Kestrel Heights Public Charter School
Minutes
Board Meeting
Date and Time
Tuesday December 11, 2018 at 6:30 PM
Location
4900 Prospectus Dr. Durham, NC 27713
Directors Present
B. Paris, J. Featherstone, M. Bennett, S. Foy-Watson
Directors Absent
T. Fisher, Y. Powell
Ex Officio Members Present
J. Hensler
Non Voting Members Present
J. Hensler
Guests Present
S. Bowens
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance and Guests
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
B. Paris called a meeting of the board of directors of Kestrel Heights Public Charter School to order on Tuesday Dec 11, 2018 at 6:47 PM.
C.
Approve Minutes
M. Bennett made a motion to approve minutes from the Board Meeting on 11-13-18 Board Meeting on 11-13-18.
J. Featherstone seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
D.
Public Comment
No public comment
II. 2018-2019 Kestrel Heights Objectives
A.
Overview of the School's 2018-2019 Objectives
To be discussed at the next board meeting.
B.
Mission, Vision, and Strategic Planning Process
Discussed moving forward with a plan to build on the Mission-Vision statement of the school.
III. Finance
A.
Capitola Property
2 presentations were made for brokers to sell the Capitola land that is currently up for sale:
1) Karah Jennings representing Lee and Associates
2) John Linden and William Aucoin representing Avison and Young
1) Karah Jennings representing Lee and Associates
2) John Linden and William Aucoin representing Avison and Young
B.
Motion to select Avison and Young as brokers for the sale of the Capitola property.
J. Featherstone made a motion to select Avison and Young as the broker for the Capitola property.
M. Bennett seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
C.
Review of Updated 2017-18 Audit
With regards to submitting the fiscal audit. We made the deadline for the State Board of Education but missed the deadline for the Office of Charter Schools.
Moving forward we need to look at our auditors with regards to performance as the auditor took too long which resulted in the delay.
Moving forward we need to look at our auditors with regards to performance as the auditor took too long which resulted in the delay.
D.
Monthly Budget Report
Not discussed.
E.
5500 Filing for Retirement Plan
Our 401K program exceeded the cap last year. We were required by law to do a federal audit. The audit process took too long and as a result of this, they want to give us a fine of $45,000.
Attorney Bowens has crafted a letter to ask to wave the penalty by giving a statement of reasonable cause. The board needs to make a vote on this letter.
We are currently making sure we are not late for this year and are working on both this year and last years audit.
Attorney Bowens has crafted a letter to ask to wave the penalty by giving a statement of reasonable cause. The board needs to make a vote on this letter.
We are currently making sure we are not late for this year and are working on both this year and last years audit.
F.
Motion to approve the letter statement of reasonable cause to the department of labor.
M. Bennett made a motion to approve the letter statement of reasonable cause to the department of labor.
S. Foy-Watson seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
G.
Parent Budget Request
Dr. Tracy was asked by a group of parents to talk to the board about staffing and the possibility of hiring teachers assistants. The plan he presented is not fiscally viable now but can be implemented in the future if we can do it then. Dr. Tracy will get back to the parents who asked and tell them we discussed it but it's not viable at this time.
No vote was needed.
No vote was needed.
IV. Governance
A.
Annual Policy Review
Not discussed at this time.
B.
Charter Renewal
The submission for the charter renewal was submitted late as they changed the date and didn’t notify us until it was late. The information was incorrect on the site. Dr. Tracy is working with them and it has now been submitted and it’s good to go.
We discussed teachers certification with regards to teachers being certified for the area in what they teach.
We discussed teachers certification with regards to teachers being certified for the area in what they teach.
C.
Closure Policy
We spoke about the school's closure policy due to weather-related closures and whether we should still follow DPS school policy or do we want a different policy.
The administration would like it to be clarified so it's clear for the parents and the school. Moving forward we will stick with the policy to follow DPS for weather-related closures.
The administration would like it to be clarified so it's clear for the parents and the school. Moving forward we will stick with the policy to follow DPS for weather-related closures.
J. Hensler left.
D.
Board of Directors and PTSO
Discussed working more closely with the PTSO.
V. Executive Director Report
A.
Executive Director Monthly Report
No significant issues were discussed.
B.
Retention Bonus Payout Structure (Closed Session)
Discussed in closed session.
C.
Executive Director Position 2019-20 School Year (Closed Session)
Spoke about the Executive Director position moving forward.
D.
Closed session as per the criteria on the agenda
J. Featherstone made a motion to enter closed session.
S. Foy-Watson seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
E.
Long Term Suspension Board Review (Closed Session)
Board needs to affirm or deny the decision of the board to shorten the long-term suspicion to 15 days.
F.
Motion to leave closed session
J. Featherstone made a motion to Come out of closed session.
S. Foy-Watson seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
G.
Vote to affirm board decision of the panel for the long term suspension.
J. Featherstone made a motion to affirm the decision of the board to shorten the long-term suspicion to 15 days.
S. Foy-Watson seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
VI. Closing Items
A.
Adjourn Meeting
M. Bennett made a motion to adjourn the meeting.
J. Featherstone seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 10:30 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
M. Bennett