Miles Ahead Charter School
Minutes
MACS Board Meeting In Person
Date and Time
Saturday March 28, 2026 at 9:00 AM
Location
Location - In Person @ MACS:
4665 Macland Road, Building 300 Powder Springs, GA 30127
Optional Access:
MACS Board zoom Meeting
(LINK)
Meeting ID: 942 7716 1320
Passcode: 644023
Directors Present
A. Turner, H. Lust, J. Hazard, J. Toussaint, L. Brown, T. Marzette, T. Reese, U. Sayers (remote)
Directors Absent
J. Foster
Guests Present
M. Felts
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance / Confirm Quorum
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
C.
Confirm amount of people who signed up in advance for Public Forum
D.
Approve Meeting Agenda
No discussion
E.
Approve Minutes from Last Board Meeting
No discussion
II. Treasurer's Report / Jennifer Toussaint Williams
A.
Share The Treasurer's Report
The Treasurer (Jennifer Toussaint) shared the Treasurer's report which can be found using the link below: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qCB7gdTi8Y7j65NpL5t7_BQ4iNslZt0t/view
Additional notes:
- An operational audit will be performed by 21Cobalt to assess our processes to determine whether there are any gaps
- Enrollment numbers continue to impact our financials;
- The negative impact of not having bus service was discussed as well as the options for resuming bus service
III. Committee Updates
A.
Committee / Updates
Academic Committee
- Plan to review operational audit results when available to determine any additional curriculum updates that may be needed and prepare 2026/27 academic goals
- Testing scores will be available soon and will be shared with the committee
- Upcoming testing for Milestones and MAP in April
Finance
- Please see Treasurer's report above
Governance
- The committee has been working with Morgan Felts from 21Cobalt to review and revise all policies
- The next batch of policies for review are on the agenda for this meeting
- Actually recruiting board members
Development Taskforce
- Would be meeting with finance committee at their next meeting to discuss the school's needs
IV. Executive Director Updates
A.
Executive Director's Updates
Kolt shared the Executive Director Newsletter
Highlights (from the newsletter and others):
- Extract from the newsletter: Please read my statement regarding my recommendation on who is receiving $2,000 stipends as well as additional guidance from the state HERE. I am suggesting adjusting the contractor teacher stipend to Poole ($1000 for 4 days per week), McKay ($500 for 2 days per week), and Bursch ($250 for 1 day per week). They also vote that $250 each be given to J. Ranesca and D. Lowe from Climate and Culture so that all Full Time employees receive funds.
- Verkada systems is being considered for the security grant
- Securly and Go Guardian being considered for student social media monitoring
- Recommend contracting with Cross & Dot LLC team for six months at $8,000, to assist Kolt and help address any gaps from the operational audit, starting August 2026.
V. Items To Vote On
A.
Approve the Updated MACS Policies
Discussion around whether the Work from Home policy is sustainable and whether the policy could potentially require subs to be hired. It was determined that this is a great perk for staff and scheduling will be aligned to ensure there is sufficient coverage without having to hire subs. Math on the Work for Home Policy, can it say up to 96 hours?
Enrollment & Lottery Policy - there is a reference to Simple Views Academy, should be updated to Miles Ahead.
Promotion & Retention - what does opt-in mean for retesting? Answer: if student doesn't pass a test, families have to sign and agree for students to summer school/additional retention and retesting. Policy to be updated to reflect the clarified language.
Grading, Homework, & Assessment Policy - are we doing off of letters or numbers? The policy references both throughout.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| T. Reese |
Aye
|
| H. Lust |
Aye
|
| A. Turner |
Aye
|
| U. Sayers |
Abstain
|
| J. Foster |
Absent
|
| T. Marzette |
Aye
|
| J. Toussaint |
Aye
|
| J. Hazard |
Aye
|
| L. Brown |
Aye
|
B.
2026 Educator Stipends, MACS Recipients / Funds Allocated By The State
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| J. Foster |
Absent
|
C.
Employee Contracts
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| J. Foster |
Absent
|
| A. Turner |
Abstain
|
| T. Marzette |
Aye
|
| J. Toussaint |
Aye
|
| H. Lust |
Aye
|
| T. Reese |
Aye
|
| J. Hazard |
Aye
|
| U. Sayers |
Abstain
|
| L. Brown |
Aye
|
D.
Expand To the 6th Grade
E.
Transition from TechnologyLab to NovaTech
F.
approve the vendor for $20K security grant
G.
approve Cross & Dot contract -- $8,000 for six month
Cross & Dot’s Executive School Support Contract. This would come off of the Professional Development line for 6 months out of the year and continue the work of the Audit from 21Cobalt.
VI. FYI ...
A.
MACS Audit ... Staffing, Operations, Programs ==>Budgeting
Based on recommendations is to hire a consultant to audit MACS overall for recommendations to have Staffing, Operations, Programs ==> with the Budget, the Board Chair and Board Treasurer approved accepting a proposal from 21Cobalt. The amount of $6000 is within the limits the Board Chair and Board Treasurer can approve without a full Board vote. The project is expected to start the week of April 3rd.
Proposal: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GT4LS6RoUiI09o_XZHLh9n6iF9vrutqw/view?usp=sharing
VII. Review and Discussion Topics
A.
Board Chair Followups
The Board Chair noted that three potential board members are being considered. One is an assistance Principal being considered for Academic Committee; one is being considered for the Governance Committee; and the Board Chair is waiting to receive an update on the third candidate.
The Board Chair also discussed those board members who have not completed their Governance training as of yet and provided a reminder that the deadline is April 30th. It was noted that 21 Cobalt will offer trainings starting in April for those who were unable to attend the trainings in January and February.
B.
2025-2026 MACS Board
The Board Chair discussed board members with expiring terms.
MACS 2025-2026 Board Structure:
- Board Officers:
- Board Chair: Henry L. Lust
- Board Vice-Chair: Tracy Reese
- Board Secretary: Uso Sayers
- Board Treasurer: Jennifer Toussaint Williams
- Board Committees:
- Academic Excellence
- Dr. Joel Hazard (7/1/2024 - 6/30/2026?)
- Taccara Marzette (7/1/2025 - 6/30/2027)
- Candidates:
- Erin Jackson Planned dates: Board Vote: June / Start Date: July 1st
- Finance
- Jennifer Toussaint (1/1/2023 - 6/30/2026?)
- Dr. Jasmine Foster (9/1/2025 - 6/30/2027)
- Candidates:
- Governance
- Tracy Reese (7/1/2021 - 6/30/2026?)
- Uso Sayers (3/1/2023 - 6/30/27)
- Henry L. Lust (7/1/2023 - 6/30/27)
- Candidates:
- Dr. Henry Smith Planned dates: Board Vote: June / Start Date: July 1st
- Academic Excellence
- Board Taskforces:
- Development
- Angel Turner (7/1/2023 - 6/30/2026)
- Latriecia Brown (7/1/2025 - 6/30/2027)
- Candidates:
C.
Executive Session
D.
The Board will Transition out of Executive Session and Vote as necessary.
VIII. Closing Items
A.
Public Forum - Opportunity for Submitted Questions from Public
No one signed up for Public Forum
B.
Announcements
Pay attention to upcoming key dates as communication is sent out.
Budget hearings:
- Budget Hearing #1 will take place at a Called Meeting on May 14th
- Budget Hearing #2 will take place at the May 28th Board meeting
- Budget Hearing Vote will take place at the June 27th Board meeting
C.
Next Board Meeting: April 23, 2026 Via Zoom @ 7:30pm
No discussion
No one is signed up for Public Forum.