There were no additions or corrections to the agenda.

There were no presentations from the Public.

There were no reports presented.

Finance Committee Chair, Mr. Green reported out the committee met on March 21, 2022 and discussed the development of an investing policy for YPICS, potential development sites for the high school, the creation of a YPICS foundation, the Community Schools grant and the auditor selection.  The Committee's recommendation for the auditor selection is an action item on the agenda.

Dr. Myers reported his school has made a significant effort to rebuild school culture coming back from the pandemic. With the new ELOP grant, the school has been able to offer after school clubs ranging from sports and cooking to body image and art.  In addition to school culture and climate, weekly staff professional development has been thought provoking, engaging and pushing PBIS.  

Dr. Quon reported his school's oversight visit will be next month consisting of two half days and the academic focus areas for this school year are exemplars, checks for understanding and assessments.  For extra curricular updates, the basketball teams were able to use the new gym this season, the soccer team was able to get free Adidas cleats due to a partnership with Think Together and Adidas, and lastly the film club will be premiering their film at a film festival in Hollywood this June thanks to a partnership with Youth Cinema Project and the Latino Film Institute. 

Mr. Simonsen reported the primary academic discussions and initiatives this second semester have been around A-G course grades.  The school hopes the recent change in the grading policy (no F's) will encourage more students to keep trying. Seniors have begun hearing back from university admission offices and now it's a matter of setting up the plan for the students matriculation.  As for the climate and culture of the school, students are beginning to return to normal and have had sports, clubs, and leadership opportunities this year. 

Mr. Duenas reported the COVID-19 Omicron Variant had a dramatic impact on the schools. Almost 3 times the number of students were quarantined from January 1 to March 11, 2022 than from August 14 to December 31, 2021. Nearly 5 times more staff were quarantined during the same time periods. March 12 to March 18 was the first week that our schools recorded zero positive cases. While COVID test funding is no longer covered by COVID reponse money, the schools will need to look into options for paying for testing of those who do not have insurance. 

YPICS is exploring opportunities for construction of BCCHS and BCCS permanent facilities in Pacoima. After searching the area, three properties have sufficient size that could support a school campus.  The options are being discussed with the Finance Committee.

Lastly, the executive teams are working with ExEd to build school site budgets for the 22-23 school year using current fiscal assumptions. The team is working to ensure that staffing at the schools address the needs of students and balances responsibilities and work loads for staff. This includes staffing each school with a full administrative team, counseling positions, and teachers that can focus on improving reading, and English language acquisition. The team is also exploring a 5% across the board increase in salaries and pay rates to continue to remain as competitive as possible in a challenging environment for education.

YPICS is also looking ahead to grow the board as we look toward sustainability in partnership with Exed and Charter Board Partners.  Attached is a packet from the Charter Board Orientation “Growing and Training” for new board members.  The future is bright for YPICS, and there are several exciting new thinking and development regarding how to sustain the organization in the years to come.

Janelle Ruley, Esq. provided the annual Brown Act training to the Board and attendees. 

The Board Chair, Ms. Keipp and Board Vice Chair, Cesar Lopez attended the CCSA conference along with YPICS staff in March and reported out attending trainings on board operations.  Board Chair would like to start planning the board retreat for June or July.

The Board of Trustees moved into Closed Session. 

The Board reconvened Open Session at 7:50pm. Board Chair, Mary Keipp reported out no action was taken during Closed Session.