River Valley Charter School
Minutes
Board Meeting
Date and Time
Wednesday May 21, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Location
River Valley Charter School Middle School Great Room
River Valley Charter School welcomes your participation at Board meetings. The purpose of a public meeting of the Board of Trustees (“Board”) is to conduct the affairs of the organization in public. Your participation assures us of continuing community interest in our school and assists the Board in making the best decisions for our school. To assist you in the ease of speaking/participating in our meetings, guidelines are provided at the bottom of this agenda. All materials for all board and committee meetings, are available on our Board on track public portal found at rivervalleycharter.org.
Trustees Present
A. Ting, B. MacQuade, C. Getz, D. Mitchell, E. Rankin, E. Simone, J. Nickerson, T. Murdy
Trustees Absent
A. Godino, C. Whitford, D. Herrera, E. Bradley, M. Connerton, N. Durkee, P. Ganley
Ex Officio Members Present
K. Kuse
Non Voting Members Present
K. Kuse
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
A. Ting called a meeting of the board of trustees of River Valley Charter School to order on Wednesday May 21, 2025 at 7:03 PM.
C.
Public Comment
D.
Review Trustee Code of Conduct
II. Approve Previous Board Minutes
A.
Approve Minutes
B. MacQuade made a motion to approve the minutes from Board Meeting on 04-30-25.
E. Rankin seconded the motion.
-Change section 7 from COL to COT
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| A. Godino |
Absent
|
| C. Getz |
Aye
|
| B. MacQuade |
Aye
|
| J. Nickerson |
Aye
|
| P. Ganley |
Absent
|
| E. Bradley |
Absent
|
| A. Ting |
Aye
|
| D. Mitchell |
Aye
|
| N. Durkee |
Absent
|
| T. Murdy |
Aye
|
| E. Simone |
Aye
|
| D. Herrera |
Absent
|
| M. Connerton |
Absent
|
| E. Rankin |
Aye
|
| C. Whitford |
Absent
|
B.
Approve Board Meeting
C. Getz made a motion to approve the minutes from special board meeting Special Board Meeting on 05-05-25.
E. Rankin seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| C. Getz |
Aye
|
| A. Godino |
Aye
|
| B. MacQuade |
Aye
|
| J. Nickerson |
Aye
|
| E. Bradley |
Aye
|
| N. Durkee |
Aye
|
| C. Whitford |
Aye
|
| P. Ganley |
Aye
|
| A. Ting |
Aye
|
| E. Simone |
Aye
|
| D. Herrera |
Aye
|
| D. Mitchell |
Aye
|
| T. Murdy |
Aye
|
| M. Connerton |
Aye
|
| E. Rankin |
Aye
|
C. Getz made a motion to approve the minutes from special board meeting Special Board Meeting on 05-05-25.
E. Rankin seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| E. Bradley |
Aye
|
| C. Whitford |
Aye
|
| T. Murdy |
Aye
|
| J. Nickerson |
Aye
|
| A. Godino |
Aye
|
| N. Durkee |
Aye
|
| D. Herrera |
Aye
|
| A. Ting |
Aye
|
| P. Ganley |
Aye
|
| C. Getz |
Aye
|
| E. Simone |
Aye
|
| D. Mitchell |
Aye
|
| E. Rankin |
Aye
|
| B. MacQuade |
Aye
|
| M. Connerton |
Aye
|
III. Consent Agenda
A.
Accountability Committee
B.
Development Committee
C.
Executive Committee
D.
Committee on Trustees
E.
Finance Committee
F.
Vote on Consent Agenda
E. Simone made a motion to approve the minutes from consent agenda.
D. Mitchell seconded the motion.
NOTE - withdraw the development committee minutes from consent agenda
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| E. Simone |
Aye
|
| J. Nickerson |
Aye
|
| E. Rankin |
Aye
|
| B. MacQuade |
Aye
|
| C. Getz |
Aye
|
| T. Murdy |
Aye
|
| A. Ting |
Aye
|
| D. Mitchell |
Aye
|
IV. Director's Update
A.
Director's Report
- PBE
- Logistics - will leave in time to arrive at noon
- PBE plan was a collaboration with the E2 teachers
- $100,000 towards PBE will take away from teacher spend on special education
- Plan to communicate the plan soon
V. Grounds Redesign: Phase 1
A.
Phase 1: Vote
A. Ting made a motion to Move forward with Phase 1 of the RVCS ground re-design project, total project cost not to exceed $645,000 with up to $175,000 coming from RVCS Capital reserve fund and up to $100,000 from RVCS General reserves.
C. Getz seconded the motion.
- Timeline from Copley Wolf not available yet - Karen will post to BoT when available
- Phase 1 includes: playground and ground prep, cut in from the street in stone dust (paving will be Phase 2), pavillion, $100K contingency (full list is in the director's report)
- Mid- to late-November for completion of phase 1
- Planned field will be large enough to hold a regulation U6-8 soccer field
- The use of the stone dust entry is still in consideration as to whether we will change the full traffic pattern or not.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| E. Rankin |
Aye
|
| A. Ting |
Aye
|
| P. Ganley |
Absent
|
| N. Durkee |
Absent
|
| D. Mitchell |
Aye
|
| B. MacQuade |
Aye
|
| C. Getz |
Aye
|
| E. Simone |
Aye
|
| C. Whitford |
Absent
|
| A. Godino |
Absent
|
| T. Murdy |
Aye
|
| M. Connerton |
Absent
|
| E. Bradley |
Absent
|
| D. Herrera |
Absent
|
| J. Nickerson |
Aye
|
VI. Committee on Trustees
A.
Board Leadership: Succession Planning
- Nominations
- Albert nominates Denise to continue as Chair
- Albert nominates Chris Whitford for Treasurer
- Albert nominates Jonathan Nickerson for Secretary
- Albert nominates Tanya Murdy for Vice-Chair
- Voting will take place at the next meeting
- Continuing to look for trustees for next year
- If the number of meetings is a limiting factor for finding trustees then maybe we should adjust the number of meetings as laid out in the by-laws
B.
Board Retreat Agenda
VII. Finance Committee
A.
Update
- Currently carrying a $250K surplus on the budget
- Draft of a 3% increase in staffing line item with spend at Director's discretion
- DESI has made estimates of 5% increase in budget, but next year's budget does not account for this to be conservative.
- Alternative options available to balance budget as necessary depending on DESI increase
VIII. Development Committee
A.
Update
- $25K funds raised this year
- Looking at fund raising event in the fall at the Birdhouse in Amesbury
- Working to have development plan in place for next year with smoother roll-out due to continuity in planning
- Excited about use of Donor Perfect to streamline processes in the future
- Next meeting on June 2nd 7-8
IX. Accountability Committee
A.
Accountability Committee
- Focus of June meeting is the accountability plan for external and committee self-assessment
- Annual report to the charter school office by July 31st
X. Exectuive Committee
A.
COL's!!!
- Kids are working hard in preparation with lots of nervous energy
- Considering options of how to allow parents and students to see the COLs without causing crowds - provide opportunity for learning about the capstone and the process
- Discussion of videoing the COLs to use for visibility, fundraising, etc.
XI. Closing Items
A.
Board Meeting Survey
B.
Adjourn Meeting
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 8:21 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
A. Ting