Springfield Prep
Minutes
Board Meeting
Date and Time
Wednesday July 28, 2021 at 5:45 PM
Location
Virtual Meeting Only
This meeting of the Springfield Prep Charter School Board will be held via Zoom video conference on 7/28/2021 at 5:45 pm. Meeting notice was posted on the school's website (www.springfieldprep.org) on 7/23/21 at 2:45 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. Monson (remote)
Trustees Absent
A. Piela, S. Fuller, T. Walker
Trustees who left before the meeting adjourned
S. Balogun
Ex Officio Members Present
B. Spirer (remote)
Non Voting Members Present
B. Spirer (remote)
Guests Present
K. Parsons (remote), 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 Jul 28, 2021 at 5:48 PM.
C.
Public Comment, If Any
II. Consent Agenda
A.
Approve June 16 Board Meeting Minutes
A. Grant made a motion to approve the minutes from Board Meeting on 06-16-21.
D. Morrin seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| K. Molina |
Aye
|
| A. Grant |
Aye
|
| A. Piela |
Absent
|
| S. Monson |
Aye
|
| R. Leonard |
Aye
|
| J. Rosewell |
Aye
|
| T. Walker |
Absent
|
| S. Balogun |
Absent
|
| A. Malone |
Aye
|
| S. Fuller |
Absent
|
| D. Morrin |
Aye
|
B.
Contract Renewals
C.
Vote to Approve Consent Agenda items
A. Grant made a motion to Approve all items on the consent agenda requiring a vote.
D. Morrin seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| S. Balogun |
Absent
|
| T. Walker |
Absent
|
| A. Grant |
Aye
|
| S. Monson |
Aye
|
| A. Malone |
Aye
|
| A. Piela |
Absent
|
| R. Leonard |
Aye
|
| K. Molina |
Aye
|
| S. Fuller |
Absent
|
| D. Morrin |
Aye
|
| J. Rosewell |
Aye
|
III. Executive Director's Report
A.
Executive Director Report
Bill welcomed Sarah Monson to the Board. He briefly reviewed the Executive Director's report and noted that the ESSER funding plan will be shared at the next meeting. He shared that the summer school program was going well with 86% attendance and noticeable academic gains as well, and that Kate Parsons would share more. He discussed staff retention, noting that it was high and that hiring continues for the few remaining vacancies.
IV. Summer School Update
A.
Summer School Update
Kate Parsons, 5th grade teacher and Instructional Leader Fellow, joined to discuss the summer school program for which she served as Director of Academics. She shared that the environment has been fun and productive, including core literacy and math instruction as well as science enrichment and outdoor recreation daily. While formal assessments were not completed during summer school, she shared anecdotal evidence of student academic assessments. She also shared some of the challenges of the program. The Board and Kate discussed some of the logistics of the program and also lessons learned from the program that can be applied to the upcoming school year. Kate left after this discussion.
V. Governance
A.
DESE Annual Report
Bill gave a brief overview of the DESE Annual report, including its purpose and its outcomes. He shared that it will be hard to compare data from 2020-21 school year with prior years, including 2019-20, given the effects of the pandemic and remote learning. He noted that the school is working and planning how to improve any areas that were negatively impacted. The Board discussed the information presented, including how the data in the report compares to other schools and to data about learning loss during the pandemic.
S. Balogun left.
VI. Finance and Business Items
A.
June / End of Year Financials
Meghan shared that the school ended the year with a significant surplus due to additional funding and reduced expenses from what was budgeted, and that the school is in a very healthy cash flow position. She noted that a plan for ESSER II funding is underway, including stakeholder engagement, and also that the audit report should be available in September. Bill commended Meghan on the financial outcome of the year, given the complexity of managing 3 separate entities and the building project this year along with the impacts and extra funding fromto the pandemic. He also noted that being in a strong financial position will help the school invest in high-impact programs, such as tutoring, to recover from the pandemic's effects.
B.
Executive Coaching Contract
Bill has had Executive Coaching for 4 years and found it extremely valuable not only for himself but for the direction of the entire organization. As this coach is moving on from that work, he has found another coach and sought the Board's approval for that contract, which includes a 360 degree evaluation. The Board shared that they are in favor of coaching for Bill and the new evaluation.
J. Rosewell made a motion to Approve the executive coaching contract as presented.
D. Morrin seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| A. Malone |
Aye
|
| A. Grant |
Aye
|
| A. Piela |
Absent
|
| T. Walker |
Absent
|
| S. Balogun |
Absent
|
| R. Leonard |
Aye
|
| S. Fuller |
Absent
|
| K. Molina |
Aye
|
| D. Morrin |
Aye
|
| S. Monson |
Aye
|
| J. Rosewell |
Aye
|
C.
Fiscal Policy Update - Cash Disbursements
Meghan shared that we began using "bill.com" this year to pay vendors while we were remote and need to formalize procedures around that process for our fiscal policy.
J. Rosewell made a motion to approve the fiscal policy update as presented.
K. Molina seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| S. Balogun |
Absent
|
| S. Fuller |
Absent
|
| S. Monson |
Aye
|
| K. Molina |
Aye
|
| T. Walker |
Absent
|
| A. Piela |
Absent
|
| A. Grant |
Aye
|
| A. Malone |
Aye
|
| R. Leonard |
Aye
|
| D. Morrin |
Aye
|
| J. Rosewell |
Aye
|
VII. Building Project
A.
Building Project Status Update and Change Order
Meghan shared that the building is substantially complete, though the gym is not ready at this time. The schedule is still on track for school to start on 8/24 and for the Open House on 8/19 to take place. Some plantings and site work will take place later this summer or fall.
Bill discussed the change orders proposed as shared in the building update dashboard, which include updating the sidewalks, curbs, and plantings on the Roosevelt side to match the quality of the rest of the campus. Additionally, change order 11 and 12 include some smaller must-do items that were not in the original plan. All of these items are funded by the existing budget.
Bill discussed the change orders proposed as shared in the building update dashboard, which include updating the sidewalks, curbs, and plantings on the Roosevelt side to match the quality of the rest of the campus. Additionally, change order 11 and 12 include some smaller must-do items that were not in the original plan. All of these items are funded by the existing budget.
A. Grant made a motion to approve change order 11 as presented and to authorize Bill to approve the forthcoming change order 12 for an amount not to exceed $165,000.
J. Rosewell seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| S. Monson |
Aye
|
| T. Walker |
Absent
|
| D. Morrin |
Aye
|
| S. Fuller |
Absent
|
| K. Molina |
Aye
|
| A. Piela |
Absent
|
| R. Leonard |
Aye
|
| J. Rosewell |
Aye
|
| S. Balogun |
Absent
|
| A. Grant |
Aye
|
| A. Malone |
Aye
|
VIII. DEI
A.
Consultant Engagement for 2021-22
Bill discussed the school's prior DEI work and strategy as well as the prior engagements with DEI consultants. He discussed the need to bring in a new consultant with expertise in DEI strategy development, inclusive workspaces, and hiring and retention practices. He introduced a contract for consulting services from Chambers North Star Consulting (owner Chante' Chambers) for this work. The Board discussed the school's strategy for how to best utilize consultants in this area.
K. Molina made a motion to authorize Bill to sign the contract as presented.
A. Malone seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| S. Balogun |
Absent
|
| D. Morrin |
Aye
|
| S. Fuller |
Absent
|
| J. Rosewell |
Aye
|
| A. Malone |
Aye
|
| S. Monson |
Aye
|
| A. Grant |
Aye
|
| A. Piela |
Absent
|
| K. Molina |
Aye
|
| T. Walker |
Absent
|
| R. Leonard |
Aye
|
IX. Closing Items
A.
Next Board Meeting
The next scheduled board meeting is on Wednesday, 8/25/21 at 5:45 PM.
B.
Adjourn Meeting
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 7:33 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
N. Abramowitz
Documents used during the meeting
- James Levine Contract Psychology Services 2021-22.pdf
- 2021-22_Springfield Prep Charter School E-Rate Consulting Services Agreement.pdf
- Springfield_Prep_Charter_School_Paragus_Contract_FY22.pdf
- BoardOnTrack contract 2021-22.pdf
- MEMO. FY21 Vendor Contract Summary.July 2021 updated 7.27.21.pdf
- ED Report - 7.28.21.pdf
- SPCS 2020-2021 Annual Report - DRAFT.pdf
- SPCS 2020-2021 Annual Report - Board Presentation 7 28 2021.pdf
- 3. SPCS FY21 June Friends.pdf
- 2. SPCS FY21 June Summary.pdf
- 4. SPCS FY21 June SNP.pdf
- 6. SPCS FY21 June Grants.pdf
- 5. SPCS FY21 June Cash Flow.pdf
- Schankula-Spirer.Contract.2021B.2022A.pdf
- Bill.com Cash Disbursement Fiscal Policy Update 2021-22.pdf
- Construction Budget update 7-23-21.pdf
- Dashboard - 7-23-21 updated 7.28.21 vf.doc
- Change Order #11 Cover Sheet.pdf
- Springfield Prep REDI Proposal_Chambers North Star Consulting_July 2021.docx