Enrollment, Attendance, and Student Movement

Enrollment, billing, and long-term absences

• Current enrollment: 282/300 (94% of seat capacity); billable enrollment: 263 (85% of target), reflecting long-term absences.
• Long-term absences: 21, often involving highly mobile or migrant families with limited contactability.
• DOE ATS rules: when a student enrolls in a DOE school, records are pulled automatically and billing stops immediately. LTAs remain in ATS, but the school cannot bill for them.
• The team conducts outreach via letters, emails, calls, and local home visits as feasible; prior-year records were cleared before leadership transitions.

Attendance and discipline trends

• Average daily attendance: 73%; year-to-date: 74.6%. Non-excused travel and vacations are a driver despite parent outreach and certified letters.

Discipline

• One in-school suspension and three out-of-school suspensions; behaviors rose seasonally with warmer weather but show a recent downward trend.
• Increased adult presence and building-wide monitoring aim to sustain improvements.

Academics, Testing, and Programs

Testing status, Regents preparation, and data

• State and AP testing completed; Regents begin in the second week of June, with intensive prep for high school and select middle school students.
• Mock Regents completed; data submitted to DOE with interim assessments and action plans.
• Final state test results expected in late July or early August.
• Summer learning, graduation readiness, and curricular shifts
• Middle school summer program hosted on-site due to completed construction; supported by Summer Boost grant funds for staffing and materials.
• High school students are directed to DOE-hosted summer sites based on course needs.
• Seniors: of 39, 26 have committed to college or career; 6 await FAFSA/aid packages; 7 are undecided and receiving targeted guidance, credit recovery, independent studies, and night school options.
• New York State’s “portrait of a graduate” initiative will phase in over nine years, shifting from Regents exams to broader competencies. The school will implement a financial literacy course for middle and high school beginning Fall 2026.

Staffing, Instruction, and Operations

Leadership development and coaching

• Leadership rotation pilot: deans, APs, and coaches cycle across departments to build capacity and insight.
• Coaching and lesson review continue, with emphasis on strategic thinking and evidence-based responses.
• Hallways, bulletin boards, and classroom materials are updated in preparation for oversight visits.

Personnel changes and coverage

• Main office administrator resigned; responsibilities distributed among operations team members.
• A middle school math teacher departed; a full-time instructor with a finance background is in place, co-taught and receiving frequent coaching from school leadership and external partners, and shadowing a high school algebra teacher.
• Recruitment is ongoing, though a mid-year replacement before year-end is unlikely given timing.

Community, Events, and Outreach

School culture and recognition

• National Poetry Week showcased literacy; Mental Health Month featured activities like walks, art therapy “sip and color,” and music therapy sessions.
• Honor Society inductions scheduled for high school, middle school, and technical chapters.
• College Signing Day recognizes senior commitments.
• The school musical “Grease,” prom, and an alumni weekend (basketball game and brunch) are planned.

Marketing and enrollment recruitment

• Lottery yielded 81 applications; 11 completed enrollment packets received to date, with rolling intake ongoing.
• Community Partnership Team personally contacts all applicant families, offering tours and guidance.
• Marketing efforts include renewed Facebook lead ads, and updated photography and videography for promotional materials.

Immunization compliance stands at 92%, aided by the on-site NYU Clinic.

Balance sheet and cash status

• Cash and cash equivalents: approximately $1.8M on hand, inclusive of the latest DOE deposit for the current school year
• Additional $1.1M held in an interest-bearing account.
• Prepaid expenses at $50K; accounts receivable at $160K, largely Title funds, with drawdowns planned in June.
• Accounts payable shows a negative balance due to a credit; key liabilities include accrued items and equipment liabilities (-$2K and -$22K). Deferred revenue slightly over $1M reflects deposits covering May–June.
• Year-to-date surplus: approximately $217K, reflecting net asset increase since July.

Revenue, expenses, and current year projection

• Year-to-date revenue: -$5.4M; expenses: -$5.2M, producing the YTD surplus.
• Projections adjusted: previously forecasted deficit of -$220K reduced to -$191K; year-end projection indicates a deficit in the -$191–$192K range due to pending graduation and year-end costs.
• Expense execution currently shows -78% vs. an expected -83% by this point, given unincurred year-end items and buffers retained for contingencies.
• Final reconciliations are expected by late July to confirm actuals.

Cash Flow and Funding Timing

• Cash flow projections prepared for May–June only; no additional DOE operating funding expected within this period.
• Estimated days cash on hand at June 30: -94 days. This is lower than prior years due to recent deficits but remains above minimums typically favored by authorizers.

Receipts, grants, and billing basis

• Title-related reimbursements are targeted for June submissions to accelerate receivables.
• Funding and budget projections referenced billable enrollment; the last invoice reflected 263 billable students, with projections adjusted to 262.
• A recent state rate update suggests a 3.8% increase versus a 4% assumption; revenue estimates will be revised accordingly in the next draft.

Budget Planning for Next Year

• Enrollment scenarios and revenue assumptions
• Two options modeled: maintaining enrollment at 265 vs. targeting the authorized 300.
• State funding comprises the majority of revenue; federal grants include IDEA, Title, and E-rate.
• Contributions in the draft are cash-based; miscellaneous income includes interest and board contributions.
• Under option one (265 students), total revenue shown at -$6.5M (noting earlier draft references near -$6.2M in state-related estimates to be adjusted for the updated rate).

Expense structure, staffing, and deficit drivers

• Expenditures are held constant between scenarios; no additional hiring or OTPS assumed for the higher enrollment option.
• Compensation approximates 60% of costs; payroll taxes and benefits -15% (-$1.1M). Other categories: curriculum/classroom (-9%), professional services (-6%), administrative (-3.8%), technology (-2%), professional development (-1.4%), and depreciation (-8.4%).
• Planned roles include an ENL coordinator, a math coach, a permanent bus driver, an assistant principal, and two special education teachers.
• Expense controls and enrollment growth have reduced deficits in recent years: FY23 (-$597K), FY24 (-$462K), FY25 (-$310K). Current year projected deficit near -$192K.
• Loss of COVID-related funds and the one-time employee retention credit, which aided prior results, increases next year’s gap pressure.

Fundraising and External Revenue

Past efforts and current capacity

• Board fundraising to date centered on gala ticket purchases; some in-kind gifts noted; cash donations limited.
• Parents face significant financial hardship, constraining school-based fundraising; pantry usage is high and has increased in recent years.

New ideas and feasibility considerations

• Proposals included alumni events (e.g., basketball game, gala with alumni speakers) and leveraging success stories to inspire giving.
• Constraints include alumni living out of state or full-time schedules and venue/approval hurdles; an example $5 game idea was declined operationally.
• Members agreed to continue exploring options while recognizing community limits.

Governance and Action Items

DOE review and compliance

• An annual comprehensive visit by DOE is scheduled; final agenda pending. Staff, classrooms, and artifacts are being prepared.
• Interim assessment submissions and data action plans are in progress.

Planning documents and next steps

• A draft statistics curriculum plan was submitted as a working document. The board requested clearer targets, milestones, and a triage plan, especially for math.
• Leadership noted this request is new this year and will incorporate feedback from instructional coaching and the team.
• The budget draft will be refined after consultations with the board chair and finance committee, with updates on rate assumptions and margin-related costs.