State Charter Schools Foundation of Georgia
Minutes
SCSF Executive Committee Meeting
Date and Time
Tuesday April 9, 2024 at 12:00 PM
Location
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88223521001?pwd=TyJ5MZNlAOSQKLXiSCdSY0tMWGkR4b.1
Committee Members Present
C. Good (remote), C. Sears (remote), D. Head (remote), J. Louis (remote), M. Neely (remote), Y. Mack (remote)
Committee Members Absent
A. Welcher, F. Konteh
Committee Members who arrived after the meeting opened
Y. Mack
Guests Present
A. Chen (remote), G. Rogers (remote), M. Gassman (remote)
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
C.
Approve Minutes
II. Governance
A.
Board Member Nomination
Chris Sears presented a nomination for Bill Campbell on behalf of the Governance Committee.
III. Financial Reports
A.
Presentation of Financial Reports
IV. Program Report
A.
CSP Subgrant Changes
Michele Neely presented proposed CSP Subgrant Changes.
The SCSF has been permitted to adjust the conditions of subgrants by the U.S. Department of Education as follows:
- Subgrantees will be awarded one subgrant with the possibility of a Planning and Implementation period (they will not be separate subgrants)
- New school subgrantees will be permitted to utilize funds during the Planning period for any allowable use instead of being restricted to school leader compensation
B.
CSP SE Grant Activities
Michele Neely presented some updates regarding the SCSF's CSP SE Grant activities.
- Provided subgrantee training. All subgrant agreements complete. Accepting budgets.
- Reworking Planning and Implementation Subgrant periods and allowable expenses.
- Planning for next subgrant round.
- Planning for activities related to goals of authorizer standards and dissemination of best practices.
- 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
C.
Other Program Activities
Molly Gassman provided some updates on program activities:
- Art of Connection: Exhibition of Student Art
- Shining Star Teachers
- Book Vending Machine grants
- Book Wagon visits
Staff also provided an update on sponsorships for program costs.
D.
Charter School Sector Update
Michele Neely provided an update on the charter school sector in Georgia.
Joanne Louis, Board Treasurer, presented current financial reports.
We are entering a period of increased financial activity with the award of CSP subgrants. We will be awarding gift cards to the art contest winners and gift cards to Shining Star Teachers, as well as awarding book vending machines with books.
CSP - The SCSF has been awarded $38,295,000 by the U.S. Dept. of Education for the Charter Schools Program State Entity program to continue and expand the Charter Growth Initiative. Our budget has been approved, and we have drawn a total of $959,938.62, to cover operational and program expenses through the end of fiscal year 2024 and begin providing funds to subgrantees.
Operational support - We entered into an FY2024 contract with the SCSC for $132,500 to support our operational expenses. We have received $94,000 so far.
Grants & fundraising - We have applied for a matching grant from Reading Is Fundamental. We received $750 in sponsorships for the art contest and so far $250 for the Shining Star Teachers program (several additional possibilities). We need more undesignated donations. We have been asked to raise funds to support facility needs at state charter schools, and we are working on building a grant fund for existing schools with LIIF, a lending partner.
Michele Neely provided further details regarding the partnership with LIIF.