Ethos Classical Charter School
Minutes
Board of Directors Monthly Meeting
Date and Time
Wednesday September 27, 2023 at 6:30 PM
Location
The Ethos Classical Board of Directors will meet on site at the school at 2295 Springdale Cir SW, Atlanta, GA 30315. For those that cannot join us in person, we will also have a videoconference option available:
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Meeting ID: 387 259 0211
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Directors Present
A. Lamborghini, E. Raines (remote), J. Boyd, L. Taylor (remote), M. Moore, T. Fick (remote)
Directors Absent
T. Mitchell
Ex Officio Members Present
E. Castillo Leon
Non Voting Members Present
E. Castillo Leon
Guests Present
B. Hines, D. Cembrola (remote), D. Mack, S. Knight-Justice
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance and Guests
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
C.
Public Comment
D.
Approve Prior Meeting Minutes
II. Audit Presentation
A.
Presentation of Audited Financial Statements
B. Sonoike joined the meeting to present to the Board on our completed audit. Reviewed the audited financials page by page with the Board, and confirmed that in all (FY23 audit, and the single audit for 22 and single audit for 23) it was no findings, a clean audit. Board asked how the process went in this year, and Mr. Sonoike confirmed that staff and Ed Tec were responsive and easy to work with. B. Hines thanked Mr. Sonoike for timely and thorough work.
III. Management Report
A.
Management Report
D. Mack presented updates on school activities and highlights, including field trips, flag football league, and learning.
B.
Facilities Update
E. Castillo Leon reported on facilities build progress: structure is in place, landscaping plans just came in. Preparing to move in Feb 18th.
C.
Finance
B. Hines reported on the FY24 forecast; revenues are currently tracking under budget but state revenue variance is partially due to the report using a lower enrollement number than actual, which will be corrected next reporting period. The remaining revenue deficit is due to a lower state QBE rate than anticipated at budget. This however will be partially offset by lower than budgeted expenses.
Reviewed status on performance indicators, and still appear on track for 95/100.
D.
Fundraising
E Castillo Leon reported on fundraising activities including the Give to Greatness program, Art Auction (October 19), and Fund a Field Trip.
E.
LEA & Compliance Update
Saving for board voting item
F.
Recruitment (Scholar and Staffing)
Ms. Murray reported on scholar enrollment, currently at 540. Applications for SY25 will open this weekend.
G.
Program
Mr. Knight Justice reported on progress on programmatic metrics, including a highlight on progress on strong work toward high attendance rate, and a focus on cultural practice. He also reported on specialized service updates including new hires to support scholars.
Mr. Knight Justice reported on academic and scholar learning. Moving off of NWEA MAP to I-Ready, which will allow scholars to have more aligned daily practice to benchmark assessments, and help teachers meet scholars exactly where they are while providing data to increase learning gains.
IV. Board Committee Reports
A.
Finance
B.
Governance
M. Moore updated the team that two candidates have been interviewed; resumes will be presented for vote in October.
C.
Academic
T. Fick had no other updates than what was reported in Management Report.
D.
Fundraising Committee
A. Lamborghini and E. Castillo Leon reported on progress for planning for the art auction.
V. Voting Matters
A.
Review Proposal: Expand Grade Levels Served
D. Mack presented a proposal for expanding from a K-5 to a K-8:
- Continuity of Education
- Holistic Development
- Community Cohesion
The proposal shared a continuing growth model to maintain the scholars we have already.
The Board asked a number of questions including planning for the additional space needed, interest in a pre-K program, SCSC process for expansion, and cost/financing.
VI. Other Business
A.
Other Business
M. Moore called for any additional matters the Board wanted to bring to the body. There were none.
VII. Executive Session
A.
Personnel Matters
The Board retired to executive session, inviting Head of School D. Mack to report on a personnel matter. The Board exited executive session, voting to follow financial policy and approvals on legal expenses related to the matter.
B.
Real Estate Matter
The Board retired to executive session, inviting Head of School D. Mack and Executive Director E. Castillo Leon to report on a real estate matter. The Board exited executive session, voting an approval of the presented Letter of Intent to be sent to the discussed property owners.
No comment presented