Springfield Prep
Minutes
Board Meeting
Date and Time
Wednesday September 2, 2020 at 5:45 PM
This meeting of the Springfield Prep Charter School Board will be held via Zoom video conference on 9/2/2020 at 5:45 pm. The meeting will be held virtually due to the COVID-19-related school closure during this time. Meeting notice was posted on the school's website (www.springfieldprep.org) on 8/28/20 at 2:30 pm.
Trustees Present
A. Grant (remote), A. Malone (remote), D. Morrin (remote), J. Rosewell (remote), K. Molina (remote), R. Leonard (remote), S. Balogun (remote), S. Fuller (remote), T. Walker (remote)
Trustees Absent
J. Pistorius
Trustees who arrived after the meeting opened
T. Walker
Ex Officio Members Present
B. Spirer (remote)
Non Voting Members Present
B. Spirer (remote)
Guests Present
M. Wagner (remote), N. Abramowitz (remote)
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance and Guests
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
R. Leonard called a meeting of the board of trustees of Springfield Prep to order on Wednesday Sep 2, 2020 at 5:46 PM.
C.
Public Comment, If Any
II. Consent Agenda
A.
Approve July Board Meeting Minutes
S. Fuller made a motion to approve the minutes from Board Meeting on 07-29-20.
J. Rosewell seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
B.
Approve August special meeting minutes
S. Fuller made a motion to approve the minutes from Special Meeting on 08-10-20.
J. Rosewell seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
C.
Monthly Financials
D.
General Notices (if any)
E.
Vote to Approve Consent Agenda items
T. Walker arrived.
III. School Reopening
A.
Executive Director Report
Bill provided an update on teacher training and the start-up of the year in a remote environment. Meghan provided an update on our remote learning kickoff events and supply pickup as well as an update on our remote technology program.
IV. Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
A.
Board DEI Task Force
Doug discussed the efforts of the working group and the outcome of their meeting. met 8/12 to see how the Board can best support DEI efforts of the school. They outlined 3 action steps that they may take and the Board discussed those action items. The action steps are in the areas of demonstrating Board commitment to DEI issues, training for the Board on DEI issues, and school governance and accountability on DEI outcomes.
B.
Update on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Work
Bill discussed the work the school has done this summer in specific DEI initiatives and with integrating DEI best practices into all of the school's work (e.g., curriculum, policies, hiring).
Bill also discussed the initial conversations that the school Leadership Team has had with Karima Wilson of ForgedEd, a DEI-focused consultant, and proposed that the Board approve a contract with ForgedEd for an initial diagnostic and full proposal of DEI work for the upcoming school year, at a cost of up to $10,000.
Bill also discussed the initial conversations that the school Leadership Team has had with Karima Wilson of ForgedEd, a DEI-focused consultant, and proposed that the Board approve a contract with ForgedEd for an initial diagnostic and full proposal of DEI work for the upcoming school year, at a cost of up to $10,000.
C.
Vote to approve ForgedEd phase 1 contract
T. Walker made a motion to Approve the contract with Karima Wilson for ForgedEd for up to $10,000 for phase 1 of DEI consultancy work.
S. Fuller seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
V. Finance and Building Project
A.
Building Project Status Update
Bob Baldwin joined at this point to review the Building Project Update memo. The Board discussed the details of the project updates and the proposed New Market Tax Credit-related votes that were provided.
B.
Vote on Early Release Package (Amendment #1 to the construction contract)
J. Rosewell made a motion to approve the signing of Amendment 1 to the construction contract, provided that the correct amount of $663,667 is updated in the document.
T. Walker seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
C.
Vote on New Market Tax Credit Term Sheets
T. Walker made a motion to Approve the term sheet with Civic Builders as presented.
K. Molina seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
S. Fuller made a motion to approve the term sheet with U.S. Bank as presented.
K. Molina seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
D.
Vote to engage New Market Tax Credit accountant
D. Morrin made a motion to approve the engagement of CohnReznick as tax accountant for New Market Tax Credits for the Building Project.
T. Walker seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
E.
Vote to engage a New Market Tax Credit attorney
S. Fuller made a motion to engage Klein Hornig as New Markets Tax Credit attorney for the Building Project.
A. Malone seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
VI. Finance Items
A.
FY21 Budget Update
Meghan discussed the budget update memo. She noted that the school has applied for additional funds in government grants, but that per-pupil funding is still uncertain, so the school will operate under a budget reflecting a reduction from last year’s amounts until per-pupil funding is finalized. This has no impact on students, staff, or overall programming and comes from administrative expense reductions and savings from remote (vs. in-person) learning.
B.
Contracts for approval
Meghan and Bill discussed several contract renewals and new contracts for services for the school.
S. Fuller made a motion to approve the contracts with the vendors and amounts provided in the memo as written.
A. Malone seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
VII. Closing Items
A.
Next Board Meeting
The next scheduled board meeting is on Wednesday, 9/30/20 at 5:45 PM.
The Board Meeting on 11/18 will be moved to 12/9.
The Board Meeting on 11/18 will be moved to 12/9.
B.
Adjourn Meeting
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 7:29 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
N. Abramowitz
Documents used during the meeting
- 3. SPCS FY21 July Friends.pdf
- 2. SPCS FY21 July Summary.pdf
- 5. SPCS FY21 July Cash Flow.pdf
- 4. SPCS FY21 July SNP.pdf
- ED Report - 8.28.20.pdf
- Board Memo - DEI Update 8.28.20.pdf
- Forged Ed - Springfield Prep Charter School Quote.pdf
- Forged Ed Proposal 8.25.20.pdf
- SPCS Update memo 8-21-20 (9-1 addendum).docx
- Springfield Prep Amendment #1.pdf
- Overview of New Market Tax Credit (NMTC) Financing Structure.pdf
- USBank - NMTC Term Sheet Springfield Prep 8 31 20.pdf
- Springfield Prep - Vote re NMTC revised version.DOCX
- Civic Builders Reservation Letter Springfield Prep_8.28.2020.pdf
- Springfield Prep Charter School NMTC Engagement Letter.pdf
- Klein Hornig Springfield Prep Engagement Letter.DOC
- MEMO. FY21 August Budget Update.pdf
- SPCS FY21 Budget Board Approved and Reduction Budget Comparison.pdf
- MEMO. FY21 Vendor Contract Summary. 8.28.20.pdf