No announcements.

No public comments.

The board reconvened from closed session at 6:52pm and there were no reportable actions.

Board Chair Rodolfo presented three goals developed over the last month and a half in collaboration with board leadership and consultants as part of the CEO's first-year evaluation timeline. These objectives focus on renewal and vision leadership, governance and transparency, and maintaining financial and operational stability. The board is now asked to approve these goals as the formal foundation for Adrienne’s performance review for the remainder of the year.

Board member Davis suggested under Goal 1, to strike the last point, "no last minute crisis escalations due to unclear roles or missed deliverables", and change the wording to "successful process management with clear roles and timely completion of deliverables".

Board Chair Rodolfo expressed his satisfaction with the progress made during the month and a half of planning. He framed the current goal setting as the foundational phase of a multi-year journey toward a robust strategic plan for the organization. He emphasized that defining clear board expectations will provide the leadership team with the operational certainty they need to succeed.
 

Committee Chair Davis reported a productive Fiscal Oversight Committee meeting where the team established a new timeline to review financials one month in arrears. The committee also coordinated budget season planning and introduced Prasanth, a representative from Charter Impact. The update concludes with two formal recommendations for board approval: the updated fiscal policies and modifications to the second interim budgets.

Adrienne, CEO reported that AMPS is currently in charter renewal season, finalizing a support contract with 5Cs to remain on track for July submissions. She also highlighted a unanimous 5-0 approval from OUSD for DCA’s material revision and noted ongoing collaboration between DCA and OCA, including a recent student field trip.

Mary, Senior Director of Student Services and Special Education shared the success of the field trip where 73 OCA students in grades 6 and 7 visited the DCA campus to experience its academic environment and facilities. The visit, which included classroom tours and games on the school's popular playground, had an immediate impact on recruitment, with students accepting applications shortly after returning home. To build on this momentum, the DCA principal sent a personal follow-up letter to all participating OCA families to encourage further enrollment.

Adrienne highlighted successful site visits at DCA, OCA, and RCA, alongside ongoing leadership development with Lead Liberated and an upcoming senior leadership retreat. She also noted several key milestones, including DCA receiving multiple Raise the Bar awards, upcoming spring break closures, and the completion of critical financial compliance reports and audits.

Mary highlighted the success of recent site visits for 5th graders at RCA and the upcoming transition visit for 8th graders to John Henry High School to foster continuity between the campuses.

Board member Liz requested a future update on how AMPS will respond to recent state level announcements regarding the observance of Cesar Chavez Day.

Board Chair Rodolfo requested for an update on student enrollment at the next board meeting.

Board member Jorge requested specifically the strategies AMPS is doing to increase student enrollment. 

Adrienne, CEO outlined two fiscal policy updates to the incorporation of new federal spending thresholds and an increase in the approval authority for senior directors from $5,000 to $10,000.

Board member Liz recommended that the board approve the current fiscal policy amendments while noting that existing language already addresses gifts of public funds and contract limitations. She also advised adding a conflict of interest statement in a future version of the policy.

Board member Jorge asked about the necessity and function of a second interim budget report versus a single one, seeking to understand what specific changes typically occur between the two reporting periods.

Board Chair Rodolfo suggested that Jorge sync up with the leadership team to better understand the distinction between interim reports.

Adrienne, CEO explained that the budget update was necessary to correct clerical errors and typos related to LCFF funding for DCA and other sites. She clarified that despite these corrections, DCA maintains a strong fund balance and surplus, meeting all district requirements with a solid reserve percentage.

Marisol, Senior Director of Operations explained that the organization is facing a tight April 1 deadline to submit its E-Rate Category 2 application for a new five-year funding cycle. Due to the vendor scoring process being completed after the board meeting, she requested that the board authorize the CEO to approve a contract up to $751,737 to ensure the schools can secure up to $280,000 in federal funding for critical system updates.

Dennis, Director of Technology shared that the leadership team cannot yet provide finalized E-rate contracts because they are still undergoing a required 28-day review and scoring process. He noted that additional delays from federal government reviews and consultant timelines prevented them from delivering the documents that morning, requesting for the board to authorize the CEO to approve a contract within a specified price range instead.

Board member Davis asked for clarification on whether the $280,000 in E-rate funding and the potential $200,000 in negotiation savings would be deducted from the project's total cost, while also asking about the long-term lifespan of the new infrastructure.

Dennis clarifies that the E-rate contract includes both immediate components for the 2026-27 fiscal year and multi-year elements, specifically covering licensing and services.

Board member Liz recommended approving the fiscal impact not to exceed the highest bid, provided that the final contract undergoes insurance and legal review and is brought back to the board for formal ratification.

Board Chair Rodolfo expressed his support for authorizing the CEO to negotiate the E-Rate contract, noting that the existence of a competitive bidding process and third-party consultant oversight provided sufficient fiscal controls to justify board approval prior to formal ratification.

Board member Jorge asked for clarification on what E-Rate is.

Dennis explained that the E-rate proposal supports comprehensive building wide internet connectivity. The funding covers the AT&T service itself, internal hardware like firewalls, switches, and access points, as well as the necessary cabling and fiber modules required to integrate the entire system.