Liberty STEAM Charter

Minutes

LSC BOARD OF DIRECTORS GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE

AGENDA OF REGULARLY SCHEDULED MONTHLY MEETING

Date and Time

Wednesday June 22, 2022 at 11:00 AM

Location

LSC Administrative Offices
117 North Main Street
Sumter, SC 29150

Google Map of Meeting Location

This meeting is held in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act. A copy of the agenda has been made available to the local media & general public.

Mission: Liberty STEAM Charter (LSC) works to provide all students equal access to a world-class PK-12 education in an academically rigorous & student-centered learning environment, creating graduates to be thoughtful & engaged citizens prepared to take on the leadership challenges of the 21st century.

Vision: In partnership with our families & the community, Sumter STEAM Charter (SSC) will provide interdisciplinary, real-world, personalized, and project-based learning experiences through a STEAM-based academic program where graduates become the next generation of leaders, employers, and employees who contribute to the economic well-being of their communities and families. 

Committee Members Present

Cameron Chandler, Greg Thompson, Khalil Graham, Kimberly Rauschenbach (remote)

Committee Members Absent

None

Guests Present

Trevor Ivey, Tyler Hamilton

I. Opening Items

A.

Record Attendance

B.

Call the Meeting to Order

Greg Thompson called a meeting of the Governance Committee Committee of Liberty STEAM Charter to order on Wednesday Jun 22, 2022 at 11:00 AM.

C.

Invocation

Kim Rauschenbach provided and invocation.

D.

Pledge of Allegiance

Cammy Chandler led the committee in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

E.

Reading of the Mission Statement

Dr. Khalil Graham read aloud the mission statement.

F.

Reading of the Vision Statememt

Dr. Trevor Ivey read aloud the mission statement.

G.

Approve Agenda

Cameron Chandler made a motion to approve the agenda as presented by the staff.
Kimberly Rauschenbach seconded the motion.
The committee VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

II. Committee Updates

A.

Committee Updates

  • Summary of Key Points
  • Dr. Graham reviewed the board retreat for next month as the board will own the retreat. 
  • Greg met with Dave, Gantt, and Dr. Thompson about the finances to get more clarity on where LSC is. 
  • Dave Loadholt would stay on to help LSC until December 2022. 
  • Dave and Gantt should report to Dr. Thompson as he is the board chair of Finance. 
  • Greg is looking to have minimal use on p-cards moving forward for the next school year.
  • Biggest roadblock on p-cards is the Synovous system. It isn’t as user-friendly and very difficult to use. 
  • LSC met with the elder group 3 times from Aldersgate and a few tweaks have been made for the architect. Once Aldersgate signs the lease, hopefully by July 31st, for 5 years. 
  • The portables that are added to Aldersgate will be owned by LSC.
  • $300,000 over the life of the lease which is $5,000/month for 5 years and full renovations covered by Liberty.
  • LSC to either rent or buy the land behind Aldersgate to use for portables so that it does not interfere with the pumpkin patch.
  • 16 classrooms plus the building to spread out in year one and will get LSC through 5th grade. 2nd, 3rd, and 4th will be at Aldersgate. 
  • Leave grade sizes the same one children leave school street location. 
  • To carry on the tradition and legacy of the future location of Lincoln, LSC could call it Lincoln high school. “Liberty at Lincoln” is a possibility.
  • $2M cost for Aldersgate including the modulars. Buying used modulars is the better option due to the delay times for the new ones. LSC wants modulars and not portables. 
  • Church meeting scheduled for July 25th from 6-6:30 pm to sign off on it and they have to take it to their church leader to sign off on. Church wants to hear from a board member, teacher, Greg, etc. which will be similar to an Invitational Tour.
  • LSC will not change the spending side of the budget even though we have more money. 
  • LSC will have 345 kids on the first day of school. On the 100th day is when that number may change. Whether LSC decides to backfill the positions or not. Balance the roster on the 10th day of school. 
  • LSC wants to keep the 2:1 ratio in the classrooms for SY22-23. 
  • LSC is now a Title I school and receiving 73k next year due to our pupils in poverty percentage. 
  • A school leader and an Operations person need to be an FTE. 
  • The more kids we bring in will generate more income. 

III. Other Business

A.

Agenda Items from Committee Members

There were no agenda items presented. 

IV. Executive Session

A.

Purposes of a Discussion of Negotiations of Incident to Proposed Contractual Agreements

Kimberly Rauschenbach made a motion to enter into executive session at 11:45am for the Purposes of a Discussion of Negotiations of Incident to Proposed Contractual Agreements.
Greg Thompson seconded the motion.
The committee VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

B.

Next Steps

  • Final Action Items
    • Trevor to inquire about the land behind Aldersgate by 6/25.
    • Greg to do a video recorded message for the July 25th church meeting.
    • If there needs to be an advocate for LSC, Kim Rauschebach is more than happy to go out and do so in case there are naysayers.
    • Trevor to get with the attorney to get his contract updated to present to the executive committee tomorrow, 6/23.
  • Board Recommendations
    • New board member mentors. Dexter will be a mentor for Elayne and Cammy will be the mentor to Jenny. Will be discussed at the board retreat.
    • Possibly go into the public charter school alliance policy manual and approve what will work for LSC and just do the bare minimum to ensure we can grow with a document we like and can move forward with by July 14th. The draft should be available by July 14th. Kim to take the HR portion and Rodney to take the finance portion.
    • Update Trevor’s contract to reflect his interim status by the June 27th board meeting.
    • Co-teachers through the 4th grade are what is really needed. Smaller class size and two teachers through the 4th grade.

C.

Good of the Order

There was no discussion during this portion of the agenda.

V. 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 11:52 AM.

Respectfully Submitted,
Tyler Hamilton