No public comments.

Prasanth from Charter Impact, introduced himself highlighting his 10-12 years of financial experience supporting public organizations like schools and nonprofits. He expressed his commitment to building a strong working relationship with the board and leveraging his back-office expertise to support their fiscal goals in the coming months.

Adrienne, CEO suggested delivering the February financial report data in April. There are currently no major risk flags or urgent budget updates. Looking ahead, she outlined a relatively light compliance schedule for the next six weeks, including upcoming Form 700 filings due April 1st and the beginning of the 2025-26 pre-audit process.

Adrienne, CEO noted that the second interim reports for Downtown Charter Academy and John Henry High School have been updated with minor typo corrections to LCFF and COLA calculations.

Committee Chair Davis noted that the fund balance percentage ended up as a dollar amount.

Adrienne clarified that while the current document is not the final version for authorizers, the fund balance percentages for both schools exceed the required reserves.

Adrienne, CEO presented updates to the fiscal policy, which consisted of a general cleanup and adjustments to spending authorities. Changes include increasing the Senior Director approval limit from $5,000 to $10,000, while maintaining existing caps of $25,000 for C-level and $50,000 for the CEO. Additionally, she incorporated standardized federal language regarding purchase requirements to ensure compliance with federal limits.

Committee member Liz inquired if a conflict of interest policy is required. She recommended that board members and C-level executives be required to sign this statement as a standard practice.

Adrienne noted it may not be required but she can add the conflict of interest policy language to the next version and bring it up for board approval in June.

Committee Chair Davis asked for clarification on who manages the procurement process and ensures compliance with bidding requirements, such as obtaining a specific number of quotes. He asked whether this process is managed internally by the school's leadership or if it runs through Charter Impact to oversee the sourcing and selection of vendors.

Adrienne clarified that the internal procurement and management process is handled by herself, Maria, and the finance department. While they oversee the direct management and decision making, Charter Impact handles the back office accounting functions once those processes are complete.

Prasanth clarified that Charter Impact acts as a layer of oversight to ensure that school spending aligns with the board's established fiscal policies. He explained that his team maintains detailed records of approval limits and requirements for each school, checking all documentation and backups as they come in to verify that criteria are met.

Committee Chair Davis confirmed the new reporting timeline where February financials will be reviewed in April and requested that Finance Committee meetings continue to be scheduled before the full Board meetings. He expressed concern about whether this schedule allows enough time for the committee to conduct thorough research and receive feedback before presenting to the larger Board. He asked Prasanth to confirm if he intends to attend these committee meetings consistently moving forward.

Committee member Liz noted that the timing of the financial reviews matters less because the committee is looking at the data in arrears. She pointed out that since the money has already been spent, any concerns raised would likely be addressed in the following board meeting rather than affecting immediate votes. Liz requested a backward-planned schedule where the committee reviews a rough draft in May to allow for three to four weeks of feedback and edits before the final budget is presented to the Board in June. She suggested a strategy of reviewing a solid budget draft as early as April, allowing the committee to review and agree on the overall structure, so that any subsequent adjustments following the May revise will be minor changes rather than a total overhaul.

Adrienne proposed a pre-first draft for the committee in April, an official first draft in May, and the final version for approval in June.

Committee Chair Davis noted the committee will be recommending the Amended Fiscal Policies and the Updated 2nd Interims to the full board for approval.