December Board Meeting Minutes

December 7, 2023, 3:00-6:00 PM

Minutes Approved

Equitas Academy Charter School

Minutes

December Board Meeting

Date and Time

Thursday December 7, 2023 at 3:00 PM

Location

1612 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA

Additional call-in locations:

1700 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90015

2723 W 8th St, Los Angeles, CA 90005

1050 Beacon Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90015

2501 W 7th St, Los Angeles, CA 90057

11100 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025

4324 Franklin Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Topic: December Board Meeting
When: Dec 7, 2023 03:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

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PUBLIC COMMENT AT EQUITAS ACADEMY BOARD MEETINGS – An opportunity for the public to address the Board will be provided prior to discussion and action on agenda items. 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.

Pursuant to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, any individual with a disability who requires reasonable accommodation to attend or participate in a meeting of the Board of Directors, may request assistance in advance of the meeting by contacting Equitas Academy Charter School at 1700 West Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90015 or by phone (213) 201-0440.

Directors Present

A. Santino, C. Langston, L. Heisser, O. Bajracharya, P. Reddy, S. Jauregui, T. Bell, T. Hollenberg

Directors Absent

D. Ortiz, R. McKenzie

Directors who arrived after the meeting opened

C. Langston, L. Heisser, S. Jauregui

Guests Present

C. Melgares, J. Edelman, J. Freeman, J. Rudolph, K. Farrar, K. Gouveia, N. Peters, R. Spencer, S. Roditti, Y. Chiquito

I. Opening Items

A. Record Attendance and Guests

L. Heisser arrived at 3:15 PM.

C. Langston arrived at 3:15 PM.

S. Jauregui arrived at 3:16 PM.

B. Call the Meeting to Order

T. Bell called a meeting of the board of directors of Equitas Academy Charter School to order on Thursday Dec 7, 2023 at 3:14 PM.

C. Approve Minutes

A. Santino made a motion to approve the minutes from Board Meeting on 10-26-23.

L. Heisser seconded the motion.

The board VOTED to approve the motion.

Roll Call
S. Jauregui	Aye
L. Heisser	Aye
C. Langston	Aye
P. Reddy	Aye
T. Hollenberg	Aye
O. Bajracharya	Aye
R. McKenzie	Absent
A. Santino	Aye
T. Bell	Aye
D. Ortiz	Absent

II. Closed Session

A. CEO Performance

O. Bajracharya made a motion to Approve.

P. Reddy seconded the motion.

The board VOTED to approve the motion.

Roll Call
O. Bajracharya	Aye
R. McKenzie	Absent
L. Heisser	Aye
D. Ortiz	Absent
C. Langston	Aye
T. Bell	Aye
P. Reddy	Aye
T. Hollenberg	Aye
A. Santino	Aye
S. Jauregui	Aye

B. LIABILITY CLAIMS

III. Public Report on Action Taken in Closed-Session

A. CEO Performance

Jason Rudolph reported out of the action taken in closed session, which included discussing CEO Performance and Liability Claims.

IV. Organization Updates

A. Organizational Spotlight: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism (DEIA) Highlights

Brittany Rush, Director of DEIA, introduces Dr. Ally Hong, a parent of Equitas. Brittany presented on the African American Affinity Group and the Inclusive Caregiver Workshop

B. Strategic Planning: Graduate Profile Follow-Up

Sofia Roditti (CEO) presented updates on the Strategic Planning Process and noted that Equitas has stayed on track with the scheduled timeline. Committees who have dedicated time to this process are appreciated including:

-2 Task Force groups

- Ad Hoc Committee of the Board

- Steering Committee

C. Monitoring Progress

Board submitted questions on the Monitoring Progress board deck.

Staff addressed questions on the following topics:

-Organizational Dashboard : MAP, iReady, SBAC

-Academic data review : Math, ELA, Science

-Net income: on track

-Talent: Retention and hiring updates

D. Charter Renewal Follow-up

Jason Rudolph led the presentation on charter renewal follow-up. The presentation reviewed:

-Charter terms and expiration dates

-Renewal tracks (high, medium, low)

-Renewal track determinative data

EQ2 Team (Carla Perez, Principal and Bobby Conosa-Carr) presented on the following:

-Strategies to accelerate learning and incentivize student engagement

-Board support

-Family communication

E. Break

Board and staff took a 5-minute break.

F. Monthly Financials

P. Reddy made a motion to Approve.

S. Jauregui seconded the motion.

The board VOTED to approve the motion.

Roll Call
T. Bell	Aye
C. Langston	Aye
S. Jauregui	Aye
D. Ortiz	Absent
O. Bajracharya	Aye
L. Heisser	Aye
P. Reddy	Aye
R. McKenzie	Absent
A. Santino	Aye
T. Hollenberg	Aye

G. FY24 Revised Budget

C. Langston made a motion to Approve.

O. Bajracharya seconded the motion.

The board VOTED to approve the motion.

Roll Call
A. Santino	Aye
S. Jauregui	Aye
T. Bell	Aye
P. Reddy	Aye
C. Langston	Aye
T. Hollenberg	Aye
O. Bajracharya	Aye
R. McKenzie	Absent
L. Heisser	Aye
D. Ortiz	Absent

H. Line of Credit Renewal

Yug Fon Chiquito discussed applying for a larger line of credit.

P. Reddy made a motion to approve line of credit.

A. Santino seconded the motion.

The board VOTED to approve the motion.

Roll Call
D. Ortiz	Absent
R. McKenzie	Absent
P. Reddy	Aye
A. Santino	Aye
O. Bajracharya	Aye
T. Hollenberg	Aye
C. Langston	Aye
L. Heisser	Aye
S. Jauregui	Aye
T. Bell	Aye

I. Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) Revisions Update

Staff noted that LAUSD had provided feedback on the LCAPs approved in June 2023; the corrections were made and were submitted as appropriate.

V. Consent

A. First Interim Report

P. Reddy made a motion to approve first interim report.

C. Langston seconded the motion.

The board VOTED to approve the motion.

Roll Call
C. Langston	Aye
D. Ortiz	Absent
A. Santino	Aye
T. Bell	Aye
P. Reddy	Aye
L. Heisser	Aye
T. Hollenberg	Aye
S. Jauregui	Aye
O. Bajracharya	Aye
R. McKenzie	Absent

B. LAUSD Compliance Monitoring Document

P. Reddy made a motion to approve LAUSD Compliance Monitoring Documents.

C. Langston seconded the motion.

The board VOTED to approve the motion.

Roll Call
R. McKenzie	Absent
T. Hollenberg	Aye
T. Bell	Aye
L. Heisser	Aye
A. Santino	Aye
S. Jauregui	Aye
D. Ortiz	Absent
O. Bajracharya	Aye
P. Reddy	Aye
C. Langston	Aye

C. Annual Update of the School Safety Plan

P. Reddy made a motion to approve Annual Update of the School Safety Plans.

C. Langston seconded the motion.

The board VOTED to approve the motion.

Roll Call
D. Ortiz	Absent
P. Reddy	Aye
A. Santino	Aye
R. McKenzie	Absent
T. Bell	Aye
O. Bajracharya	Aye
C. Langston	Aye
L. Heisser	Aye
T. Hollenberg	Aye
S. Jauregui	Aye

VI. Academic Accountability Committee

A. Update on '23-'24 Goals

Alyssa provided updates on the academic accountability committee

Sylvia has joined the committee

VII. Finance Committee

A. Update on '23-'24 Goals

Prahbu provided updates on the finance committee and strategy for cash management

VIII. Governance Committee

A. Update on '23-24 Goals

Lindsey provided updates on the governance committee

More members may potentially be recruited
Manuel Cute Ramos will no longer be serving as a committee member

IX. Resource Development Committee

A. Update on '23-'24 Goals

Catie provided updates on the resource development committee

67% of their goal has been raised or committed

X. Culmination of Meeting

A. Announcements

B. Evaluation of Meeting

Feedback from the board:

Materials ahead of time are helpful
Timing cycle has led to robust and efficient board meetings
Hearing the context from staff is helpful
Reminders and follow ups are helpful

Future Ideas

Fundraising events
Reach out to individual networks

XI. 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 5:57 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,

T. Bell