Foxborough Regional Charter School
Minutes
Board Meeting
Date and Time
Tuesday September 14, 2021 at 6:15 PM
Location
Foxborough Regional Charter School
Dr Ralph Edwards Conference Room
131 Central Street
Foxborough, MA 02035
Dr Ralph Edwards Conference Room
131 Central Street
Foxborough, MA 02035
Meeting Format
Whether in person or online, the public is welcome to attend Board Meetings and have access to meeting minutes. Meetings are held once a month and additionally, as determined by the Board Chair. All meeting Agendas are posted to the school website at least 48 hours in advance of each public meeting.
During the meeting, the Board follows the published agenda and works through business. Audience members are not part of the formal discussion or deliberations, but may raise their hand to add brief comment or ask clarifying questions. Meetings start promptly on time as noted on the agenda.
In person details:
Whether in person or online, the public is welcome to attend Board Meetings and have access to meeting minutes. Meetings are held once a month and additionally, as determined by the Board Chair. All meeting Agendas are posted to the school website at least 48 hours in advance of each public meeting.
During the meeting, the Board follows the published agenda and works through business. Audience members are not part of the formal discussion or deliberations, but may raise their hand to add brief comment or ask clarifying questions. Meetings start promptly on time as noted on the agenda.
In person details:
- Please Review COVID Guidelines if you are attending in person
- Please Enter through the District Main Office (Door A)
- Please remember to sign in upon arrival
Trustees Present
Kathleen Crawford, Matthew Yezukevich, Sergio Martin, Susanna Girard
Trustees Absent
Badawi Dweik
Guests Present
Annie Azarloza, Dana Benton-Johnson, Heidi Berkowitz, Karen Calvert, Luis Soria, Matt Harrington, Todd Tetreault (gallery)
I. Opening Items
A.
Attendance
Due to COVID contract tracing requirements, all attendees in the gallery are listed for attendance purposes.
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
Kathleen Crawford called a meeting of the board of trustees of Foxborough Regional Charter School to order on Tuesday Sep 14, 2021 at 6:16 PM.
II. Leadership Report
A.
Executive Director Report
Dr Soria presented his prepared slides on the metrics DESE currently uses to measure Foxborough Regional Charter School. See slide deck stored in Board on Track.
B.
Equity & Inclusion
Dr. Soria and Dana Benton-Johnson (Director of School Culture and Climate) will be discussing the scope and definition of the Equity & inclusion program as we begin this new year. They will update the board on progress at a future meeting.
C.
Personnel Update
Math, Science, Spanish all have open positions in the middle school at this time. The administration is working on a short-term solution to having a virtual teacher instruct the students with a substitute teacher in the room physically. This is not ideal; however, given the national shortage of teachers, it is necessary. They will continue to search for more permanent hires for each open position.
The Board requested an update on personnel similar to the enrollment update for future meetings.
The Board requested an update on personnel similar to the enrollment update for future meetings.
D.
Special Topic
Nothing at this time
III. Committees
A.
Enrollment
Now that school has started, several students have withdrawn from FRCS, which is typical attrition. Eighteen students dropped out of grades 10, 11 & 12. This is notable because their positions will not be backfilled at their grade level based on the policy's enrollment offering. There were no trends based on the reasons given at their withdrawal that need to be addressed. We have extended more offers to potential students at grades K-9.
As of 08SEP2021
- Total enrollement 1718
- Charter Cap 1700
B.
Facilities
The board read through the report submitted by Matt Harrington and discussed the following:
- Staff Laptops are on order and expected to arrive before the winter break. However, Matt reminded everyone that supplies across the country have been delivering items late, which is a difficult date to predict.
- The Middle School needs a new roof, and the facilities group is working on getting the information together to submit an RFP. An update is expected to come at a future meeting.
- An Elementary School walkthrough found extensive rot in the windows of the lobby. Thirty panes of glass need replacement. Matt requested the board approve $25,000 money for the work that was not part of the FY22 budget.
Matthew Yezukevich made a motion to authorize up to $25,000 repair work on the Elementary School windows to be completed.
Sergio Martin seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Sergio Martin |
Aye
|
| Kathleen Crawford |
Aye
|
| Matthew Yezukevich |
Aye
|
| Badawi Dweik |
Absent
|
| Susanna Girard |
Aye
|
C.
Finance
- FY21 Audit is complete and expected to be submitted to the board for review next month.
- Karen Calvert walked the board through the current spending for FY2022 and noted the significant differences from last year while the school was running, with most students working virtually from home.
- One of the elements that was discussed as a change is the transportation costs. The board discussed the national shortage of school bus drivers. The administration and Board of Trustees would like to thank Jean Lewis for her hard work in keeping this national issue from impacting FRCS. Our heartfelt thanks to her.
- Loan with Eastern Savings Bank:
The board discussed pre-paying all or a portion of this loan. It has been previously discussed and approved by our auditors, our bond council and Eastern Savings Bank.- The current interest rate is 3.33%
- $9.3 million is currently outstanding
- the loan matures in 2042
- If wholly paid off, the savings would be $3.7 million over the life of the loan.
- If we pay $5.0 million-plus the 1% penalty fee, the savings would be 3 million over the life of the loan, as the new maturity date would be 2029. The monthly payment would remain unchanged.
- The school's balance in the bank is currently $13.6 million, and it should be noted that we need a new roof on the middle school and maintain a balance as a condition of the bonds the school has.
Matthew Yezukevich made a motion to pre-pay $5 million of the 9.3 million loan with Eastern Savings Bank plus the penalty fee of $50,000.
Sergio Martin seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Kathleen Crawford |
Aye
|
| Badawi Dweik |
Absent
|
| Susanna Girard |
Aye
|
| Sergio Martin |
Aye
|
| Matthew Yezukevich |
Aye
|
D.
FRCS Foundation Inc
The annual meeting will be held in September
E.
Governance
- The board was asked to bring three suggested names for consideration to be added to the Board of Trustees (BOT) to be reviewed in the October meeting.
- The board would like to add at least 2 more members.
- Interviews would occur in November & December, with selection in December.
- Sergio Martin and Kathleen Crawford will act as sub-committee pre-reviewing resumes that are sent in.
- The school will post the request for volunteers to join the BOT.
IV. Policy Review
A.
New/Old Policies
None at this time
V. Community Group Updates
A.
English Language Parent Advisory Committee (ELPAC)
Nothing at this time
B.
Parent Advisory Group (PAG)
Nothing at this time
C.
Partners in Education (PIE)
Nothing at this time
D.
Special Education Parent Advisory Committee (SEPAC)
Nothing at this time
VI. Closing Items
A.
Approval of Minutes:08JUN2021
Matthew Yezukevich made a motion to approve the minutes as ammended from Board Meeting on 06-08-21.
Kathleen Crawford seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Sergio Martin |
Aye
|
| Badawi Dweik |
Absent
|
| Matthew Yezukevich |
Aye
|
| Kathleen Crawford |
Aye
|
| Susanna Girard |
Aye
|
B.
Approval of Minutes:13JUL2021
Tabled
C.
Approval of Minutes:10AUG2021
Tabled
D.
Adjourn Meeting
Matthew Yezukevich made a motion to Adjourn to the executive session via roll call vote for the purpose of reviewing the meeting minutes from 11May2021 to not return to public session.
Sergio Martin seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Matthew Yezukevich |
Aye
|
| Susanna Girard |
Aye
|
| Badawi Dweik |
Absent
|
| Kathleen Crawford |
Aye
|
| Sergio Martin |
Aye
|
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 9:01 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Susanna Girard