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Liberation Academy

Minutes

Board Meeting

Date and Time

Tuesday February 24, 2026 at 6:00 PM

Directors Present

D. Hunter (remote), J. Cook (remote), K. Copeland (remote), K. Scott (remote), M. Mehta (remote), T. Reynolds (remote), V. Thomas (remote)

Directors Absent

None

Guests Present

B. King (remote), Candace Ramsey (remote), Lisa McDonald (remote), T. Anderson (remote)

I. Opening Items

A.

Record Attendance

B.

Call the Meeting to Order

K. Copeland called a meeting of the board of directors of Liberation Academy to order on Tuesday Feb 24, 2026 at 6:03 PM.

C.

Approve Minutes

V. Thomas made a motion to approve the minutes from Board Meeting on 01-27-26.
K. Scott seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.

II. Approve Agenda

A.

Approve Agenda

V. Thomas made a motion to Add "approval of agenda" to the 2/24/2026 agenda.
K. Scott seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
V. Thomas made a motion to Approve the agenda.
M. Mehta seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.

III. Governance

A.

Enrollment Policy

V. Thomas made a motion to Move the enrollment lottery timeline to end on Friday, March 6, 2026.
M. Mehta seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.

B.

Employee Handbook

V. Thomas made a motion to Adopt the revised Employee Handbook.
K. Copeland seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.

C.

Travel Policy

  • Policy will include language stating that reimbursement rate for certain items will be based on the federal policy in place at the time. 
  • Will need to develop a form for use to pre-approve travel.
  • There is a standard form to use that should be submitted with receipts for reimbursement.
  • Effective date of policy is 2/24/2026.
V. Thomas made a motion to Approve Travel Policy with edits, effective 2/24/2026.
K. Copeland seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.

D.

Committee Motions

V. Thomas made a motion to Appoint Kendall Scott as Vice Chair of the Board.
M. Mehta seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
V. Thomas made a motion to Establish the Governance Committee with the following members: Kiiva Copeland, Kendall Scott, and Dr. Wardell Hunter.
K. Scott seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
V. Thomas made a motion to Establish the Finance Committee with the following members: Manoj Mehta and Thomas Reynolds.
K. Copeland seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
V. Thomas made a motion to Establish the Academic Committee with the following members: Astra Armstrong, Brian King, Dr. Wardell Hunter, and Justin Cook.
K. Scott seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
V. Thomas made a motion to Establish the Facilities Committee with the following members: Thomas Reynolds, Dr. Wardell Hunter, and Justin Cook.
K. Scott seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.

E.

Financial Approvals

Travel reimbursement for the Executive Director's Leadership Development event. Was included as part of the board's recommendation for the ED last year. Mr. King will submit reimbursement request per the approved Travel Policy. 

F.

LKES Evaluation

Mid-year evaluations are due soon. Governance Committee will need to confirm LKES certification to complete review prior to next board meeting. 

IV. Executive Director's Report

A.

Operations Update

Enrollment season is active. Strategic enrollment and growth plan in place. Lottery will run on 3/9/2026.

B.

Academics Update

School academic priority action steps: Focusing on teacher capacity and actions in the 3 priority areas of Instructional Leadership, Planning and Assessment, and Climate and Culture will increase scholar achievement. There is a need to increase school achievement in ELA and Math. 

C.

Culture Report

D.

School Leader Report and Progress Towards Strategic Goals

Progress towards Strategic Goals:

  • By May 2026, Liberation Academy will have 70% of the school perform at level of developing or higher and 40 % achieve a score of proficient or higher ELA portion of the GMAS
    assessment. "On Target"
  • By May 2026, Liberation Academy will have 57.5% of the school perform at developing or higher and 22.5 % achieve a score of proficient or higher on the math portion of the GMAS
    assessment. "On Target"
  • By May 2026, LA will meet and retain its FY26 enrollment goal of 190 solutionists. "Off Pace"

 

Cell Phone law is close to approval by State Senate. LA already implements a no-cell phone policy. 

 

Identified for Targeted Support Intervention due to performance of LA students with disabilities on the GA Milestones. 

 

Received SCSC Monitoring Results, compiling a formal report to share.

V. Finance

A.

Monthly Update and Review

Review of January 2026 Finance Report. 

 

VI. Other Business

A.

Public Comment

No public comments submitted prior to the meeting or made during the meeting. 

VII. Closing Items

A.

Adjourn Meeting

There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 7:46 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
V. Thomas