Ms. Davis noted that participants can enter public comments in the chat.

There was no public comment.

Ms. Vargas shared the Marketing and Enrollment Update.  Kestrel's current enrollment is 442 students.  In the past month, there were four withdrawals (all because of students moving), but those seats were filled with new students.  New scholar application flyers went out along with open enrollment postcards to targeted zip codes.  We are getting more in-person elementary tours than the middle school tours.

Ms. Hernandez asked what our follow-up process from the tours.  Kestrel staff shared their processes, and Ms. Davis let the board know that we will be hiring an enrollment consultant as part of our bond covenants.

Ms. Vargas shared the 2024-25 school calendar with the board.  Durham released their school calendar in November, so Kestrel is following suit in December.  There are the same amount of days with fall and spring breaks.  The calendar complies with the NC school calendar legislation.

There was a discussion around accommodating religious holidays.  Families are able to take those days off if they do not align with current workdays.

Mr. Powe provided an update that he talked with the security vendor.  There would be a requirement of $14,000 payment up front and then a second payment of $14,000 within 30 days followed by an annual payment of around $6,800.  The school staff will take that information and advise the Board on the budget implications.

Mr. Price shared the School Culture report, including a basketball tournament, arts and music performances, progress reports and parent-teacher conferences.  There were 44 referrals for discipline from August through December.  Mr. Touchette shared information on reading programs and encouraging attendance.

Ms. Villegas and Mr. Touchette provided an overview of the NC Check-in data, including reading and math data for grades 3-8.  There was some discussion about the scores and what it tells us in terms of how to support students with instruction and intervention.  Scores for science tests for grades 5 and 8 were also shared.  The school staff discussed the data and how to improve growth for their students.  The school staff is also sharing the message with the parents.

Ms. Jackson shared the Executive Director's report.  Kestrel is up-to-date on compliance and reporting with NC DPI (Epicenter report), including the charter renewal self-study.  Kestrel will be monitored by DPI's Office of Federal Programs for ESSER and GEER funds.

Ms. Jackson shared the school's monthly budget report.  The budget is projecting a year-end surplus of $200,780.  There were some areas of the budget that were trending high, including rent and debt service, technology, administrative services, insurance and facilities.  Some of the categories, such as technology, are high because expenses are front-loaded in the school year.  Kestrel is meeting our covenants for our bonds for days cash on hand (requirement is 45 days, and the school has 123 days on hand) and debt service coverage ratio (requirement is 1.05, and the school's ratio is 1.35).

Ms. Jackson shared that she revised the budget amendment for FY 2023-24 that was presented last month to address the average daily membership (ADM) of 436 being lower than projected for the school year (budget was based on 505 ADM). The proposed FY 2023-24 amendment now shows a surplus of $188.70 to accommodate for the ADM shifts and the increase in rent and debt service.

Ms. Jackson and Ms. Davis shared the Operations Report, including the good news that insurance will cover the cost of the replacement of the roof over the gym for the price of our deductible.  They may also cover the cost of replacement for the rest of the older school building roof at a later date.

There was a minor fender-bender with the mini-bus.  No one was injured, but there has been a claim filed against the school's insurance.  Repairs continue to be needed to the compressors and heat exchangers.

No report from the academic subcommittee at this time.

Ms. Davis noted that the Board needs to start back with our policy review process.  The policies will be divided among board members to review.

There was a draft Go Fund Me for the playground sent to the board to review.  Please send comments to Ms. Davis.  There are other parts of the outdoor recreation space that will still need to be funded.  

Ms. McGarrah reported that the Board voted on a contract and discussed personnel issues.