Excelsior Village Academies
Minutes
Excelsior Village Academies' Board Meeting
Date and Time
Thursday October 23, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Location
The Excelsior Village Academies' Board of Directors will meet in person. Please see the location below:
5295 Highway 155 N; Stockbridge, GA 30281
You can also join virtually. Please see the meeting details below:
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Meeting ID: 875 461 2347
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Directors Present
A. Holmes (remote), D. Paige, K. Rutherford, N. Brinson, R. Hutchins, W. Smith
Directors Absent
T. Burrell
Ex Officio Members Present
M. Flowers
Non Voting Members Present
M. Flowers
I. Opening Items
A.
Call the Meeting to Order
R. Hutchins called a meeting of the board of directors of Excelsior Village Academies to order on Thursday Oct 23, 2025 at 7:14 PM.
B.
Record Attendance
D. Paige made a motion to approve the minutes from Excelsior Village Academies' Board Meeting on 09-20-25.
K. Rutherford seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
II. Updates
A.
Enrollment
- Current Enrollment Numbers
- Total: 215
- Attendance Zone Expansion/Needs Assessment
- Rockdale County has approximately 14,000 students, the vast majority being minority students.
- Elementary school math proficiency is 21%, reading profieciency 30%
- No charter schools in Rockdale County, but there are magnet schools and virtual options in the county
- SCSC will meet in November, and we are looking for approval after that meeting
B.
SY 2026- 2027 Enrollment
Enrollment for SY26-27
- Conservative vs. Aggressive Projections
- We can't fall below 154 or exceed 540 students during the 5-year charter application.
- Conservative Growth: adding ~45 students, we will be able to stay in the building
- Aggressive Growth: adding ~125 students, we will outgrow our physical space
- Consideration 1: Parking lot dismissal becomes an issue when more students are added to the current physical space.
- Consideration 2: Maintaining a strong school culture amidst rapid growth in back-to-back years might prove to be difficult
- Consideration 3: In the conservative model, we will need 28 FTEs and Support Staff, vs. in the aggressive model, we will need 39 FTEs and Support Staff
R. Hutchins made a motion to Approve the conservative growth model for SY26 for 265 students, with 2 K, 2 1st, 2nd, and 1 section of all other grades through Grade 7.
W. Smith seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
III. Finance
A.
Monthly Financial Update
Revenue:
- The most significant variance is in state sources of revenue. There is $173,737 in variance from the projected to the actual on Sept 25
Expenses:
- The most significant variance on the negative side is in other purchase services at $76,656, and on the positive side is supplies at $146,678
Net Income: -$27,500
We discussed cash on hand currently and projections for after the January and March adjustments.
- January adjustment: Back rent payments will resume, and double rent payments
- March adjustment: QBE adjustments based on enrollment
- EOY projection is stronger than EOY last year, which is a great sign for EVA
B.
Incentive Discussion
C.
Audit Approval
K. Rutherford made a motion to accept the FY25 Audit.
D. Paige seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
IV. Upcoming Events
A.
School Events
- Fall Festival - 11-1 p.m. on Oct. 31
- Board can come to volunteer
- Also, book character day
V. Board Business
A.
Committees
R. Hutchins made a motion to to approve the Governance Committee as permissible under the bylaws.
W. Smith seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
K. Rutherford made a motion to elect Dr. Paige as the chair of the Governance Committee Chair.
R. Hutchins seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
B.
Policy Review
R. Hutchins made a motion to Approve the following policies and allow M. Flowers to make the adjustments to handbook to align with school policies:
- Governing Board Conflicts of Interest Policy
- Code of Ethics Acknowledgment and Conflicts of Interest Form
- Annual FERPA Notification (English and Spanish)
- Annual PPRA Notification (English and Spanish)
- Mandated Reporter Policy
- Health & Safety Policy
- Parents' Bill of Rights
- Protect students First Act Complaint Resolution Policy
- School Volunteer Training and Eligibility Requirements Policy
- Stakeholder Grievance Policy
- Section 504 Grievance Policy
- Student Reporting of Alleged Sexually Inappropriate Behavior Policy
- Enrollment Policy
- SSN Waiver
- Suicide Awareness, Prevention, Forms, and Notice
- McKinney Vento Policy, Forms, and Notice.
W. Smith seconded the motion.
- Conflict of Interest:
- Key Employee Phrasing was unclear. We have not fully defined.
- After approval, these policies must be moved to governance to be trained on and combed through.
C.
Policy Review
- Emergency Situations Purchasing Policy
- Students Rights Policy
- PQ Policy
- Health/Wellness Policy
- Time and Effort Policy
- Cash Management Policy
- Capital Procurement
- EL Policies and Procedures
It has been tabled for the next meeting. Board members will review it and then bring back recommendations and notes for review at the next meeting.
D.
Rescheduling November and December Meetings
The current schedule of meetings has the November meeting on Thanksgiving and the December meeting on Christmas.
Suggestion:
- Move November Meeting to 11/20
- Move December Meeting to 12/19
- Move the meeting to December 4 to accommodate all needs
R. Hutchins made a motion to amend the meeting cadence to move the November meeting to December 4 and cancel the late December meeting.
W. Smith seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
VI. Public Comment
A.
Public Comment
No Comment.
VII. Closing Items
A.
Adjourn Meeting
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 8:30 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
R. Hutchins