Whatcom Intergenerational High School

Minutes

Board Meeting

Date and Time

Wednesday August 24, 2022 at 6:00 PM

Location

Hybrid meeting

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Topic: WIHS Board Meeting
Time: Jul 27, 2022 06:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
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Directors Present

C. Espina, J. McGill, K. Lieberman (remote), N. Mughal-Barrows

Directors Absent

None

Ex Officio Members Present

D. Walker

Non Voting Members Present

D. Walker

Guests Present

C. Baron (remote), R. Rodriguez

I. Opening Items

A.

Call the Meeting to Order

N. Mughal-Barrows called a meeting of the board of directors of Whatcom Intergenerational High School to order on Wednesday Aug 24, 2022 at 6:14 PM.
C. Espina made a motion to adopt the Board meeting agenda.
K. Lieberman seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

B.

Land Acknowledgement

Read by C. Espina

C.

WIHS Mission & Vision

Read by K. Lieberman

D.

Record Attendance

Other guests include: 

Kunbi Ajiboye (observer), Jessica de Barros (Commission), Ngo Chau (staff member)

E.

Approve Minutes

K. Lieberman made a motion to approve the minutes from Board Meeting on 07-27-22.
C. Espina seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

F.

Public Comment

  • Kira Lieberman shared her thoughts about the upcoming non-violent communication training for staff. Board members and staff shared and discussed their thoughts about professional development opportunities for the WIHS community (board, staff).

II. Governance

A.

Board Recruitment update

The Board is actively recruiting board members. Kunbi Ajiboye is interested in joining the board.

 

Board discussed the Mt. Baker Foundation initiative to provide stipends for community members from marginalized backgrounds to serve on boards. This initiative seeks to decrease financial barriers to serving in a leadership capacity.

J. McGill made a motion to change by-laws so that board members are able to receive stipends to serve on WIHS board.
K. Lieberman seconded the motion.
  • The Mt. Baker Foundation has other alternatives to pay stipends to undocumented community members to serve on boards.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

B.

Finance and Fundraising Committee interim plan

K. Lieberman made a motion to temporarily dissolve the finance and fundraising committee until we have more board members join.
C. Espina seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

C.

Update on Hiring Process & Timeline

Joelle Price hired to serve as SPED teacher

Operations Coordinator and Office Manager interviews conducted last week and this week, a strong pool of applicants

D.

Review grievance policy

An ad hoc committee of the governance committee will review the grievance policy and present to board before Sept 15th

K. Lieberman made a motion to have the governance committee update the grievance policy.
C. Espina seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

III. Academic Excellence

A.

Recruitment & Academic Report

Currently, we have 70 students enrolled. Recruitment has slowed b/c staff training the past 2 weeks. AmeriCorps Vista terms have ended. Volunteers have stepped up to assist with recruitment events. R. Rodriguez is leading forming and strengthening of partnerships with local apartment and social service agencies. 

 

Board members are invited to join staff at Waypoint Park this Saturday from 12-4pm for the back-to-school picnic.

IV. Anti-Racism and Transformative Justice Work

A.

Anti-racism and Transformative Justice Work

  • N. Mughal-Barrows will send out an anonymous survey link to board members to assess their experiences on the board doing anti-racism and transformative justice work.
  • We are continuing to explore outside consultants to conduct the organization's equity audit.
  • Recent conversations to strengthen community partnerships have evolved.

B.

Professional development

Alan Seid, certified Non-Violent Communication (NVC) trainer, will be here on Thursday, Aug 25th from 1-3pm to conduct a 2-hour training with staff and board members. 

V. Finance/Fundraising

A.

Fundraising/Finance Committee Updates

  • Board treasurer position remains open.

B.

July 2022 Financials

C. Baron presented July 2022 financial reports.

J. McGill made a motion to approve the payroll check summary for July 2022 totaling $66,294.89 as of August 24th, 2022.
K. Lieberman seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
C. Espina made a motion to approve the accounts payable for July 2022 in the amount of $87,555.48 as of August 24th, 2022.
J. McGill seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

C.

School Year 2021-22 Budget Revision

J. McGill made a motion to approve the budget extension for School Year 2021-22 to increase from $2,116,791 to $2,424,702.
C. Espina seconded the motion.

C. Baron presented the budget extension for SY 21-22. This revision accounts for unexpected federal revenues and corresponding expenses for SY 21-22. This report was reviewed by the finance committee.

The board VOTED to approve the motion.
Roll Call
J. McGill
Aye
N. Mughal-Barrows
Aye
C. Espina
Aye
K. Lieberman
Abstain

D.

Private CPA Auditor

J. McGill made a motion to contract with a private CPA auditor, Greenwood Ohlund, in the amount of $23,500. They will conduct the 21-22 state accountability audit.
C. Espina seconded the motion.

D. Walker presented information about the private CPA auditor, Greenwood Ohlund, to hire to conduct the 2021-22 state accountability audit.

The board VOTED to approve the motion.
Roll Call
K. Lieberman
Abstain
C. Espina
Aye
N. Mughal-Barrows
Aye
J. McGill
Aye

E.

Budget Review School Year 2022-23

J. McGill made a motion to Adopt the budget for School Year 2022-23 in the amount of $2,522,388 as presented.
C. Espina seconded the motion.

C. Baron presented the proposed budget for SY 2022-23 and 4-year budget and financial projection.

The board VOTED to approve the motion.
Roll Call
K. Lieberman
Abstain
C. Espina
Aye
N. Mughal-Barrows
Aye
J. McGill
Aye

VI. Other Business

A.

WIHS Mask Policy

C. Espina made a motion to delegate the development of the WIHS mask policy to staff and to report the protocol to the Board, along with monthly numbers and cases.
J. McGill seconded the motion.
  • The majority of staff members will continue to mask even if the mask mandate at WIHS is removed. 
  • Concerns about covid exposures during breaks and holidays were expressed. We discussed the test-to-stay approach similar to last year's approach.
  • D. Walker and R. Rodriguez will send out a survey to students and families to elicit their feedback and comfort level regarding masks and covid risks to inform the development of the WIHS mask policy and protocol.
  • Board members shared their opinions and thoughts about masks in the school setting.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

B.

Upcoming events

  • Thursday, Aug 25th from 1:00-3:00pm at WIHS: Staff and Board training on non-violent communication with Alan Seid
  • Thursday, Aug 25th from 6:00-7:30pm via Zoom: Northwest Youth Services Healing Pages Community Book Club, The Four Pivots by Dr. Shawn Ginwright
  • Saturday, August 27th, 12:00-4:00pm at Waypoint Park: WIHS Back-to-School Picnic
  • Monday, August 29th, 8:15-8:45am: First day of school. Board members are invited to welcome students to the school year.

C.

Closed Session

  • Collective Bargaining discussion closed session per RCW 42.30.140
  • Closed session began at 9:05pm and ended at 9:15pm.

D.

Executive Session

  • Executive Session per RCW 42.30.110(f) "To receive and evaluate complaints or charges brought against a public officer or employee."
  • Executive Session began at 9:15 and ended at 10:17pm.

VII. Board Goals

A.

Board Debrief and Evaluation

At the conclusion of each meeting, the board will evaluate its success against its norms.

Norms

(Y) or (N) Board members should understand the Mission and Vision of the school

(Y) or (N) Board Agenda should be sent out 24hours to the board.

(Y) or (N) Responding to emails in a 24hr time span

(Y) or (N) All board members should RSVP to meetings through Board on Track

VIII. 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 10:20 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
C. Espina