Board, staff and guests conducted the pledge of allegiance.

Refer to attendance information recorded above. 

B. Olivares, Chief Impact Officer, introduced Senior Project Director, Fatima Cristerna Adame. She will be supporting the project work for grants and expansion as well as improving systems and structures for the organization. 

M. Muhammedov announced that the Board will be going into closed session to discuss public employee performance evaluation for title: CEO & Superintendent and conference with legal for initiation of litigation and would report out any actions that may be taken.

This item was discussed in Closed Session.

This item was discussed in Closed Session.

M. Muhammedov announced in Open Session at 9:55pm that the Board discussed both items and no actions were taken.

E. Acar, Deputy Superintendent, reported on the update to the conclusion of the non-programmatic trip to Costa Rica. Twenty-eight (28) students participated. He recognized the effort from staff to finalize the logistics before the trip to ensure it went smoothly. A. Kaplan, Principal at MSA-5 was one of the chaperones that went on the trip and shared some of the activities in the itinerary that the students did which included community service, museum exploration and immerse in nature. He added that this tied in greatly with global citizenship. A video was shared that highlighted student testimonials and their activities.

K. Jimenez, Assistant Project Manager, reported on updates from various ongoing facilities projects which included updates for MSA-5, MSA-1, MSA-7, MSA-2, and MSA-Santa Ana. Board Members questions were addressed by staff. It was reported that certain updates will come to the Board at the next facilities projects updates. 

E. Acar, Deputy Superintendent, reported that MPS diligently works to ensure students are college ready and students are provided support during the college application submission and acceptances season. F. Ganda, College & Career Readiness Program Coordinator, presented data on acceptances to post secondary education. She provided a breakdown on University of California (UC), California State (CSU), private, and out of state acceptances. She also provided information of acceptances and commitments. She reported that Magnolia students are 20% more likely to enroll in college than students from similar schools in the U.S. She also reported that female Magnolia alumni are 54% more likely to graduate from a STEM field than their non-Magnolia peers. She reported on next steps in the College & Career Program. Board Members questions were addressed by staff. 

Since the consent items are yearly standard approvals the Board moved to approve the Consent Items agenda which included IVA, IVB and IVC. 

M. Muhammedov, Board Chair, reported that Naim Bayruktar from MSA-Santa Ana was selected as the Student Board Member for the 2024-25 year. He reported that on June 17th the Board heard four (4) student finalists from MSA-2, MSA-3, MSA-5 and MSA-Santa Ana. He stated that the students were selected by their peers to be the finalists for their school. He also thanked all the students who were nominated for their courage and pursuit of the opportunity. Other Board Members shared their sentiments and thanked all the students.

B. Olandes, Director of Advancement, presented the recommendation of the following  preferred vendors which will assist with the growth and expansion plans into Orange County. He reported that MPS has been in a continued partnership with Charter Charter School Growth Fund and recommended certain vendors that will assist MPS on the operations for the growth work. He stated that they have done the due diligence process for these vendors.

F. Del Carpio, Chief People Officer, asked the Board to approve the revised pay raise scale to include the addition of a guidance counselor position with 5 points in light of the federal CSP award that was awarded to MPS and incorporated into the budget. Board Members questions were addressed by staff. She reported that college counselor and guidance counselor are very similar roles and part of their overhaul of the pay structure they will look at all the job titles to see if there is an opportunity to streamline the titles and this will be one to explore further. A public comment was made to which E. Acar, Deputy Superintendent addressed.

F. Del Carpio, Chief People Officer, reported that with the various transitions occurring, one is the introduction of Megan Craig as the new Principal for MSA-San Diego. In light of the transitions, and in collaboration with school leadership and Home Office, staff had identified changes to the organizational structure to better align with the funding and continued focus to enhance support for students and educational partners. She reported that the new structure would include a Principal, Dean of Students, Dean of Academics, Family Success Coordinator, and Guidance Counselor. The previous structure contained an Assistant Principal role. M. Craig reported that with the addition of the Family Success Coordinator and the Guidance Counselor that would relieve the duties she had done in the Assistant Principal role. Board Members questions were addressed by staff. 

F. Del Carpio, Chief People Officer,  reported that through collaborative conversations between school site leaders and Home Office they have identified introducing a Dean of Academics which would provide greater emphasis on the role with more direct access and support for students and teachers. She stated that in light on the decline of math and english scores, Home Office and the school had conversations on how to provide more support and intervene with a greater focus on academics and improving test scores. Through the strategic oversight of the Dean of Academics, they would help to increase enrollment as families are seeking high performing schools in the community. S. Acar, Interim Principal at MSA-Bell & Chief Operations Officer, explained his oversight at the school and some changes implemented to their school operations to address the needs. Board Members questions were addressed by staff. 

Z. Ocel, Principal at MSA-3, reported that there is a demand at their school for college counseling which would require a full time college counselor to adequately support the students with college applications, financial aid, and the area of dual enrollment. He reported that their part time college counselor will be going back to teaching and after seeing the demand from their students, the school would greatly benefit for a full time counselor. He reported that they have seen growth of students applying to college compared to previous years. Board Members questions were addressed by staff. 

B. Olivares, Chief Impact Officer, reported that it is standard protocol to receive MPS Board review and approval to charter renewals before brining it to the authorizers. She stated that renewals are every five (5) years. Board Members questions were addressed by staff. 

It was reported that the MOU is between Magnolia Educational & Research Foundation (MERF) and Orange County Department of Education. B. Olivares, Chief Impact Officer, reported that MSA-Orange County was approved by the Orange County Department of Education (OCDE). She stated that the MOU between MERF and OCDE will solidify proceeding with the partnership for Orange County growth and expansion. 

M. Muhammedov, Board Chair, reported "As to this item regarding approval of the CEO/Superintendent employment agreement, I am required by law to indicate, prior to any vote on the employment agreement, that the agreement provides the following: 1. A three (3) year term of employment; 2. A work schedule of a minimum of 246 days annually; 3. A base annual salary of $271,500 for the 2024-2025 school year; 4. Paid Time Off to accrue at the rate of 10 days per year; 5. Vacation leave to accrue at the rate of 20 days per year; 6. Two (2) floating holidays per year. 7. $21,815.40 towards annual health benefit premium; 8. $ 50,000 towards basic life and basic AD&D life insurance; 9. $21,716.40 toward long term disability insurance premium; 10. Reimbursement of up to $1,000 for professional membership and dues; 11. $49,836.72 towards employer contributions for the State Teachers’ Retirement Program, subject to program and eligibility requirements; 12. And entitled to tuition reimbursement up to $5,000 per year up to a maximum of 3 years pursuit to the Tuition Reimbursement Policy.  I would also note that the annual salary is in keeping with the compensation comparability study the Board has received, reviewed, and adopted on June 17, 2024.”