Magnolia Public Schools

Minutes

Board Meeting

Date and Time

Thursday September 10, 2015 at 6:00 PM

Location

MSA-4 11330 W. Graham Place B-9 Los Angeles, CA 90064

Directors Present

D. Gonzalez, M. Kaynak (remote), N. Russell-Unterburger (remote), R. Oten (remote), S. Sherkhanov, U. Yapanel (remote)

Directors Absent

N. Huynh

Directors who arrived after the meeting opened

M. Kaynak

Guests Present

Andy Gokce, B. Torres, Brad Plonka, C. Young, Jason Hernandez, Kelly Hourigan, Kenya Jackson, Lisa Ross, Michelle Crumpton, Mustafa Sahin, Oswaldo Diaz, Rasul Monoshev, Shazeen Mufti, Suat Acar

I. Opening Items

A.

Call the Meeting to Order

U. Yapanel called a meeting of the board of directors of Magnolia Public Schools to order on Thursday Sep 10, 2015 at 6:15 PM.

This was a Regular Board Meeting.

B.

Flag Salute

The Flag salute was led by K. Hourigan, Director of Student Services.

C.

Record Attendance and Guests

D.

Approval of the Agenda

U. Yapanel made a motion to move items II C and II D out of the Consent Agenda for further discussion. No other changes were made to the agenda. S. Sherkhanov made a motion to approve the agenda with the two changes. U. Yapanel second. The motion was approved unanimously.

E.

Oral Communications

There were no Oral Communications.

F.

Public Comment

There were no public comments.

G.

Approve Minutes

Minutes were approved as a consent item.
U. Yapanel made a motion to approve minutes from the Board Meeting on 08-13-15 Board Meeting on 08-13-15.
D. Gonzalez seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

II. Consent Agenda

A.

Approval of the State Charter School Facilities Incentive Grants Program Agreements for MSA 2,4,5

U.Yapanel made a motion to approve the State Charter School Facilities Incentive Grants Program Agreements for MSA 2, 4, and 5. S. Sherkhanov seconded. The motion was approved unanimously.

B.

Approval of Legal Counsel to the Board

S. Sherkhanov made a motion to approve the revised contract for Legal Counsel to the Board, Law Office of William M. Nassar & Associates . U. Yapanel seconded. The motion was approved unanimously.

C.

Approval of Resolution Authorizing MPS Home Office Intra-Company Loan to MSA- Santa Ana

S. Sherkhanov made a motion to postpone this item until the October Board meeting and direct staff to provide the information that the Board requested. D. Gonzalez seconded. This motion was approved unanimously.

D.

Approval of Resolution Authorizing MPS Home Office Intra-Company Loan to MSA- Santa Clara

S. Sherkhanov made a motion to move the approval of the Resolution Authorizing MPS Home Office Intra-Company Loan to MSA- Santa Clara item out of consent agenda and into a regular action item for further discussion. N. Unterburger seconded. The motion to move this item was approved unanimously.
M. Kaynak arrived.

E.

Approval of Legal Counsel for San Diego Site Aquisition

S. Sherkhanov made a motion to approve the Legal Counsel for San Diego Site Acquisition, Law Offices of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP. M. Kaynak seconded. This consent item was approved unanimously.

III. Action Items

A.

Potential Las Vegas Expansion

C. Young summarized to the Board the potential Nevada expansion. She explained the Nevada Achievement School District (Nevada ASD) law for low performing schools and the process to take over these schools. C. Young also explained that there are former Magnolia staff in Nevada, who are willing to come back and work for Magnolia in Nevada. Craig Hulse from Argentum Partners and Alison Serafin, Founder and President of Opportunity 180, briefed the Board on the Nevada project and addressed Board members' questions. O. Diaz, Chief Financial Officer, explained the expected revenue and expenses for this project. Magnolia can step down from the project at any point in the process. MPS Executive team members gave their feedback on the project. S. Sherkhanov moved to give direction to the staff to pursue and make proposal to the state of Nevada and update the board in the upcoming Board meetings to ask for direction. D. Gonzalez seconded. The motion was approved unanimously.

B.

Approval of New Board Member Appointment

U. Yapanel gave a background description of both potential Board members. M. Kaynak made a motion to appoint S. Orazov for the Magnolia Public Schools Board. U. Yapanel seconded. This motion was approved with a 5:1 vote, R. Oten voting no. U. Yapanel made a motion to appoint A. Korkmaz as a Magnolia Public Schools Board member. M. Kaynak seconded. The motion was approved with 5 ayes and 1 abstained vote from S. Sherkhanov. S. Sherkhanov abstained because he nominated this new board member.

C.

Nomination of Board Members for San Diego Governance Committee

M. Kaynak explained to the Board San Diego School District requirements of having a local governance board committee in San Diego. The Board needed to appoint two of it's members to the Committee. M. Kaynak volunteered. S. Sherkhanov made a motion to appoint M. Kaynak and S. Orazov as the committee members. S. Sherkhanov said he would support the committee if and when needed. D. Gonzalez seconded. The motion was approved unanimously.

D.

Approval of Salary Scale for Home Office Staff

A. Gokce, Chief of Staff, presented the home office salary scales to the Board. He explained that the HR director conducted research and analysis of these salary ranges. C. Young, T. Boatman and A. Gokce addressed all Board member questions. S. Sherkhanov made a motion to approve the home office staff salary scale as presented. N. Unterburger seconded. M. Kaynak and U. Yapanel voted no. S. Sherkhanov abstained. This motion was approved with 2 nays, 3 ayes, 1 abstain.

IV. Information/Discussion Items

A.

Unaudited 2014-15 Financials

This item was postponed and will be discussed in the October Board meeting.

B.

Financial Update Budget Vs Actuals; MSA Santa Clara

This item was postponed and will be discussed in the October Board meeting.

C.

Public Announcement of Reasons for Closed Session

S. Sherkhanov informed the public that the Board was going into Closed Session to discuss the items written on the Agenda.

V. Closed Session

A.

CONFERENCE W LEGAL COUNSEL-ANTICIPATED LITIGATION

Discussed in Closed Session.

B.

CONFERENCE WITH REAL PROPERTY NEGOTIATOR

Property:18220-18224 Sherman Way Agency Negotiator: Frank Gonzalez Under negotiation: Escrow Closure PUBLIC
Discussed in Closed Session.

C.

Public Employment- Title: Chief Growth Officer

Discussed in Closed Session.

D.

Update on Negotiation Regarding San Diego Site

Update on Negotiation Regarding possible acquisition of 6365 Lake Atlin Ave. San Diego, CA 92119. Discussed in Closed Session.

E.

Public Employee Discipline/Dismissal/Release

Discussed in Closed Session.

VI. Public Announcement

A.

Annoucement of Action(s) Taken in Closed Session

S. Sherkhanov reported out to the public that the Board gave direction to the Personnel Committee to further investigate the personnel matter and report back to the full Board in the next Board meeting. The Board also approved the acquisition of 18220-18224 Sherman Way, Reseda, CA 91335. He also reported that the survey results for the Chief Growth Officer evaluation would be shared with the Chief Executive Officer, C. Young. No other actions were taken in Closed Session, all approved items were approved unanimously.

VII. Written Reports

A.

Update on Contracts Signed Over the Summer

A written report for the Update on Contracts Signed Over the Summer was provided to the Board. There was no discussion on this item.

B.

2015-16 Enrollment Update

A written report for the 2015-16 Enrollment Update was provided to the Board. There was no discussion on this item.

C.

Teaching Positions Filled Update

A written report for Teaching Positions Filled Update was provided to the Board. There was not discussion on this item.

D.

Monthly Academic Report

A written Academic report was provided to the Board. There was no discussion on this item.

E.

Monthly Financial Report

A written Financial report was provided to the Board. There was no discussion on this item.

F.

Monthly Facilities Report

A written Facilities report was provided to the Board. There was no discussion on this item.

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 10:45 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
U. Yapanel