L. Timoney opened the meeting by noting the Governor issued an Executive Order and relaxed Open Meeting Law rules related to video attendance from a public place vs. at home and quorum rules.  "In person" is being used to denote video attendance. All meetings must be recorded and transcribed and minutes alone are not enough. All in attendance were instructed to state their name when speaking so they can be identified on the transcription. We have quorum and can vote.

R. Kerr welcomed all and acknowledged we are experiencing some unusual times. She emphasized we will get through this together as a family and the board committees have been hard at work. She noted tonight as an example of us coming together, and looks forward to these moments and getting back to the school. 

V. Cerullo has formally left the board.  M. Casale, founding board member, agreed to join the Executive Committee (EC) along with R. Kerr, G. Winn, L. Wedinger and L. Timoney.  The EC meets once a month and does the work the board committed us to carry forward. 
The Board retained an attorney on behalf of the school to address certain situations that may arise. Protocols on the counsel were developed. The primary protocol is to approach the EC with written requests, EC will review and determine if it should go to counsel or the full board.  If there are urgent situations, the ED can go straight to counsel and report back. The protocol and procedures in the board packet require only board acknowledgement and not a vote. 

L.Timoney put forth changing board meetings from the 2nd Wednesday of the month to the 3rd Wednesday of the month making it May 20th and June 17th.  R. Kerr may be traveling for the June meeting but agrees with the move to the 3rd Wednesday and will join remotely. 
We have a parent member, Azalia Volpe, who will be joining the board. A resolution will be presented at the May meeting to add the parent member. Once approved, the board will submit a completed the application to NYSED.  Once approved by NYSED, A. Volpe will be a voting board member.
R. Kerr noted adding a parent member is a milestone from our charter.
A. Volpe is looking forward to joining and working with the Board.
L. Wedinger discussed adding board members and noted we have reached out to potential members and plan to invite those interested to attend a board meeting. The committee is actively looking for members with business, finance and marketing backgrounds.

G. Winn welcomed and thanked the parent member and school staff attending the meeting and noted this is a busy season for finance.

• The loan application was successfully submitted by Signature Bank to the SBA. NYSED counseled schools to avail themselves of all financial avenues in these uncertain times. The board acted prudently on this as well as remote learning and stabilizing the relationship with the authorizer. 
• The budget is coming in May after fine tuning the staffing model with needed and requested feedback.
• Contractual relationships for the coming year are being reviewed, evaluation and assessed related to how we operate in a remote environment. A call with the insurance broker is scheduled for next week. 
• BoostEd renewal is May 1 and it was requested that the EC be allowed to act on the board's behalf to renew the existing relationship, allow for a 3% increase and language to revisit if needed based on the current environment.
• 990 form for FY 18/19 needs to be filed by May 15, 2020 once reviewed and with all supporting documents for ED.

R. Kerr thanked G. Winn and the finance committee, the ED and BoostEd for all their work at the end of our fiscal year. 

R. Kerr reported there have been a lot of discussions with the Academic Committee, NYSED, and the school team. The Governor has signed an Executive Order to keep schools closed until 4/29. NYSED stressed we must go by the Gov's Executive Order. Bridge Prep is on a DOE campus with makes it interesting.
To ensure student learning, proactive steps were taken.  Written packets were supplied for the first week, we ensured students had hardware, learning transitioned to Google Classroom and this past week piloted live teaching.  Learning continues to evolve to be enriched and enhanced. There are many students with IEPs and special education guidelines are being adhered to.  
M. Casale stated the instructional focus is moving to all disciplines. OG is going smoothly and instruction is transitioning to live teaching.  
Next Academic Committee meeting is Friday at 4pm. Invites to follow. 

T. Castanza stated trials were to be expected in year one, but not this. The Board was thanked for their support and patience while waiting for guidance and maintaining the school's autonomy in uncertain times. The Bridge Prep team, which he is very proud of, was also thanked.
On March 16th all students were provided work packets in the event of a closure, and virtual learning was being planned. Google Classrooms are being used in a variety of ways. Remote learning continues to adapt based on student's needs, family feedback and as a result is being transitioned to live teaching, which will be monitored daily. Staff meetings happen weekly and the frequency of live teaching is planned to increase. After the academic committee meeting, more modifications may happen. NYSED communications are weekly and it was conveyed there is no definition of remote learning.  A remote learning plan was submitted to NYSED and there is a check-in call tomorrow. 
Admissions - the lottery was held on 4/6/20 as prescribed by law and it was recorded and transcribed. Twenty people viewed the lottery and 67 offers were made with 57 acceptances, a 87% acceptance rate. There are outstanding responses from 8 families - 1st Grade (3), 2nd Grade (2) and 3rd Grade (3) with 31 students on the waitlist - 2nd Grade (5) and 3rd Grade (26).  As seats open, the waitlist will be utilized. Families are appreciative of the time given them during this process. Some are uncertain of what grade their child will be in next school year, and the school will seek NYSED's guidance on this. There are still 1st grade seats available and applications continue to come to the school.
Staffing - Letters vetted by the school's HR consultant were given to staff to assess their intent to return. Once letters are received back, a discussion will happen to establish next year's plan. A staff plan was submitted to the board, feedback was given, and we continue to address lessons learned and adjust thinking.
Budget - this requires focus in tough times and the support provided is appreciated. It is a massive undertaking and requires continued work with the finance committee. The budget, like the staff plan, represents the school's values. The budget factors in per pupil allocation and is planned conservatively. The budget process plan continues and will be submitted to the authorizer on time. 

Thank you to Azalia Volpe for the work you are doing with the Family Association. 

The Academic Committee will discuss on Friday what a remote learning dashboard should look like. This important academic data needs to be given to the board during this transitional period. 

There were no questions rasied about the montlhy financials. 

R. Kerr thanked L. Timoney for transitioning us successfully to remote meetings.  

A. Volpe, on behalf of the Family Association, thanked the Board and T. Castanza for doing a wonderful job. As a member of the Citywide Council for Special Education, she stated at a recent DOE meeting that Bridge Prep was on top of this situation. As a result, her daughter did not miss a beat doing her work. Her son, on the other hand, was still in the process of getting it all together. The Family Association is establishing a web page and will share the link when it is ready. 
M. Casale - is looking forward to hearing from parents about what is working, not working and develop some parent sessions to help them with their children. 
L. Timoney thanked the staff and acknowledged Rose Marie Illuzzi for getting Chrome Books out to families in need.