Cirrus Charter Academy
Minutes
CEG - Finance Committee Meeting
Date and Time
Wednesday July 16, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Location
Committee Members Present
L. Golphin (remote), L. Taylor (remote), N. Lewis (remote), S. Kelly (remote)
Committee Members Absent
T. Olagunju
Guests Present
C. Blake, Cirrus Staff
I. Opening Items
A.
Call the Meeting to Order
B.
Record Attendance
C.
Approve Minutes
II. CFO Report
A.
June Financial Overview
III. Items for Review
A.
Federal Funding Update
Diane Freeman reported on federal funding changes, noting that Title 2 and Title 4 funding would be cut by 50%, while Title 1 funding would increase based on poverty levels.
B.
Board on Track Intro
Chantelle Blake presented an overview of the Board on Track platform, a user-friendly governance tool designed for charter schools in Georgia. She demonstrated its features, including meeting management, voting, compliance, and document storage.
C.
Facilities Update
Wendy Grimes provided a comprehensive facilities update, noting that HVAC repairs are ongoing with parts expected in September. She mentioned progress on painting, furniture acquisition, and office reorganization, while several projects like the fence and kitchen stove remain on hold pending budget approval.
D.
Pitsco Program Implementation Discussion
Chair Finley and Chair Kelly discussed a proposed Pitsco education program implementation, with Barry expressing concerns about the short timeline given the large investment and upcoming school start date. Thomas, from Pitsco presented a K-8 curriculum proposal.
IV. Items for Approval
A.
May Financial Summary
Mr Gregg Stevens had to leave the meeting but would present this item at the July governing board meeting.
B.
Hays Maintenance Contract - $44,000
C.
Flylight Contract
Board requests that the SY25 contract and SY26 contract be sent to them for review and placed on the BOT portal. The committee would like to table the discussion until the August Finance Committee meeting on the SY26 Flylight contract until we can check whether items from the current contract have been fulfilled.
D.
Science Curriculum
The leadership team discussed and approved two new curricula: Amplify Core Knowledge for reading (K-8) at $66,000 and Stem Scopes for science at $28,000. Both curricula are recommended by Georgia Department of Education and meet ESSA standards, with Amplify Core Knowledge being Tier 1 evidence-rated.
E.
Reading Curriculum
While the ELA curriculum received initial approval, there was significant debate about whether to implement the STEM curriculum from Pitsco or Stemscopes, with concerns raised about timing, cost, and implementation feasibility.
V. Other Business
A.
Ejection of Committee Member
Due to disruptive behavior, the Finance Committee Chair Golphin requested that Committee Member Finley first be muted and then removed from the meeting. The removal was made to maintain order and allow the committee to proceed with its agenda.
Chair Golphin shared the CFO report was not ready for this committee meeting, but will be presented at the Governing Board meeting.