All items discussed in Executive Committee will be discussed during the course of the board meeting.

Rose presented the Sgt. at Arms, Lou Tobacco, with a timer and gavel to be used during the board meeting.  Board protocol was shared with all present. Lou read Article XIII in the bylaws addressing public comment which is aligned with NYS Law. 
ARTICLE XIII: PUBLIC COMMENT
A. The public shall be allowed to speak only during the Public Comment period of the meeting. The Public Comment Period will follow the completion of the agenda of the Board Meeting. The total time allotted for public comment shall not exceed thirty minutes. The Board Chair may modify these guidelines if warranted.
B. Speakers must register prior to the start of the meeting. Speakers must give their name, address and organization represented, if any. Speakers must be recognized by the Board Chair.
C. Speakers must limit their remarks to three (3) minutes on a given topic and may be recognized again by the Board Chair after other speakers have had an opportunity to speak. Speakers may not yield any remaining time they may have to another speaker.
D. Board members may not interrupt a speaker during their remarks, except for clarification. Board members may not comment or cross-address the speaker, unless directed to do so by the Board Chair.
E. All remarks shall be addressed to the Board Chair. The Board Chair will not answer questions presented during public commentary but may do so following the close of the meeting. Speakers shall observe the commonly accepted rules of courtesy, decorum, dignity and good taste.
F. Interested parties or their representatives may address the Board with written communications which may be sent via email to the School “Attention Board” at the School’s website address or mailed to the Board at the address of the School. Speakers may not read written communications verbatim but should summarize their contents.

To all Board members:  If we are getting stuck on a topic too long or it should be referred to committee, Lou will tap the gavel. This is done with respect to all.
Board members and school staff will be seated at the table. Guests and the public will be seated in the area outside the table.
There is an attendance sheet available for guests to sign up for public comment at the end of the board meeting. 

Submitted to NYSED and complete. 

An Initial Statement of Controls letter was included in the board packet.  This letter is to put in place financial safeguards and best practices and is fairly formulaic. What will follow shortly is an audit which is a matter of procedure when we reach $50K in disbursements. The audit firm looks to ensure we are following our procedures and guidelines established in the Financial Policies and Procedures. If they have points of exception, they will advise us. If there is a finding, we will need to respond. This letter completes our due diligence and all financial obligations are met. 

Included in your Board On Track packet are financial statements. They are available a week prior to the board meeting and you can ask George if you have any questions of comments. The Fundraising committee will be established and please think about your experience and your possible involvement and send any ideas to G. Winn or V. Cerullo.  

L. Gyimesi spoke about updates and changes to the bylaws.  Highlighted areas in the bylaws are the only areas being changed that the State wants us to be cognizant of.  We are in compliance with the State Education Law, Non-Profit Corporation Law and Open Meetings Law. The bylaws were originally ratified in September and recommended changes are to make the bylaws more specific in  clarity regarding attendance and removal of trustees. We added a few polices for awareness to the law. The bylaws and the laws govern us and we are chartered by the law and comply to all these sections of the laws. We will vote on bylaw changes in the April meeting. Any comments or edits email L. Gyimesi. 

The Board Development & Governance Committee put forth three new board of trustee members to be voted on tonight. Dr. Amy Margolis, Frank Santarpia and Matthew Langella.  Once we vote on the resolution to add them as trustees, we will send all required documentation to NYSED for final approval. 
Dr. Amy Margolis - Academic Committee -  is a founding member of the board and a neuro-psychologist who specializes in neuro-imaging research with an emphasis on brain-based learning disabilities to improve interventions for children with learning disabilities and the psychological factors that impinge on learning like anxiety and executive function study. Dr. Margolis is a faculty member of Columbia University Medical center. We first met Dr. Margolis at a Dyslexia Awareness Event sponsored by Assemblywoman Jo Anne Simon.
Frank Santarpia - Finance Committee - is a Senior Adviser to the Borough President.  Mr. Santarpia has a long career as an entrepreneur and businessman who knows a lot about the financial aspects of what we will be looking at as a Board. Mr. Santarpia was at the first meeting held by the Borough President with parents who pleaded for an educational option on Staten Island. 
Matthew Langella - Finance Committee - is a bank executive who has experience in business development and finance. Mr. Langella is a native Staten Islander who believes this is a great school for Staten Island.  Mr. Langella has served on many boards and foundations and has a great deal of experience in fundraising.

The board assigned term expiration dates for Amy Margolis, Frank Santarpia and Matthew Langella alphabetically by first name.  

On March 1, 2019 the NYC DOE issued an official proposal according to Chancellor's Regulation A190 to temporarily co-locate Bridge Prep at the Petrides Complex. On February 27 we went on a walk through on the Petrides campus of the proposed space with Deputy Chancellor Goldmark, Superintendent Gallassio, Chief Executive of Space Planning Tom Taratko, CEC 31 President Frank Squicciarini and members of the Petrides school staff and PTA.
PEP notice is shared and provides a high-level overview of the proposed co-location. The space will be renovated prior to Sept 2019 opening and we will have a separate entrance. On April 2nd there will be a formal, pro-forma joint public hearing at Petrides regarding the siting of Bridge Prep at Petrides to solicit public comment. This is a great location for school and provides access to the entire Island but is pending the PEP's vote of approval on April 17th. Only those registered to speak or who email comments, will help to inform the PEP panel prior to their voting to approve. So, coming to the meeting alone is not enough. Any questions about the space are addressed in the Building Utilization Plan (BUP) and Educational Impact Statement (EIS) which include access to shared spaces. Both are posted at: https://www.schools.nyc.gov/about-us/leadership/panel-for-education-policy/2018-2019-pages/april-17-2019-school-utilization-proposals

We hired Rose Marie Illuzzi as Family and Community Engagement Coordinator and she is actively involved in recruitment and will be involved in enrollment and admissions too. Rose Marie was introduced and is the second member of the school team.  
We had Director of Teaching and Learning (DTL) interviews and will advise when we come to a decision on a candidate. 
Steve Cucchia is the mentor consultant to Bridge Prep and was introduced. 
 

Thank you to all who join our weekly collaborative student recruitment call. As of March 13 we have 113 applications for 86 seats. The direct mailing was very successful in terms of applications and calls.  We will continue to monitor the numbers and expect to go to a lottery for both 1st and 2nd grade.  In accordance with State law - we will issue a public notice for the lottery for April 9th to be held in the early evening. The formal public notice and logistics for the lottery will come out in the next few weeks.  We will talk about the logistics of the lottery in the upcoming student recruitment call Monday night at 7:30pm. The lottery is run by the NYSED Weighted Lottery Generator and moderated by a third party. We will be in the audience and the third party will run the lottery.  We will document all applications as required by state law and will receive access to the Lottery Generator prior to the lottery to begin inputting all information.  The lottery will be videotaped for documentation purposes. We will post on our website and social media accounts.  Upcoming events include the SIUH Pediatric Faculty meeting, Library meetings, South Shore YMCA information session, and literacy event at the Staten Island Children's Museum. Earlier today, Tim presented at Skyer Law, the biggest special education law firm, and their question was how many more of these schools will open. They offered to help in any way, including fund raising. Tomorrow Tim will be going to Albany to present at Dyslexia Day. NYSED, our authorizer, will be there. Bridge Prep's participation in this event was retweeted by the Charter Center and the school has many more followers now. Unfortunately, there are no charters left in NYC due to the Charter Cap. 

Will we be well versed in what the lottery looks like?  On Monday's student recruitment call we will focus on lottery policy and procedures. 

Holly Bonner - had questions:
1. Will the staff be Orton-trained or Orton-certified?
2. Who is the governing body for the charter?
3.  If you are having this meeting on April 2nd, what is the back-up plan if the school is not approved for Petrides and how can I help to come that night?
The board chair will respond to Holly's questions.
Steve Cucchia - Stated he just wanted to thank the board for bringing him on to work with Tim - he is a great person to work with.