Ms. Rios introduced herself, thanked the public, and provided an overview of the public comment process and guidelines.  Ms. Rios then invited public comment; no comment was made.

Dr. Miles reviewed the September events, specifically First Friday, and previewed upcoming October events.

Dr. Miles shared that the Core Value of the month is "Community."  She first recognized Mr. Hampton (5th grade teacher) for exhibiting Community through his grade-level teaching partnership; he's led the 5th grade community through change with stability and grace.

Dr. Miles then recognized Ada Sanchez, a new student to Citizens.  She shared that Ada lit up the stage at First Friday and is an encouragement to all of her classmates.  

Dr. Miles also recognized Ms. Camille Wilcox (4th grade teacher) for her positive influence on the elementary community.  Her classroom is a fantastic community and she has been specifically working hard to pull the elementary teachers together and building community.

Last but not least, Dr. Miles recognized student Ryder Hamm.  She reflected that Ryder does not go along with the crowd, sets an example, and encourages his classmates to do the right thing.

The Board recognized and congratulated all four honorees.

Dr. Miles shared that for the upcoming student conferences, her goal is 100% participation from families and students.  She further stated that she would like to evaluate this metric as a potential family engagement charter goal.  She will provide a report after conferences are held.

Dr. Miles shared several upcoming Board training opportunities:

1. An upcoming Board session given by school attorneys Guin-Mundorf.
2. The MCPSC Conference in Kansas City in January 2026.   She further noted that Citizens will be recognized and featured at this Conference since Citizens was the Commission's first sponsored school.
3. The NCSC Conference in New Orleans in June 2026
4. The MSPSA Conference in October 2026.  

Dr. Miles said she would share calendar invitations with the Board for each of these opportunities and asked the Board to let her know if they would like to be registered to attend.

Mr. Brennan reported that the BoardOnTrack platform has been set up and all Board Members should have received invitation links to join/register.  He asked the Board to confirm and let him know if anyone was having access difficulty.

He further asked the Board if they would like to continue doing a "parallel" document format in which both the current system of meeting documentation/distribution is used or if the Board would prefer to make a quick transition.  The Board affirmed to go forward only with BoardOnTrack.

Ms. Rios shared that she connected with Mr. Lyons yesterday and he submitted his Board resignation, effective 10/15/25.  She shared appreciation for his service.

Ms. Rios reiterated that the Committee is continuing to look for qualified candidates and asked the Board to please send any recommendations to her.

Dr. Miles also confirmed that she has indicated to BlaqueKC that the school is again interested in participating in their upcoming charter school board draft.  

Dr. Miles encouraged the Board to review this academic data in the framework of needed new charter goals for the next five years.  Specifically, how the school can set attainable goals that leadership/staff can focus on and be held accountable to.  

Overall, the percentage of students on/above the national average remained fairly stagnant from 2024-25 to 2025-26.  

Looking at the "Projected MAP Proficiency," 17% of students scored proficient or advanced in Math.  Dr. Miles reported that she and the faculty are specifically hard at work on changing that percentage, including introducing a new math curriculum for 5th-8th grades.  

In ELA, 22% of students scored proficient or advanced.  She highlighted that a large group of students moved from "Below Basic" to "Basic," which is a good first step and a precursor for future necessary movement from Basic to Proficient.  She also reminded the Board that the school hired a group of Literacy Tutors who are actively working with students.  

Looking at the Growth targets, the school is not at the goal and she is leaning into this.  There is a strength in Kindergarten and First Grade and she is keen to build on that.  

Dr. Miles presented an overview of results by race/ethnicity and noted that a performance gap continues to remain.  She noted that growth rates are similar across race/ethnicity, showing that students of color are starting out at a lower performance level.  

Ms. Rios asked if teachers have seen this data and if this is the only data being used to measure proficiency and growth?  Dr. Miles replied that teachers have not seen this NWEA data yet; it will be presented and reviewed, along with 2025 MAP data, next month.  She stated that overall, she and Mr. Butler are working to enable teachers to be able to respond and react to quicker data points (daily exit tickets, online platform feedback) rather than waiting for quarterly updates.  

Ms. Rios noted that she would like Dr. Miles and the team to continue focusing on students of color.  

Mrs. Butler reported that, based on September financials, the school remains in a strong financial position. The school’s year-end cash projection is $1.6m, which represents 69 days of cash on hand.

The current forecast incorporates updated state funding (based on revised attendance estimates), staff salaries and benefits.  Due to these adjustments, the overall forecast shows a slight decrease compared to the August forecast.

She also shared that the school's audit review is scheduled to occur this month.

Turning to the monthly financials, Mrs. Butler presented Page 13’s Balance Sheet, showing a current Cash Balance of over $2.21m, and a projected year-end balance of $2.12m.

She presented Page 11’s Income Statement, highlighting:

• Year-to-date revenue of over $1.97m, against a budget of $1.83m.
• Year-to-date expenses of $1.84m, against a budget of $2.12m.
• Net Income of $136k, against a budget of (-$295k).
• Forecasted year-end revenue of $8.63m, against a budget of $8.58m.
• Forecasted year-end expenses of $8.58m, against a budget of $8.49m. 
• Forecasted year-end Net Income of $54k against a budget of $92k.
• A projected 69 days of cash on hand position.

Lastly, she stated that the Finance Committee did not note anything as out of order on the Check Register or Accounts Payable.

Dr. Miles reviewed the timeline for renewal submission with the Board, which includes:

• Feb. 2, 2026:  Final documents are due to MCPSC
• Feb 23, 2026:  Final submission due to MCPSC
• Feb 19, 2026:  2-hour public hearing date, which will take place prior (5:30p-7:30p) to the regular February board meeting (7:30p).  

Mr. MacDonald asked how preparation is going; Dr. Miles replied that preliminaries are underway and she plans to ramp up soon.

Mrs. DeWilde deferred Committee updates and discussion to Closed Session.

Ms. Rios welcomed members of the public back into Open Session and reported that discussion related to (1) Legal Discussion.  There was one action that requires reporting. 

Mrs. Bond moved to authorize Dr. Miles and Mr. Durphy to draft and transmit a letter to CWCS outlining specific settlement details and further authorized them to negotiate and sign it in advance of the November Board Meeting.  Mr. MacDonald provided a second. The motion was unanimously approved via roll call, with the following Members voting Aye:  Bland, Bond, Butler, DeWilde, Finocchario Herman, MacDonald, and Rios.

The Board tabled this item.