25-26SY NWILCS March Board Meeting Minutes

March 23, 2026, 5:30-7:30 PM

Minutes Approved

Northwest Indiana Lighthouse Charter Schools

Minutes

25-26SY NWILCS March Board Meeting

Date and Time

Monday March 23, 2026 at 5:30 PM

Location

NWILCS Admin Building

1775 W 41st St.

Gary, IN 46408

Directors Present

A. Briggs, E. Little, J. GEORGE, J. Parks

Directors Absent

A. Brown Thirston, A. Nicholson, S. Caruthers

Ex Officio Members Present

G. Adell (remote)

Non Voting Members Present

G. Adell (remote)

Guests Present

A. Franz, Amanda Bates-Project Aware Coordinator, C. Jackson, D. Jones (remote), D. McGleese, D. Sevier, David Kid (remote), J. Beasley (remote), J. Jackson, K. McGuire, Katherine Livesay, L. Franklin, M. Platt (remote), M. Segrest (remote), R. Mayberry, S. Breitenbach (remote)

I. Opening Items

A. Record Attendance

B. Call the Meeting to Order

J. Parks called a meeting of the board of directors of Northwest Indiana Lighthouse Charter Schools to order on Monday Mar 23, 2026 at 5:45 PM.

C. Approve Minutes - February

J. GEORGE made a motion to approve the minutes from 25-26SY NWILCS February Board Meeting on 02-03-26.

E. Little seconded the motion.

No Discussion

The board VOTED to approve the motion.

Roll Call
A. Briggs	Aye
A. Brown Thirston	Absent
J. GEORGE	Aye
S. Caruthers	Absent
E. Little	Aye
J. Parks	Aye
A. Nicholson	Absent

II. Building Level Reports

A. Principals Reports

See attached reports.

Principles received questions regarding the end-of-year activities, the increase in reported student disciplinary steps and end-of-year testing.

III. Finance

A. East Chicago and Gary Financials

See Attached Reports

David Sevier reviewed financial reports from January and February 2026.

E. Little made a motion to accept the financial reports as presented.

A. Briggs seconded the motion.

The board VOTED to approve the motion.

Roll Call
S. Caruthers	Absent
J. GEORGE	Aye
A. Brown Thirston	Absent
A. Nicholson	Absent
J. Parks	Aye
A. Briggs	Aye
E. Little	Aye

B. Open Hearing: 26-27SY Budget

See Attached Report

Open Hearing/Operations Levy

David Sevier presented the FY '27 budget, which shows an increase to accommodate a student enrollment of 1000 students. Mr. Sevier pointed out that on the expense side of the budget, it will show an increase of $800,000 to cover the expense.

The budget is $18.7 million in revenue, with $18.7 million in expenses.

No public comment

A. Briggs made a motion to approve the Operation Levy portion of the FY '27 budget.

E. Little seconded the motion.

The board VOTED to approve the motion.

Roll Call
A. Brown Thirston	Absent
A. Briggs	Aye
A. Nicholson	Absent
E. Little	Aye
S. Caruthers	Absent
J. Parks	Aye
J. GEORGE	Aye

E. Little made a motion to approve the payroll line item of the budget that allows for the 3% personnel increase.

A. Briggs seconded the motion.

The board VOTED to approve the motion.

Roll Call
A. Nicholson	Absent
A. Briggs	Aye
J. Parks	Aye
S. Caruthers	Absent
E. Little	Aye
A. Brown Thirston	Absent
J. GEORGE	Aye

C. Primary Project Update

See Attached Report

The current proposal is $3.9 million dollars instead of the $3.1 million. Attorney Jones is working with Whiteman on the current proposal. 5/3rd bank has been approached to cover the additional funding.

IV. Committee Reports

A. Governance

No Report

B. Academic Excellence Report

See Report from Ms. McGuire

V. NWILCS District Reports

A. District Level Reports

See attached reports

Mrs. Franklin: Presented the updatedFY '26/27 calendar, personnel and student handbook.

Operations highlights: study group to retain qualified educators, creating a talent SOP to guide talent acquisition.

Mr. Mayberry: Presented the current strategy to increase registration and retain current scholars and transportation plans.

Upcoming events: May 22nd Railcats game; She Flies Aviation program—April 22.

Mrs. McGuire: Presented continued efforts as we move into testing season. Creating math learning sessions to increase learning competency and test scores.

A. Briggs made a motion to approve the updated FY'26/27 calendar, personnel and student handbook.

E. Little seconded the motion.

The board VOTED to approve the motion.

Roll Call
S. Caruthers	Absent
J. Parks	Aye
A. Brown Thirston	Absent
A. Nicholson	Absent
A. Briggs	Aye
J. GEORGE	Aye
E. Little	Aye

VI. Closing Items

A. Public Comments

No Public Comments

B. Executive Session

E. Little made a motion to move into executive session.

A. Briggs seconded the motion.

The board VOTED to approve the motion.

Roll Call
A. Briggs	Aye
S. Caruthers	Absent
J. GEORGE	Aye
A. Nicholson	Absent
E. Little	Aye
J. Parks	Aye
A. Brown Thirston	Absent

E. Little made a motion to come out of executive session and return to the meeting.

A. Briggs seconded the motion.

The board VOTED to approve the motion.

Roll Call
A. Briggs	Aye
J. Parks	Aye
S. Caruthers	Absent
A. Nicholson	Absent
J. GEORGE	Aye
A. Brown Thirston	Absent
E. Little	Aye

C. Adjourn Meeting

A. Briggs made a motion to adjourn.

E. Little seconded the motion.

The board VOTED to approve the motion.

Roll Call
J. Parks	Aye
E. Little	Aye
A. Briggs	Aye
S. Caruthers	Absent
A. Nicholson	Absent
J. GEORGE	Aye
A. Brown Thirston	Absent

There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 7:30 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,

A. Briggs

Documents used during the meeting

EC Board Report 2025 2026 February .docx.pdf
_GLCS Primary Campus Board Report-February_March.docx.pdf
UPPER BOARD REPORT 25 26 - FEBRUARY MARCH .docx (1).pdf
GLCP March Board Report-2026.docx.pdf
NWILCS January 2026 Financials.xlsx
NWILCS FEBRUARY 2026 FINANCIAL.xlsx
February 2026 Financial Summary.docx
capitalprojectbusreplacementplanspublichearing.zip
FY27NWILCS (O) DRAFT Budget Summary.pdf
NWILCS 2026 - 2027 District Calendar (1).pdf
SY2627 Final Personnel Handbook.docx.pdf
SY2627 Final - Family_Student Handbook.pdf
March SY2526 EandCR Board Report .docx.pdf
March Executive Director Report 25-26.pdf
March SY2526 Operations Board Report .docx.pdf