Search Committee Structure

• The search committee will be made up of approximately the following:
  • 2 BOT members
  • 2 Administration
  • 2 Staff Members
  • 2 Parents
• The search committee should be about 1 hour a week from January through February after normal working hours.
• It will be chaired by a member of the Board of Trustees
• The chair will have an additional hour a week commitment to work with Edgility Consulting
• The board will need to authorize Edgility Consulting for their expenditures per the contract

10gb Circuit

• We have made progress although there was an additional delay as work was planned for the snowstorm on 17DEC2020.  The work resumed the next day but has run into technical difficulties
• Verizon can “see” our network.  FRCS can “see” their network.  The networks are not talking to each other.  It is thought to be a hardware issue and they believe they know the cause and are working towards resolving it.
• It is expected to be ready for students to return in mid January

Scrubbers & UV Light

• Nurses rooms are almost complete
• We are still waiting on an update on the delivery of the UV light which was last promised for January 2021.

2020 Chromebooks

• 681 students of the 935 who need to receive a Chromebook have gotten them
• It took additional staff to distribute them due social distancing guidelines.  The pickups went smoothly, and Matt Harrington thanked all involved.
• 450 iPADs have been returned and we are getting those back to the company we leased them from.
• We are working on getting devices out to K-1 as a next step

2021/2022 Technology Needs

• A plan is expected at the January meeting.

Food Services

• 70 families are participating in the free food program as a curbside program
• We have made changes to allow families to pick up 2 days worth of meals in a single pickup as a convenience.
• We are using only the cold menu from B&M

• Several Districts have not filed their financial information from last year.  This has been raised as a concern by FRCS to the association of charter schools.  This has an impact on our ability to calculate the tuition we expect to work into our own budget this fiscal year.    Revision 6 of the FY2022 Budget has a net increase of $812,000 as an adjustment but this is expected to move once other districts report out their information. 
• The current cap is 1690
• Current enrollment is 1698

Health

• Metrics across our district and the entire state are rising
• The school has requested that staff and students quarantine after the winter break for travel and celebrations with people outside their immediate homes.
• There is concern people will not quarantine if they know a return date has been extended

Resources

• We have added additional substitute teachers to the roster. However, most of them are college students and will not be available once they return for their semester of learning.
• Teachers are prepared to return to school however several teachers joined the meeting and expressed concerns:
  • The health of them and their families could be impacted by a return to in person learning
  • The impact on everyone’s physical and mental health
  • The push and pull between meeting HIPA (Health Information Privacy Act) and contact tracing.  This is a challenge across the state for schools and businesses alike
  • Returning to in person learning may have an slowdown in learning for many students as they adjust
  • Impact on transportation as we may need to close the school
  • Currently >40% of families are planning on staying remote.  We may see a change in these numbers are the date draws closer and the impact of no extended day is communicated
  • The vaccine is getting closer to a reality for educators and there is a school of thought to wait to return until our staff is vaccinated
  • Flu shots cannot be mandated by the school as some have opted out for religious reasons.  Many have sent in their flu shot information.
  • Every effort is being made to have the UV Light installed in the ventilation system prior to returning
  • The was a discussion on how the state health metrics are weighed in the decision

Technology

• 10gb circuit should be installed by 25JAN2021 which is needed to support hybrid learning

Quality of Education

• We may need to close the school due to a lack of teachers should the rising cases impact our school community directly. This can create a ping pong effect on the youth
• This decision could be made on a daily or weekly situation depending on staffing or health

Holiday Gift to the Staff
The school typically gives a gift to say thank you the staff between Thanksgiving and Christmas which is paid for out of the FRCS Foundation money. Given the foundations limited ability to fundraise this year the administration has suggested we gift the staff 1 additional day to be added to their Paid Time Off (PTO).

Extended Day
Once the school re-opens to the hybrid model of learning we will not be able to offer extended day as an option to families for after school care due to resourcing issues, additional impact on contract tracing protocols.  The board ask for this to be communicated out as soon as possible in case families need this information to make decisions.  This is expected to be a key deciding factor for some families.

• Presentation by Egility Consulting
• Finance update
• Facility update on UV and 10gb circuit installations
• Re-opening planning

• Vote to adjust current fiscal years budget

Tabled