State Charter Schools Foundation of Georgia
Minutes
SCSF Executive Committee Meeting
Committee Members Present
A. Welcher (remote), C. Good (remote), C. Sears (remote), D. Head (remote), F. Konteh (remote), M. Neely (remote)
Committee Members Absent
J. Louis, Y. Mack
Guests Present
A. Chen (remote), M. Gassman (remote)
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
C.
Approve Minutes
D.
Approve Minutes - Called Meeting
II. Governance
A.
Welcome New Board Member
B.
Board Member Nominations
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| D. Head |
Absent
|
| F. Konteh |
Aye
|
| M. Neely |
Abstain
|
| Y. Mack |
Absent
|
| A. Welcher |
Aye
|
| C. Good |
Aye
|
| C. Sears |
Aye
|
| J. Louis |
Absent
|
III. Financial Reports
A.
Presentation of Financial Reports
We have entered a period of decreased financial activity with the closeout of the
GEER II grant and preparation to award CSP subgrants.
• All GEER II funds were expended by October 31, 2023. We are awaiting
instructions on returning the remaining small amount of funds not spent.
• The SCSF began CSP activities and requested funds needed through the end
of the calendar year. We are able to request funds in advance and are carefully
monitoring the federal budget process.
• The SCSF received a second installment of $30,000 as a part of the contract
with the SCSC for operational support.
• The SCSF netted $1,452 to support general operations from Donuts for
Teachers.
The SCSF has been notified of a grant award for an unknown amount - we
assume for book vending machines. We are working with the entity's bank.
B.
Update on Audit
The SCSF completed and submitted the organization's first independent audit and
single audit. No Findings determined. Report has been completed and uploaded to the Fed website. $2.2MM spent on grant expense expenditures.
IV. Action Items
A.
Approve CSP Technical Assistance Contracts
An evaluation committee comprised of members from the SCSF, SCSC, and GaDOE makes the following recommendations for contracts to provide technical assistance for the Replication and Expansion Cohort Program for the CSP Grant.
1. Facility and Finance Consultative Support - $80,000 GCSA’s Facility Resource Center
2. Implementation Support - $80,000 BES (build.excel.sustain.)
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| D. Head |
Aye
|
| Y. Mack |
Absent
|
| C. Good |
Aye
|
| F. Konteh |
Aye
|
| A. Welcher |
Abstain
|
| C. Sears |
Aye
|
| J. Louis |
Absent
|
| M. Neely |
Abstain
|
V. Program Report
A.
GEER II
The GEER II grant expired on September 30, 2023. The SCSF expended $4,088,455.72 during the grant term.
• $2,716,525.93 in subgrants to 12 charter schools/networks
• Two cohort programs serving 9 charter schools/networks
• New charter school website and public information campaign
• 99.9% utilitization of grant funds (balance of $4,044.28 to be returned)
• Onsite monitoring of subgrantees in January
B.
CSP SE Grant
Approval from USEd to solicit bids for technical assistance activities.
• Approval from USEd for the Request for Applications (RFA) for subgrants.
• New School Leader Fellowship in progress - Excelsior Village Academy, Miles Ahead, The Anchor School, Sankofa Montessori (including Year 1 schools)
• Replication and Expansion Cohort program in progress - Liberty Classical Schools, Spring Creek Charter Academy, International Charter Academy of Georgia, Chattahoochee Hills Charter School
• Currently accepting subgrant applications; held subgrant applicant webinar (30 attendees) and opened new SCSF Grant Portal (The recording from the webinar is available here as well as both of our websites. A Federal Programs Training webinar Michele cohosted is located here.) The RFA is attached.
C.
Other Program Activities
The SCSF has provided donations and support to state charter schools and their students throughout the Fall.
- Over 300 dozen donuts distributed to schools across the State
- 300 refurbished laptops via InspiredEDU
- Empty stocking fund teachers stocking fund
- Demo of new grant portal demo shared during meeting
Welcome to Dr Cayanna Good to the SCSF Board. She will serve as the new SCSC Commissioner representative.