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.

Mrs. Rios presented the Consent Agenda and asked the Board if any member wanted to
remove any item from the Consent Agenda in order to further discuss and/or solely vote
on that item; no member did.

Dr. Miles reported that the school hosted a monthly First Friday event, but the Board was not able to have representation present.

Ms. Rios asked for an overview of the January events; Dr. Miles replied that while there will not be a monthly First Friday, staff will host a Puberty Night for parents, an all-school Skate Night, and a PBL Showcase.  Ms. Rios asked for Board attendance at at least 2 of those events, especially the PBL Showcase.

Mr. MacDonald reported that KPM CPAs performed the school's annual audit, which consisted of two areas:  the independent audit of the school's financial statements and a state compliance examination.  

For the Financial Statements, Citizens again received an "unmodified/clean opinion" (which is the best assessment possible).  Mr. MacDonald stated this was a continued testament to Mr. Brennan and Dr. Miles, in partnership with EdOps' work.

Regarding State Compliance, each year, DESE releases the "Schedule of Selected Statistics" upon which the school's compliance is evaluated.  Citizens had no instances of non-compliance to report on; all requirements were met.  

Additionally, in the management letter, KPM recommended (as they did to all of their clients) to undergo a cybersecurity review.  

Lastly, Mr. MacDonald noted that, unlike in past years, Citizens did not meet the Single Audit threshold ($750k in Federal funds spent), so the school did not have to undergo that additional audit.

Mr. MacDonald asked for any questions or clarifications; none were asked.

Ms. Rios reported that Executive Committee met in December, with no outcomes to report to the Board.  All discussion items are covered in other Committee Reports.  

Dr. Miles reported that the Committee discussed the Academic goals to put into the school's charter renewal.

The Committee specifically discussed an approach focused on the Missouri Performance Index (MPI), instead of percentages.  The Committee evaluated historical MPI scores (that Citizens would have received over the past four years) to the "Status Designation" (Emerging/Approaching/On-Track/Target).  Citizens would be "Approaching," and the Committee believes "On Track" is reachable.

Therefore, Dr. Miles and the Committee refined the Academic Goals into two drafts that they are further discussing:

Academic Goal 1:  By the 2030-31 school year, Citizens will increase Missouri Performance Index on the ELA Missouri Assessment program from 348 to 400.  [2627-360, 2728-370, 2829-380, 2930-390, 3031-400].

Academic Goal 2:  By the 2030-31 school year, Citizens will increase Missouri Performance Index on the Math Missouri Assessment program from 324 to 375.  [2627-335, 2728-345, 2829-355, 2930-365, 3031-375].

Dr. Miles stated the Committee would further discuss at their January meeting and asked for initial Board feedback; none was given.  

Dr. Miles confirmed that final renewal documents are due to the Commission on February 2, and their Public Hearing is February 19.

Dr. Miles confirmed that brand experience surveys were sent to families, staff, board, and students.  Focus groups were also held for staff, leadership, and parents.  The school's consultant is synthesizing the resulting data and is planning an initial presentation back to the rebranding focus group on January 12th.

Dr. Miles shared that, as part of their invitation to apply for renewal, MCPSC outlined seven areas for the school to address within the renewal submission:

1.  Accelerate intentional instruction and rigor in all classrooms.

2.  Increase capacity for interventions.

3.  Accelerate closing the gap between students in student group with non-student group students.

4.  Strategies for recruitment and enrollment to maintain the school's "Diverse by Design" model.

5.  Facility plans

6.  Relationship with CWCS

7.  Succession planning for school leadership and board leadership to ensure sustainability.

Dr. Miles noted that she believes the school and board have already resolved #5 and #6 during the past year.

Dr. Miles asked the Board to consider area #4 in light of the discussion earlier this year regarding federal guidelines around "diversity."  To start, she reminded the Board that a "Diverse by Design" school is an educational institution that intentionally plans and structures its student body, staff, and programs to promote racial, socioeconomic, and linguistic- or ability-based diversity.  It boasts:

* Intentional Recruitment

* Diverse Demographics (no single racial/ethnic group exceeds 70% and low-income ranges from 30-70%)

* Commitment to Inclusion

* Associated with the Diverse Charter Schools Coalition

She therefore queried the Board, "should Citizens continue to pursue and promote the "Diverse by Design" designation?"

Ms. Rios asked if the DCSC has put out any information/guidelines?  Dr. Miles replied that they put out quite a lot of information earlier this year when funding issues were being discussed more heavily.  She stated she clearly wants to honor the value of diversity, but rather is wanting discussion/direction regarding the "intentional recruitment" piece.

Hon. Bland asked if the designation is necessary?  Dr. Miles replied not necessarily; she hasn't heard from Mrs. Lineberry that "Diverse by Design" is a sole or primary reason a family chose Citizens.  

Mrs. DeWilde said she was interested in MCPSC and MCPSA's insight or advice, and also is interested if there are any current federal laws that directly impact this decision.  

Ms. Bond also would like additional information.  Specifically, would this make the school a target?  Would this put any federal funding at risk?  The Diverse by Design designation represents a key strength of the school.  

Dr. Miles said she would gather more information.  

Ms. Rios confirmed that if the school removed the designation, she would like a crystal-clear statement affirming the school's commitment to inclusion and building a reflective community.

Ms. Bond asked if there is a deadline?  Dr. Miles said it is just a part of the charter renewal submission.  Academie Lafayette and Crossroads are the other two schools in the city with a 'Diverse by Design' designation.

Dr. Miles asked the Board to review the current non-academic goals and consider what the Board would like to measure for next renewal.  The school needs to have at least two non-academic goals (current goals reflect:  student attendance, parent engagement, student discipline, financial stability, and board engagement).  

She opened the floor for discussion and suggestions now, or for consideration next month.

Mrs. Herman reflected that student attendance goals are difficult - the need is high and the work involved is also high.  Hitting them seems to be a dependent on many variables, a good deal of which are outside the school's control.

Dr. Miles also confirmed with Hon. Bland that the school is preparing to launch a truancy court partnership this next semester.  

Ms. Rios said the Executive Committee would continue this discussion in their January meeting.

Mrs. Butler reported that in December, DESE notified the school (via MCPSA) that they were issuing a "Prior Year Correction" on funds paid in FY25 - this Correction would result in state funds being withheld in FY26.  She asked Mr. Brennan to explain further.

Mr. Brennan presented a "Charter School Finance 201" slide deck giving:

* An overview of state funding differences between KCPS and charters.  

* An overview of the methodology schools and DESE use to estimate state payments.

* A discussion of how the new Funding Equity law changed the state payment calculation (using KCPS' WADA, which wasn't finalized until late 2025).

* The resulting impact of an unintentional and unrealized overpayment to all KC Charters (~$11.8m), including Citizens (~$280k).

Mr. MacDonald asked if KCPS is simply keeping that money and, if so, if they would have any willingness to redistribute it?  Mr. Brennan was grateful for that question and clarified that KCPS is not getting the money - the state is simply "clawing it back" and keeping it in their coffers.

Mrs. Butler reported that the forecast has overall decreased by $80k since last month.  This is based on two shifts:

* The aforementioned Prior Year Correction withholding of (-$280k.)

* The CWCS Separation Fee reduction (from $500k to $300k) resulted in +$200k.

The school continues to demonstrate positive financial health, now projecting a year-end cash balance of $1.4m, which represents 59 days of cash on hand. 

Turning to the monthly financials, Mrs. Butler presented Page 15’s Balance Sheet, showing a current Cash Balance of over $2.5m, and a projected year-end balance of $1.7m.

She presented Page 13’s Income Statement, highlighting:
• Year-to-date revenue of over $3.6m, against a budget of $3.23m.
• Year-to-date expenses of $3.14m, against a budget of $3.54m.
• Net Income of $457k, against a budget of (-$305k).
• Forecasted year-end revenue of $8.35m, against a budget of $8.58m.
• Forecasted year-end expenses of $8.71m, against a budget of $8.49m.
• Forecasted year-end Net Income of (-$365k) against a budget of $92k.
• A projected 59 days of cash on hand position.
 

Mrs. Butler also confirmed that school staff is continuing to outreach to families in order to shore up the FRL response rate.  

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

Mrs. Lineberry shared with the Board that December is a historically slow month for future enrollments.  She gave a short overview of current applications received, and shared that she is on standby to target outreach based on January trends and February re-enrollment trends.

Ms. Rios stated that, pursuant to § 610.021(1) RSMo, the Board will enter into closed
session to discuss matters related to Legal Discussion.

Ms. Rios invited Dr. Miles and Mr. Brennan to Closed Session.

Ms. Rios welcomed members of the public back into Open Session and reported that discussion related to (1) Legal Discussion.  There were no actions taken that require reporting.