Equitas Academy Charter School
Minutes
Special Board Meeting
Date and Time
Thursday February 22, 2018 at 6:00 PM
Location
1700 W. Pico Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90015 Conference Call - Dial In: 719-394-0060 Pin: 81249. Additional Call In Locations: 1700 W. Pico, Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90015, 3943 Pine Ave., Long Beach, CA 90807, 2244 Talmadge St., Los Angeles, CA 90027, 1200 Park Ave., Emeryville , Ca 94608, 1082 South Point View St., Los Angeles, CA 90035.
PUBLIC COMMENT AT EQUITAS ACADEMY BOARD MEETINGS – An opportunity for the public to address the Board will be provided at the conclusion of the agenda. Members of the public who wish to speak on any item are requested to identify themselves and indicate on which agenda item they wish to speak. The Board will provide an opportunity for the public to speak for a maximum of three (3) minutes, unless granted additional time at the discretion of the Board. Testimony shall be limited in content to matters pertaining to Equitas Academy. The Board may not take any action on matters discussed during the public testimony period that are not listed on the agenda. Brown Act Compliance: Agenda posted at School
Directors Present
A. Valentine (remote), B. Snyder (remote), C. Sanii (remote), O. Ammon (remote), O. Bajracharya (remote), S. Chandler (remote)
Directors Absent
None
Guests Present
J. Host (remote), L. Renfort, M. Borrego (remote), S. Estilai (remote), Sarah Chandler
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance and Guests
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
O. Bajracharya called a meeting of the board of directors of Equitas Academy Charter School to order on Thursday Feb 22, 2018 at 6:04 PM.
C.
Public Comment
No Public Comment.
D.
Approve Minutes
Minutes from 1.25.18 Board Meeting were approved.
O. Bajracharya made a motion to approve minutes from the Board Meeting on 01-25-18 Board Meeting on 01-25-18.
O. Ammon seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
II. Consent
A.
Review of 2016-2017 Performance Based Oversight Reports
Jon Host advised group to pull the Oversight Report for discussion. Oliver B. motioned seconded by Olympia to discuss.
Malka Borrego disclosed that she will be reporting in her form 700 that her partner Carola Secada does limited engagement work for Postive Adventures for around a $1000 threshhold.
Governance:
o Details on Agendas - Over the past year, Equitas Academy has increased the level of detail provided in its description of agenda items discussed at its Board Meetings as a direct response to CSD Guidance.
o TB Testing Policy - The Equitas Academy Board of Directors specified its policies and procedures related to TB risk assessments for volunteers in its June 2017 approval of its Volunteer Policies and Procedures document.
o Uniform Complaint Policy - The UCP Policy, Procedures and Forms document updated in January of 2018 updated the contact person to be consistent for English and Spanish translations.
o Handbook Policy Regarding Homework Completion - Homework policy language was amended and adopted to the Parent and Family Handbook as adopted by the Board in June of 2017.
Student Achievement:
o No Guidance
Organizational Management, Programs and Operations
o EL Master Plan Update - The 2016-2017 EL Master Plan indicates as part of its reclassification criteria “CST results in ELA at the Basic, Proficient, or Advanced level.” The EL Master Plan was updated by the school and submitted to the district in September of 2017.
o EQ Special Education - A review of the Special Education program with school leaders revealed that the school needs to strengthen the system in place for ensuring students with IEPs receive service minutes according to their IEPs. School leaders indicated that moving forward, the weekly meetings to address the special education program will be more comprehensive in order to address areas of concern, including Welligent errors, in a timely manner. The school will consider how to best utilize the support of the Special Education Coordinator to strengthen supports to students and to ensure compliance with the service minutes being provided to students.
o EQ2 Suspension Rate - Schools leaders shared that the implementation of the school’s discipline system was inconsistent due to staffing challenges faced during the school year, resulting in an increase in suspensions (4.4% versus 2.2% the previous school year). The school .
Fiscal Operations
o CEO Reimbursements - As a point of clarification, all reimbursements submitted by the CEO are routed through the SpendBridge to the Board Chair for his approval. While the signature stamp facsimile does include the signature of the CEO, a check cannot be issued to the CEO without first being approved by the Board Chair.
o EQ3 Fiscal Rating – Please note that the CSD policy is to assign a rating no higher than 2 until the school has 2 years of board-approved financial audits.
Samira Estalai clarified further that ExED has begun initialing checks that are issued to CEO to demonstrate that a second-step of review was in place in the issuance of all fascimile stamps and that further update of Fiscal Policies and Procedures.
Malka Borrego disclosed that she will be reporting in her form 700 that her partner Carola Secada does limited engagement work for Postive Adventures for around a $1000 threshhold.
Governance:
o Details on Agendas - Over the past year, Equitas Academy has increased the level of detail provided in its description of agenda items discussed at its Board Meetings as a direct response to CSD Guidance.
o TB Testing Policy - The Equitas Academy Board of Directors specified its policies and procedures related to TB risk assessments for volunteers in its June 2017 approval of its Volunteer Policies and Procedures document.
o Uniform Complaint Policy - The UCP Policy, Procedures and Forms document updated in January of 2018 updated the contact person to be consistent for English and Spanish translations.
o Handbook Policy Regarding Homework Completion - Homework policy language was amended and adopted to the Parent and Family Handbook as adopted by the Board in June of 2017.
Student Achievement:
o No Guidance
Organizational Management, Programs and Operations
o EL Master Plan Update - The 2016-2017 EL Master Plan indicates as part of its reclassification criteria “CST results in ELA at the Basic, Proficient, or Advanced level.” The EL Master Plan was updated by the school and submitted to the district in September of 2017.
o EQ Special Education - A review of the Special Education program with school leaders revealed that the school needs to strengthen the system in place for ensuring students with IEPs receive service minutes according to their IEPs. School leaders indicated that moving forward, the weekly meetings to address the special education program will be more comprehensive in order to address areas of concern, including Welligent errors, in a timely manner. The school will consider how to best utilize the support of the Special Education Coordinator to strengthen supports to students and to ensure compliance with the service minutes being provided to students.
o EQ2 Suspension Rate - Schools leaders shared that the implementation of the school’s discipline system was inconsistent due to staffing challenges faced during the school year, resulting in an increase in suspensions (4.4% versus 2.2% the previous school year). The school .
Fiscal Operations
o CEO Reimbursements - As a point of clarification, all reimbursements submitted by the CEO are routed through the SpendBridge to the Board Chair for his approval. While the signature stamp facsimile does include the signature of the CEO, a check cannot be issued to the CEO without first being approved by the Board Chair.
o EQ3 Fiscal Rating – Please note that the CSD policy is to assign a rating no higher than 2 until the school has 2 years of board-approved financial audits.
Samira Estalai clarified further that ExED has begun initialing checks that are issued to CEO to demonstrate that a second-step of review was in place in the issuance of all fascimile stamps and that further update of Fiscal Policies and Procedures.
B.
Outdoor Education 2018
C. Sanii made a motion to Board made a motion to approve the Outdoor Education Contracts for 2018.
A. Valentine seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
III. Closing Items
A.
Adjourn Meeting
O. Bajracharya made a motion to adjourn the meeting.
B. Snyder seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 6:20 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
O. Bajracharya
O. Bajracharya made a motion to adjourn the meeting.
O. Ammon seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.