Ms. Davis noted that there was a sign-up sheet for public comment.

There was no public comment.

Suzanne Vargas provided the marketing and enrollment update.  Kestrel is currently at 442 students.  Five students enrolled during the month of October, and four students withdrew (all of their families moved out of the area). The open enrollment period starts tomorrow.  Ms. Vargas changed the approach to reaching students by reaching out to families in Durham and Wake counties by zip code instead of using a radius.  She shared the social media analytics and current and upcoming marketing activities.  The Board discussed several options for sharing Kestrel with other families.

Mr. Powe shared the research that he had done on the security system upgrade.  The vendors were narrowed down to Verkada and Spot AI.  He shared the pros and cons of the two security system options.  

Mr. Price shared the School Culture Report.  There were a lot of Quarter 1 events including the monthly school store, weekly advisory lessons, the Sandy Hook Promise training for faculty and scholars (training scholars on "see something, say something"), Hispanic Heritage celebration and updates, Fall Spirit Night, and a pep rally.  In the discipline area, we had only 20 referrals for the quarter.  Staff received strategies and training in the discipline area.  On transportation, one bus driver retired, and the school was able to hire a replacement. Quarter 2 events include PTA meetings, honor roll celebrations, winter sports, and monthly school store. 

Mr. Touchette shared the Kestrel School Improvement Plan. Kestrel currently has a D grade with the NC Department of Public Instruction. Kestrel has six specific goals for the current academic year, and we are making significant progress on them already.  There are another six goals that Kestrel has already met.  The Board discussed attendance and the impact directly on academic performance.  

Ms. Villegas shared that Kestrel had its first curriculum night since 2019, and 75 families attended the event.  The purpose of the night was to showcase the curriculum of the school. School staff shared individual iReady data with families along with social-emotional data so that families can see how their scholars are doing. The curriculum night was held in conjunction with the PTA's Book Fair.  For families that couldn't attend, the data will be going home with students.

Mrs. Jackson shared her Executive Director report. Kestrel has submitted all of the October requirements for DPI through Epicenter, and the school is awaiting DPI's review of two of the six requirements.  The Office of Federal Programs required compliance reporting for September and October have been completed along with Maintenance of Effort reporting for Exceptional Children programs. Kestrel currently has 36 English learners and 45 EC scholars. There are still four vacant positions.

Mrs. Jackson shared the monthly budget report.  The school is 33% of the way through the school year, and spending is trending high in four categories: technology (purchases made at start of school year), legal, insurance and facilities.  The administrative team is going to check on insurance.  The school is currently in compliance with our bond covenant for days cash on hand and debt service coverage ratio.  There were two letters that went to the bond company for enrollment (Kestrel is at 436 instead of goal of 465, and Kestrel received a D letter grade).

Mrs. Jackson shared a FY 24 budget amendment.  The initial budget was proposed on an average daily membership of 505 students, but Kestrel only has 436 students in the post 20 day average daily membership. The amendment includes salaries based on Durham Public Schools' salary scale as of August 2023, updated state allotments and federal allotments based on EC and ELL students.  The budget needs to be amended to reflect a surplus of $144,000 down from $355,000.

Mrs. Jackson shared the annual audit result. Kestrel received a clean audit. 

Ms. Gordon shared the operations report update, including eRate funds being used for cabling to improve the internet service.  The team has filed a claim with our insurer to see if the roof can be repaired or replaced for the deductible. She also shared that they are receiving quotes for the HVAC. Mr. Patterson shared that there are several tax incentives to replace HVAC; this information will be followed up on by Facilities Committee.

No update at this meeting.

Mrs. Davis introduced Mr. Dwayne Patterson and Ms. Hernandez to the Board.  Ayana Hernandez is the owner of a consulting firm and work with clients in the higher education space. Her background is in outreach, brand development, marketing and crisis communication.  She is originally from New Haven, Connecticut, and both of her parents were educators.  Dwayne Patterson is originally from Kinston, NC, and both of his parents were educators.  He is currently retired, but he has a background in healthcare, education and government.  He was the State Parks Director for North Carolina, the Deputy Director for the NC Pandemic Recovery Office, and he worked with both the Durham Public Schools and NC Museum of Life and Sciences.  

Mr. Brandon Paris has resigned from the Board.

The Development Committee reported that they are working to set up a Go Fund Me for the school and the needs. 

Ms. McGarrah reported that the Board discussed a construction issue, a contract issue, and some personnel issues in closed sessions.