Cara Stillings-Candal, reintroduced the topic of the probationary status of the City on a Hill New Bedford charter, as first mentioned at the January 2019 meeting and in those subsequent, and the lack of progress towards conditions laid out by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE). Stillings-Candal asserted that the discussion of next steps should be rooted in the data collected by the schools.

Kevin Taylor, Chief Executive Officer, provided an overview of the Fiscal Year 2018-2019 (FY19) Budget and compared it to the Fiscal Year 2019-2020 (FY20) Budget, which was approved by the Board of Trustees at the May 2019 Board Meeting. Taylor outlined the process in which management conservatively estimated enrollment for the school year 2019-2020, and stated that despite the conservative process, enrollment has fallen lower than estimates. Taylor further explained that the shortfall has created an operating gap of $2.4 million, and now necessitates cuts from the FY20 Budget across the Network, but that City on a Hill New Bedford's financial stability has been most affected.

Stillings-Candal then led a discussion of the Trustees, focusing on the long-term viability of City on a Hill New Bedford. Trustees focused on the lack of progress in meeting probationary conditions set forth by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education in January 2019, particularly the fifth condition related to improvement of MCAS scores and overall academic achievement, in addition to the precipitous drop in enrollment over the past two school years. Stillings-Candal highlighted that the lack of academic progress and falling enrollment are a negative feedback loop, and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is likely to agree the school is no longer operationally viable.

The Trustees discussed what other options other than school closure could be viable including all options that had been considered at previous Board meetings. The Trustees considered whether alternative revenue sources could be an option. This option was not perceived as viable given the donor community's response to New Bedford's need over the last two years. The Board considered if additional partners or supports might make a difference, but determined that this strategy had already been tried and that, without additional funding sources, was not a viable option. 

The Board considered the impact of closure on students, families, and staff. The Trustees discussed the need for seniors to be able to graduate and that changing school would be disruptive for all students, but particularly students with special needs. The Trustees considered the impact on families having to find new schools for their students and discussed how the school could support students in exploring other options for next school year. The Trustees discussed the impact on staff and what the school could do to help staff to find new positions. 

Ultimately, after consideration of alternatives to closure and impacts of closure, the Trustees determined that relinquishing the New Bedford charter was necessary. 

The Trustees then turned their attention to the topic of City on a Hill Circuit Street and City on a Hill Dudley Square. Cara Stillings-Candal, Chair, asked Trustees to keep at front of mind that the enrollment challenges faced at CoaH New Bedford are also being faced in the Boston schools.

Kevin Taylor, Chief Executive Officer, dsicussed with the trustees the need to find a possible solution to address the budget issues caused by underenrollment without exacerbating the staffing issues that already exist at both Boston schools. Taylor described the staffing and program challenges and how this had lead to the development of a "co-location" model for the Boston schools. 

Taylor described to the Trustees of the possibility of co-locating CoaH Circuit Street and CoaH Dudley Square beginning January 2020. Co-location would include the placement of all 9th and 10th grade students in the Circuit Street building, to be known as the Lower School, and 11th and 12th grade students in Dudley Square building, to be known as the Upper School. CoaH Management would need to submit a major amendment to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to formally merge the charters effective school year 2020-2021.

Stillings-Candal and Taylor emphasized that while originally envisioned as taking place several school years from now, that the model could also be a cost saving alternative for this year that would help avoid, and potentially help resolve, existing staff coverage issues across both schools.  Additionally, Taylor clarified that co-location is not a typical structure for Massachusetts charter schools, and an exception has been granted by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to consider this approach.

The Trustees discussed the positive aspects of co-location, including providing an opportunity to create personnel efficiencies beginning January 2020 which would alleviate the operating gap for the FY20 budget. The Trustees discussed the potential impacts, positive and negative, on students, staff, and community members. Taylor and his team described possible concerns, including distinct school-specific cultures, public perception of safety of one campus over another, students who are taking off-level classes, disruptions of existing school communities, impacts on teachers and students from mid-year class composition changes, and the recent past, particular at CoaH Circuit Street, of multiple leadership changes. Taylor recognized these as points that would need to be discussed further with school staff and the Boston Teachers Union, which represents the five bargaining units of City on a Hill staff, but emphasized that without closing the operational gap through reduction in force, the schools will continue to become financially unstable.

The Trustees probed on alternatives and Taylor described some of the challenges with alternatives including, in particular, scheduling challenges that it was not possible to close with the current number of staff members. The Trustees also consider whether additional funding sources might be available to support the Boston schools through the end of the school year, but determined that this was unlikely at this time. 

After consideration of impacts and alternatives, the Trustees decided to move forward with a vote on co-location of the Boston schools. 

Open Session ended at 10:01am. Executive Session began at 10:02am.

Executive Session ended at 10:27am. Open Session began at 10:28am.