South Bay staff members Christian Nunez and Arlene Contreras presented the South Bay Campus update video. The video included pictures from CAASPP testing, the LAMI Catalina excursion, end-of-year dance performances, the Dance National Champions (four years in a row), kindergarten and eighth-grade promotions, and the end-of-year Water Day.

Board President Charles Friedrichs asked how many dance teams South Bay has. Office Manager Arlene Contreras explained that there is a dance competition team, which consists of students in kindergarten through second grade. In addition, there is a team for older students, third through eighth grade, as well as a pep rally dance group.

Executive Director, Jason Watts, presented the organization update. Topics covered include:

Facilities Updates and Construction Timelines

Riverside Campus:

• Building B is on track for the original opening timeline (August 11).
• Building A may be delayed. Contractors are 90% confident the full site will be ready by August 25.
• Decision Pending: Whether to delay the entire school opening or open only Building B, which holds 4 classrooms.
• Enrollment is tracking 200+ students for Year 1 at Riverside. (Site capacity is approximately 550 students)
• Contractor Update - Red Hook (developer) is working 7 days/week, aiming for full completion by August 1.
• Board member, Pete Watson, asked if some of the some classrooms in Building A be completed early and if the August 25 date is when classrooms will be ready for students. Jason stated it's “all or none” due to full-building fire safety/code approvals and the August 25 date would be the first day of school for students and staff.

Upland Campus

• Key handoff is expected week of June 30.
• Recruitment started in March and is ongoing. Current interest list: 450+, applications received is about 180, and TK, Kindergarten, and 6th Grade are full.

Oceanside

• HVAC work and new playground underway in the village area.
• A wall partition has been installed to create additional classroom space.

Orange County

• HVAC and electrical capacity issues being addressed.
• Major upgrades in the Vita building (paint, plumbing, restrooms, flooring).

Organizational Planning and Support

Charter School Growth Fund (CSGF) Collaboration

• Still in due diligence phase.
• Received grant funding for capacity-building consultation and long-term financial modeling.

Board Meeting Structure Improvements (CSGF Feedback)

• More digestible summaries of agenda items. Pete Watson asked which model of agenda summaries would take the most staff time, and Jason said the detailed version with abstracts would take the most time. Jason and Charles will work together to create a template to use. 
• Encourage open dialogue and clarify it's okay to ask questions.
• Focus more on academic progress, financial health, strategic planning, and promote forward-thinking discussions.
• Use of AI-generated summaries was positively received as a support tool.

Insurance Coverage Update
Jeff Simpson, Senior Vice President at Newfront, provided an overview of Scholarship Prep’s business insurance renewal, effective July 1. Newfront, which specializes in nonprofit and educational institutions, supports approximately 70 California charter schools.

The insurance package includes property, general liability, auto, workers’ compensation, and Educators Legal Liability (which encompasses directors and officers insurance, employment practices liability, and fiduciary liability). Despite a hard market and rising rates across the industry, Scholarship Prep's overall premium remains flat year-over-year, due in part to strategic negotiations—especially a significant rate reduction in workers’ comp.

There were no material changes in coverage, though property values were updated for accuracy, and catastrophic student accident coverage was added (totaling $1.05M). Simpson reported 15–25 claims filed in the past year, largely in workers' compensation and employment practices. A detailed claims report will be provided to the Board.

Best practices to reduce future claims are being developed, including enhanced risk management strategies. HR leadership continues attending compliance trainings to stay current with employment laws and reduce liability exposure.

Board members were assured that they are covered individually under the policy with protections in place for personal assets and fiduciary responsibilities. Simpson closed by making himself available for any board inquiries.

Tracy Haberman at Charter Impact provided the Financial update. This presentation included updates and highlights for the Oceanside, Orange County, and South Bay school sites as well as an update on all bond covenants, which are all projected to be met.

Tracy also stated that starting next school year, Charter Impact is going to present prior month financials rather than two months prior.

Budget presentation for five schools, with Riverside and Upland included:

• Shared costs are allocated by ADA, with conservative assumptions for Riverside and Upland enrollment to protect budgets at Oceanside, OC, and South Bay.
• Targeted expense reductions include copier costs; capital projects noted include HVAC, playgrounds, turf, and more.

Budget Presentation Summary

Orange County Campus - Received unique grants: ACES (similar to ELOP), Community Schools, and Department of Justice grants.

Riverside Campus (New School):

Revenue includes Silicone Schools and CSP grant funding.

Intercompany borrowing will be used as needed, with interest paid to lending campuses (2.5%).

Upland Campus (New School):

Applying for PCSGP and/or CSP grants (CSP preferred due to higher rate).

Starting with a small negative fund balance; projected to reach ~1% surplus by year-end.

Will rely on intercompany borrowing with minimized interest impact.

Education Protection Account (EPA) - EPA funds are part of LCFF but restricted to instructional uses (e.g., certificated salaries).

Consolidated Application (ConApp):

• Purpose: Board will vote to approve the submission for federal Title I, II, III, and IV funding.
• Scholarship Prep does not apply for Title III immigrant funding due to low qualifying population.
• Title III funding is pooled through a consortium led by Orange County to meet minimum eligibility.
• New schools will be included in the application process after board approval of LCAP and federal addendum.

Pete Watson expressed appreciation for the Home Office team’s effort in maintaining strong financial health across campuses and acknowledged the collaborative work across staff to produce detailed and responsible budgeting.

Deputy Director, Andrew Crowe, provided an overview of Scholarship Prep’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) Local Indicators. These indicators are self-reported and will be submitted to the state this month.

Key Areas Assessed:

• Access to qualified teachers, instructional materials, and safe/upgraded facilities.
• Implementation of grade-level state standards.
• Family engagement and stakeholder satisfaction.
• Student access to full curriculum and enrichment programs.
• Findings: Internal review (survey data, site walkthroughs) confirms that all local indicators have been met at Oceanside, Orange County, and South Bay campuses.

Strengths highlighted include:

• High-quality, mission-aligned facilities.
• Strong family-staff relationships and positive school culture.
• Comprehensive mental health supports for both students and staff.

Focus Areas for Improvement:

• Full implementation of the English Language Development curriculum to better support English learners.
• Ensuring instructional consistency so that high-quality teaching is present in all classrooms.

The Board entered the closed session at 3:32pm.

Board President, Charles Friedrichs, reported out of close session at 3:48pm. There was nothing to report out of closed session.

Charles Friedrichs revisited a previous suggestion made by Jason Watts regarding the creation of ad hoc or subcommittees to allow for more board member participation in specific areas such as budget, instructional materials, or curriculum. The intent is to distribute responsibilities more effectively as the organization grows and to provide optional opportunities for deeper engagement, while still respecting the balance between governance and operations. The topic will be considered further at a future meeting.

The next Board Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, July 24. Charles also asked about why some meetings were moved from the regular third Thursday schedule to the fourth Thursday. Chief Operating Officer, Sarah Schoenfeld-Nakamoto, stated that these changes were made to accommodate school breaks and ensure staff availability.