There was no public comment.

Bill introduced Patrick Wigmore, the new Special Projects Manager. He shared updates on summer programming, camp scholarships, and new staff onboarding. He also reported a loss of $75,000 of federal funds (Title II, III, and IV) since the board approved the FY26 budget. Meghan noted that while this loss of funds is unfortunate, the school is working to mitigate the impact this loss will have on programs by strategically reducing other budget lines and reallocating funds.  Bill shared that the school remains fully staffed heading into the fall and only has a small group of new staff members starting this year, a testament to its strong retention from last year.

Bill gave an overview of the succession planning committee, noting that it will be beneficial to have a small group working on succession processes and reporting to the full board.  He thanked members for volunteering and shared that the committee would consist of Anne, Sarah, Amy, and Shawna.

Bill gave an overview of the Annual Report.  He highlighted three sections:

1. The Accountability Plan - He noted that the school's goals were ambitious, as encouraged by DESE, so the school did not meet all of these.  However, given the school’s strong performance on the state's accountability metrics, this is not an issue from a school performance or charter accountability perspective.  
2. Dissemination section - He noted that this is not an area the board discusses frequently, but that this reflects the significant amount of collaboration the school does with others, and the investment of time and energy that goes into this collaboration and sharing.
3. The Recruitment & Retention Plan - He noted that recruitment rates were slightly below the comparison index but that this was not concerning, and that retention rates were excellent across subgroups.

Amy and Anne acknowledged the hard work of teachers and staff in maintaining high compliance rates and meeting goals consistently. 

Meghan noted that final financials would be added prior to submission, so the board decided to wait to vote on this until the board had a chance to review preliminary end-of-year financials.  No vote was taken at this time.

Bill explained that this amendment is substantially the same as the one the board approved at its previous meeting.  It is being presented for another vote because prior to submitting the amendment request, he noticed some additional technical changes that were required.  He explained that this policy has already been provisionally approved by DESE. 

The board discussed the proposed Space & Services Agreement between the School and the Friends of Springfield Prep.  Bill explained how this outlines the space and service benefits Friends will receive from the school, and provides a fair market value payment to reflect this.  Amy raised a question about the clarity of the quarterly payment language.  The board discussed this and agreed that the language was acceptable because payments would be reflected clearly by quarterly invoices.

Bill explained how the Student Opportunity Act (SOA) requires schools to account for, and report on, how increased funds are used to address performance gaps.  He explained that Springfield Prep’s SOA plan focuses on closing achievement gaps between students with disabilities and English learners.  He highlighted the strategies the school is implementing, including high-quality instructional materials and a multi-tiered system of support.  He reported that these are aligned with the approaches the school uses for all students.  He noted that no vote is required.  

M. Wagner presented preliminary end-of-year FY25 financials, noting an anticipated surplus of approximately $200,000. She explained that state regulations limit the amount of surplus the school can carry forward, and recommended transferring $190,000 to the capital reserve fund to stay within allowable thresholds and to support future capital needs.  She also noted that audit fieldwork is underway and the financials presented are expected to be final, but may be adjusted slightly.

Because the DESE Annual Report relies on the finalized financials, the board agreed to vote on both the financial report and the revised DESE Annual Report at this time.

The next board meeting will be held remotely on September 4, 2025.