of a beneficial service in comparison with its competitor.
- Mr. Tufail suggested that in his experience banking organizations' fees don't vary as much as their customer service.
- Stipends were captured under salaries last year, this year the budget will more accurately represent the stipends under the stipend rubric and not the salaries. This is a correction in re-categorizing items where they belong.
- The categorization of expenses is for state reporting purposes.
- Stipends can be recurring based on the nature of the function a teacher is receiving a stipend for.
- There is a decent variance on dues and fees. Some fees such as the IB testing fees are paid at the end of the year.
- Board member contributions have not been 100% fulfilled. Some board members opted to get invoiced as a reminder to fulfill their commitment.
B.
Vote to recommend Board's acceptance of December 2016 Financial Statements
J. Carter made a motion to Approve the December financials.
H. Blumenthal seconded the motion.
The committee VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
III. Other Business
A.
Vote on policy for disposal of used property
- The disposal policy needs to be voted at large in the board meeting.
B.
Key Performance Indicators
- A Financial information from the LAPCS was presented as well as a National Charter School resources
- M. Roney suggested that based on the literature, IHSNO would benefit from keeping an eye on the fixed assets.
- It was suggested that the board gets educated on how to read and understand the numbers that are being reported on the dashboard in order to understand the trends or what to watch for.
- Another number worth paying attention to is the cash flow of the organization as well as the reserve should an emergency occur. As an organization we need to come to an agreement of what makes more sense for us to keep in the reserve for an emergency.
- H. Blumenthal suggested to have 3 months.
- S. Wilson clarified that what is in the literature is only a suggestion from the LAPCS, not necessarily a requirement or what is really feasible for charter schools.
- The requirement is 5% of non-federal funding.
- It is a fine line to determine how much funds should be kept from spending in the year that it was awarded. If we keep too high of a number on the reserve, that gives more reasons to the public for scrutiny of the funds. Some people believe that keeping too much in reserve is keeping money from the current students that should receive the benefits of such allocation.
- M. Roney and S. Wilson will continue the conversation to bring to the committee a suggestion of the percentage that should be kept in reserve.
- A. Tufail raised a question in terms of capturing information related to student recruitment and a cost associated with it and a measurable return.
- Another measurable return is capturing the investment on the development-specific person/efforts.
- When thinking about comparing our organization matrix and benchmarks against other charters, it is important to understand their philosophical direction and funding.
C.
Public Comment
S. Thomas arrived.
- C. Allen asked for the update from the LAPCS lawsuit. S. Wilson is awaiting for the latest update from the LAPCS.
- 10% of our students are non-Orleans parish students.
- The concern is we will turn into a Type 1 charter should the lawsuit proceed.
IV. Closing Items
A.
Next Finance Committee meeting -- Monday, February 17, 2017
B.
Adjourn Meeting
A. Tufail made a motion to adjourn the meeting.
H. Blumenthal seconded the motion.
The committee VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 7:09 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
L. Lopez