Hope Academy
Minutes
Board Meeting
Date and Time
Tuesday February 25, 2020 at 7:30 AM
Location
Fairbanks - Martz Boardroom
Directors Present
A. Levander (remote), A. Tomlin, B. Elliott, C. Kenney, G. Eckart, J. Gabe, J. Shopp, K. Turner, L. Mannweiler (remote), M. Manlove, P. Usher (remote), T. Brown (remote)
Directors Absent
J. Finke, U. Oruche
Guests Present
Bill Ehret, Avison Young, E. Keller, J. Stanich, Joel Miller, Avison Young, L. Erickson, L. Gagyi, R. Gardner
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance and Guests
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
M. Manlove called a meeting of the board of directors of Hope Academy to order on Tuesday Feb 25, 2020 at 7:37 AM.
C.
Approve Minutes
K. Turner made a motion to approve the minutes from Rescheduled December Board Meeting on 01-07-20.
G. Eckart seconded the motion.
It was noted that a correction should be made to section III. E. Simon Youth Foundation Update. The paragragh should read that "At this time space is not being offered with SYF."
With that change made, the board passed the motion to approve the minutes.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
With that change made, the board passed the motion to approve the minutes.
II. Hope Academy 1.0 Budget
A.
Reprojected Budget
III. Hope 2.0 Business/COO Report
A.
Facilities Update
Joel Miller (via phone) and Bill Ehret (in person) of Avison Young discussed the facilities that were considered for the new location of Hope Academy. They toured various facilities on behalf of Hope Academy and believe that the site near the University of Indianapolis has the best facilities for Hope's purpose. The site is leased by the University of Indianapolis and had previously been used as a learning facility for adults and will easily transition to the needs of the school, with the exception of a need for two entry doors to be installed to set the site apart from the rest of the building. The space being considered is 10,694 square feet. The lease term is for 3 years which provides stability in the short term and flexibility for the long term.
The sub-lease agreement is being drafted with the University of Indianapolis and once it is drafted it will be shared with Hope Academy so Hope's legal counsel can perform a review of the sub-lease.
OEI has outlined a time-frame for when a space should be designated for the charter school and they believe that if we sign the sub-lease, Hope will be on track with opening the school for the upcoming school year.
The sub-lease agreement is being drafted with the University of Indianapolis and once it is drafted it will be shared with Hope Academy so Hope's legal counsel can perform a review of the sub-lease.
OEI has outlined a time-frame for when a space should be designated for the charter school and they believe that if we sign the sub-lease, Hope will be on track with opening the school for the upcoming school year.
C. Kenney made a motion to sign a sub-lease agreement with University of Indianapolis for the space identified to become the new location for Hope Academy.
J. Shopp seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
B.
IPS Innovation Update
Rachelle discussed IPS Innovation assistance. She noted that there is an administrative fee of $25,000, but Hope's legal counsel is negotiating to bring the fee down to $10,000. IPS will provide a loan to be paid to Hope in June and then funds from their ADM payments would be taken out monthly to pay back the loan.
Rachelle also discussed the services available from IPS, for additional fees, with one of them being transportation. It was noted that Hope's current transportation system is cheaper than IPS so we will not consider that. However, utilizing IPS Food Services is being looked into and that may be the only service that we contract with IPS.
Rachelle also discussed the services available from IPS, for additional fees, with one of them being transportation. It was noted that Hope's current transportation system is cheaper than IPS so we will not consider that. However, utilizing IPS Food Services is being looked into and that may be the only service that we contract with IPS.
C.
Simon Youth Foundation Update
Rachelle reviewed the Simon Youth Foundation (SYF) Grant Partnership Advantage and Support - Public School Partners document that had been shared with the Board in their board packet. Up to this point SYF had been waiting for Hope to find a space for their new location. Now that the location has been agreed upon, they will vote on support of Hope Academy at their March meeting. Key benefits of aligning with SYF are student opportunities and scholarships and staff professional development.
D.
Update on Enrollment Meetings- Preopening Checklist
Marissa advised that we continue to have enrollment meetings with OEI and there are a number of items coming due in April. She pointed out one item of note is that OEI requires background checks to be done on the board members and paper copies of the information was distributed during the meeting. Rachelle will re-send the OEI background check request to board members.
IV. New Business
A.
Fairbanks Update
Barb Elliott provided an update of integration activities that have taken place between Community Hospital Network and Fairbanks. She shared that Community has been very welcoming and it's been a positive experience.
B.
Policy Change
Rachelle shared that with the integration of Fairbanks and Community, Hope needs to revise the policy language in two policies in order to align with Community's security policies. Those policies were included in the Hope Board packet and are titled Fire Threat and Bomb Threat.
A. Tomlin made a motion to agree to the proposed language change in the two policies.
K. Turner seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
V. Principals Report
A.
Principal's Report
Linda reviewed the items highlighted in her Principal's Report and shared that she was very pleased with the students that attended the Taste of Hope event.
VI. Standing Business
A.
Development Committee Report
Colleen shared briefly that she, Rachelle and Marissa attended a meeting at the University of Indianapolis. The meeting involved various community groups that had been invited by UIndy to consider coming together to form a designated community in the UIndy neighborhood to improve the quality of life and battle poverty; such a designated area is referred to as an opportunity zone and would be eligible for federal grants and possibly a Lilly Endowment Grant.. This is very preliminary at this time.
She provided an update on Hope Academy's Taste of Hope, which she felt was a very positive event. She noted that although we didn't meet the event goal of $75,000, we had added a new event in September, the Rise and Shine breakfast, which exceeded its goal. While the two events in FY20 exceeded event funds raised in FY19, we are below our event fundraising goal for FY20. Hopefully, this shortfall can be offset with increased individual giving.
Colleen remarked that as we move towards Hope 2.0 we will need additional dollars, and that creates the need for an expansion campaign. She emphasized that this will take the full board's support, as fundraising will continue to be an important component.
She provided an update on Hope Academy's Taste of Hope, which she felt was a very positive event. She noted that although we didn't meet the event goal of $75,000, we had added a new event in September, the Rise and Shine breakfast, which exceeded its goal. While the two events in FY20 exceeded event funds raised in FY19, we are below our event fundraising goal for FY20. Hopefully, this shortfall can be offset with increased individual giving.
Colleen remarked that as we move towards Hope 2.0 we will need additional dollars, and that creates the need for an expansion campaign. She emphasized that this will take the full board's support, as fundraising will continue to be an important component.
B.
Finance Committe/Monthly Financials/AP Vouchers
J. Shopp provided an update on the monthly financials, pointing out that there are grant funds that have not been used yet.
C.
Marketing Committee Report
There was not sufficient time to review the Marketing Committee Report.
D.
Governance Committee Report
There was not sufficient time to review the Governance Committee Report.
E.
Academic and Recovery Committee Report
There was not sufficient time to review the Academic and Recovery Committee Report.
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 9:13 AM.
Respectfully Submitted,
M. Manlove
Documents used during the meeting
- Hope Budget FY 20_Projection_021920.pdf
- Walkforward22420.pptx
- ADM-ADA.xlsx
- UIndy space.pdf
- Space Presentation.pptx
- SYF Grant Partnerships-Advantages and Support_FINALdocx.pdf
- Fire and bomb training.pdf
- principals report.docx
- FY2020 Hope Academy At A Glance - January.pdf
- Hope Academy bar graph jan.feb.xlsx
- 2020_01_28_development_committee_meeting_minutes.pdf
- HOpe Academy Formatted Financials_013120.pdf
- 2020_01_23_marketing_committee_committee_meeting_minutes.pdf
- 2020_01_28_governance_committee_meeting_minutes.pdf
- 2020_01_29_academic_excellence_committee_meeting_minutes (3).pdf
Discussion was held around the reasons for students leaving the school and the accountability of the parents. There was further discussion around the idea of holding instructional courses for parents of students to help them understand the student's recovery process, how the parent can become involved in their student's recovery and to provide awareness and help parents understand the support groups available to them. This proposed Parent Education Series would be a requirement of student enrollment at Hope.