G. Swick announced that the time for public comment will take place at the end of the meeting due to the online nature of our gathering.

G. Swick discussed that the "Community Crew" slot will be about good things that are occurring in the school community. There is a 2nd Grade celebration occurring on Friday, January 28th. 

S. Egger presented the YTD Financials through December 31st.

• Looking at the ISBE Dashboard, in column D, there are two yellow items. Typically, it is good to see everything in green. The two yellows are unrestricted days of cash on hand, and cash flow and aggregate. There is an accounts receivable balance that is still pending. We started receiving payments from our Title funding, and Esser funding. These two yellow items are just cautionary. 
• Balance Sheet: Looking at our cash position, we brought in $748,000 in cash, and our current cash position is almost $600,000. We are down $150,000 of cash. Keeping in mind, we have an accounts receivable balance of $236,000 as of December 31st. A chunk of that is received in January. 
• As a reminder, of the $7.2 million for the construction loan, outstanding we have available $163,929 as of December 31st. We are waiting for the Bulley & Andrews final invoice. Once that is received, we will use up the $464,000 that is remaining. 
• Looking at the Income Statement, we are at a surplus of $617,080. Our seasonal budget at this time for the first six months of the fiscal year is anticipated to be $186,361 better. As a reminder to the Board, we did release the paper recognition of the PPP funds. Of the $617,080, we have a paper recognition of the PPP of $355,000. If you were to remove the PPP fund, then we would be exceeding the budget by $143,665. 
  • Our PCTC rate came in larger than what we originally estimated when we put the Budget together. There is an increase in rate, but a reduction in the enrollment numbers. As of today, we are still down one student. 
• Annual Forecast: Anticipating a $780,000 surplus at the end of the year. The annual Board-approved budget was anticipating about $390,000. Keep in mind that the PPP dollars are $354,000 of that. Our actual increase (non-paper related to the PPP) is an additional $34,625. We are on target and will exceed the anticipated Board approved surplus. 
  • $300,000 of this is dependent on the IL State Grant. An individual from the DCO would be reaching out to Dan Alexander in regards to this. 
• Currently, we have $87,000 in accounts payable. Looking at the AP Aging Report, you see what makes up that amount. 

Additional Comments:

• There was a comment in regards to the Direct Student Expenses. S. Egger advised that the Board-approved Budget is $751,000. We are currently at $473,000, and we are expecting $821,000 in expenses for the year. This increase is due to the cost of masks, and the addition of another bus for this year. 
• D. Alexander reminded that the Board approved the Budget before the addition of the bus line which added another $55,000. That is the real variance there. The Board did not adopt a revised budget based on the extra busing cost or revenue.  
• S. Egger addressed a comment about the Director of Development and raising $150,000 in the remaining months. He advised that it did not seem appropriate to raise that amount of money with only a couple of months left. The forecasted amount has been reduced to $75,000.  
• D. Alexander commented that we received a $10,000 unrestricted check today from a family foundation. 

G. Swick read that J. willer received several positive comments regarding salary changes including appreciations from staff members. It was asked of one staff member to capture their positive comments in writing below.

“The fact that equity of salaries was a priority this year aligns with our purpose as a school and our JEDI framework. Now that this has been realized, I’m hopeful that we can continue to move towards a path of ensuring equity over the years. Thank you to all who worked on this project, as I’m sure it took lots of time and conversation. As someone whose salary has been raised, I appreciate that this correction has occurred to ensure that my salary takes into account years of experience and education.”

T. Haralambopoulos read the Principal's Report in place of J. Willer. 

• Free and Reduced Lunch is at 47%
  • A school-wide message was sent to families on Friday to encourage filling out the FRL Application. 
• There are a total of 363 seats filled. 
  • There is one seat open in 2nd Grade. 
• Currently, we have received 173 applications.
• There are 2 new staff members that have joined:
  • Luz Almanza - Teacher's Assistant in 6th Grade
  • Maddie Genz - K to 4th SPED Teacher
• Still looking for one additional Teacher's Assistant in 5th Grade. 

Other Highlights:

• The Kindergarten planning meeting for the three sections of the Kindergarten will take place on February 1st. Financially, it was discussed to add 2 - 3 additional students to Kindergarten to help with Per Pupil Funding. 
• EL Education has asked us to be a part of their credential pilot program. This will be started in Spring. By June, we would know if we would be an EL Credentialed School versus what we currently are, which is a Network School. It has always been a part of the proposal and vision to become an EL Credentialed school. 
• A survey was sent to families on mask options that the school could provide, and these results will be brought to the next Leadership meeting. We are providing them with the option of n95 masks for all students, or Sonovia masks which are multiple layered masks.

Our outbreak status has been extended to February 21st due to a couple of more Positive cases. An email was sent out to families about this. 

D. Alexander provided the following updates:

• We are done with construction, and we are waiting on the final payout to close out the loan. 
• Residence work to the furnace and chimney is done. 
• The dining hall heat is on. 

D. Alexander discussed that there have been two Wellness Committee Meetings. There was parent input in regards to the lunches. A survey has been sent out to students to fill out. Chartwell and Aramark are two food service companies that do scratch cooking. More information to come in regards to Aramark as Chartwell was not able to do provide the service to our school.  

The main focus has been on next year and the space constraints (5th grade in Neil, and displacing services). There was a special meeting last week, and a lot of information and ideas were given. A majority of the staff did attend. A decision has not been made. The Master Planning Committee will need to schedule another meeting. 

G. Swick provided the following updates:

• Pleased with the drainage work that took place.
• Discussed ecosystem education and making some progress. The scheduled day to work in the ravine area behind the dining hall was halted due to snow.
• The next meeting is scheduled for Friday, February 4th.

B. Lane discussed that they did the principal's evaluation, and received no comments from the Board members. 

D. Alexander advised that both contracts for Principal & COO have been signed and submitted. 

B. Lane provided the following information:

• Staffing: Re-examine staffing as there is a need for more staffing in SPED and intervention. Need to examine and get on board to be in compliance.
• A curriculum needs to be put in place. B. Lane did a dive into EL Education and stated that we need to consider a Science and Social Study curriculum. There needs to be a core. S. Said will present at the next Academic Excellence meeting. This is an important item as the teachers will need to have time to review it before next year. 
  •  Amplify for Science suggested by ISBE and School Designer. The purpose of Amplify is to help us with expeditions and expose the kids to these standards. 
  • Not all of the standards for Social Studies are being hit. 

There was a question about hiring a SPED Director. D. Alexander advised that we would have a Co-Op. Someone in-house will be taking care of the items in-house. Currently, we have not joined the Co-Op yet. Once we do, it will be through next year. 

G. Swick advised that there are still a few members finishing their Board Certificates. They must be submitted by Monday, January 31st. 

D. Alexander discussed that ISBE came for a visit in December. They recommended that we start our renewal process in April / May, and not in July / August due to all the work that has to be done for the renewal.

K. Kelly stated that the Finance Committee received a few items from ISBE on issues that need to be worked on. This might be an item that the Academic Excellence Committee will have to do as well for ISBE. 

There is a document available for the renewal, and we can go off of prior documents used for the renewal. M. Gibb commented that ISBE does have a public document available. 

There is a need for more Board Members. Per the By-Laws, there is has to be a minimum of 8 members, and there can be up to 13 members. Any candidates that are interested can reach out to D. Haight, or K. Kelly. 

G. Swick made the recommendation to work with K. Kelly as co-chairs. The vice president would still remain as M. Gibb. Due to other responsibilities, he discussed that this would be in the best interest of the Board. The goal is that by next December things will be stable, and the Board President position will be an attractive role for someone to move into.

K. Kelly commented that she works well with G. Swick. It will divide up the burden, and alleviate some of it off of G. Swick. She reiterated that the goal is to make the Board chair a good position for someone else to do and that it is manageable. 

Comments:

An audience member asked if there is a term limit, and what was the rationale of the change in leadership? Also, will this be shared with staff? Does an election need to occur to appoint a new Board chair? G. Swick responded that he did speak to the principal about this. M. Gibb advised that the By-Laws are on the public portal. K.Kelly advised that the Board is allowed to vote on leadership. The term limits are in the By-Laws.  

Every month, the EMSA PTC is trying to do things for the staff. January was self-care. There is a Bingo for the staff, and the winner will receive a self-care basket. PTC would like to see Board Members at some of the meetings. D. Haight and K. Shaw commented that they would attend a meeting. 

There is a push for more applications. Currently, an exact date has not been determined for the next Open House. There are copies of a book called "Circles All Around Us" to distribute along with the flyers to early childhood centers. The last push is with the churches. 

D. Haight commented that a $10,000 donation was made today. Grants and applications are due on February 1st. There have been interviews for a Development Director, and there are more interviews coming up. By mid-February, they are looking to make an offer to an individual for the Development Director position. 

There was a public question regarding if there was a need for more Development Director candidates. D. Alexander did advise that there is a need for that, and they can fill out an application since it is posted.  

G. Swick adjourned to enter Executive Closed Session at 7:30 p.m.

G. Swick adjourned Executive Closed Session at 9:10 p.m.