Research Triangle High School
Minutes
Monthly RTHS Board Meeting
Date and Time
Wednesday June 21, 2023 at 5:30 PM
Location
Virtual Only - https://rthighschool.zoom.us/j/93566460638
Directors Present
A. Tobien (remote), C. Coia (remote), D. Requena (remote), G. Rodgers (remote), J. Corn (remote), M. Babb (remote), S. Carty Vetere (remote), S. Hunter (remote)
Directors Absent
D. Milne James, E. Cunningham, S. Rivers-Kobler
Directors who left before the meeting adjourned
J. Corn
Guests Present
A. Goldstein (remote), A. Griffin (remote), A. Soulashinh (remote), Adhav Kumar (remote), Aiden (remote), Aimee Rhodes (remote), Allen (remote), Andrea Marritt-Pabalate (remote), B. Mitchell (remote), Bryan Setser (remote), Caroline Hill (remote), Christina Valente (remote), Cindy McCracken (remote), Courtney Trent (remote), E. Balazs (remote), Jenni J (remote), Jennifer Stancil (remote), Jessica Stokes (remote), Joe C (remote), K. Baker (remote), Karen Southern (remote), Kim (remote), Kristen Cook (remote), Laura Sun (remote), Leigh McKay (remote), Lorri Brown (remote), Maddie (remote), Mark Stevenson (remote), N. Haischer (remote), Peter Vetere (remote), Robin Chasse (remote), S. Anderle (remote), S. Jones (remote), S. Kaufman (remote), Sarah (remote), Sarah Anderle (remote), Scott (remote), Shahnaz Khan (remote), Shanon Schuster (remote), Shelley Jones (remote), Stacey Kaufman (remote), Susan Marie (remote), T. Mills-Silver (remote), Toni Patterson (remote), YK Song (remote)
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
II. Approve Board Minutes
A.
Board Meeting Minutes
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| D. Milne James |
Absent
|
| S. Rivers-Kobler |
Absent
|
| E. Cunningham |
Absent
|
| S. Carty Vetere |
Aye
|
| S. Hunter |
Aye
|
| A. Tobien |
Aye
|
| D. Requena |
Aye
|
| C. Coia |
Aye
|
| J. Corn |
Aye
|
| M. Babb |
Aye
|
| G. Rodgers |
Aye
|
B.
Special Board Meeting Minutes
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| M. Babb |
Aye
|
| D. Requena |
Aye
|
| D. Milne James |
Absent
|
| S. Hunter |
Aye
|
| S. Rivers-Kobler |
Absent
|
| J. Corn |
Aye
|
| E. Cunningham |
Absent
|
| C. Coia |
Aye
|
| A. Tobien |
Aye
|
| G. Rodgers |
Aye
|
| S. Carty Vetere |
Aye
|
III. Executive Session - Personnel
A.
Discuss Personnel
IV. Vote - Personnel
A.
Vote
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| G. Rodgers |
Aye
|
| J. Corn |
Aye
|
| S. Hunter |
Aye
|
| M. Babb |
Aye
|
| E. Cunningham |
Absent
|
| S. Carty Vetere |
Absent
|
| D. Requena |
Aye
|
| A. Tobien |
Aye
|
| S. Rivers-Kobler |
Absent
|
| C. Coia |
Aye
|
| D. Milne James |
Absent
|
B.
Update
V. Public Comments
A.
Open to all stakeholders (parents, staff, other)
Shahnaz Khan - parent, comment to the Board to focus on staff retention, concerns about Mr. Guilford and Ms.Casar. Retention of science teachers.
Allen L - parent, asking Board to improve communication and response time, expressed concerns about the teacher turnovers - how many different teachers per subject his son has gone thru this year, and concerns about the state of the school
Susan Marie, parent, echoed previous parent comments, advocating for teacher support and building community
Christina Valente - budget and financial concerns, asking about Joey Webb's contract.
Kim, parent - concerns about IEP, her experience with her son at the school, also advocating for teachers and the special ed culture
B.
Parent Advisory Committee
PAC - Aimee Rhodes commented:
- Teacher retention issues
- Gratitude on hearing of Mr. Elliot's resignation
- Children concerns
- Gratitude - for Setser group audit and consultation Brian and Caroline
- PAC wants to be engaged
C.
Open Comments to the Teachers _ Others
Elizabeth Balazs - teacher, 15 years, what comes next, include teachers on the conversations?
Stacey Kaufman - teachers are interested in participating
Alan Goldstein - math openings and how to proceed with interviews
- Brian and Jeni will be involved in interviews
- Focus Culture at RTHS - handled or mishandled, behaviors
Kristen Cook - clarification that Mr. Elliot's employment is until the fiscal year end
Sarah Overman - 12 months employees whom do they report? C.Coia to provide response by end of the week
Jen Stancil - parent square communication also going to the students. Bryan and Caroline from Setser group posting the emails on chat:
- Caroline@228accelerator.com
- Bryan@setsergroup.com
VI. Setser Group Update
A.
Update
Bryan Setser and Caroline - Setzer group - Draft of a Path Forward
Bryan Setser presented a culture assessment and roadmap:
- internal perspectives
- internal data and documents
- external research & analysis
RTHS Re-Imagination:
- Transition Leadership Team
- Transition Team
Caroline Hill presented on
- attention - relationships (how are we working differently and healing)
- intention (keeping the intention together - school mission) - Why we are here
Setser Group Contact emails:
- Caroline@228accelerator.com
- Bryan@setsergroup.com
VII. RTHS Report
A.
Development Update
No Development update at this board meeting
B.
Enrollment
Brandon Mitchell provided an update on enrollment and that we are on target
C.
Governance Updates
New board members interviews are ongoing
Bylaws - ad-hoc membership, pronouns update, legal template update and other legal updates; expected for vote on next Board meeting
D.
Finance Update
C.Coia surplus ~50k and debt to coverage ratio met of 1.27
C.Coia provided details to Christina Valente's comments
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| S. Hunter |
Aye
|
| S. Rivers-Kobler |
Absent
|
| E. Cunningham |
Absent
|
| D. Milne James |
Absent
|
| J. Corn |
Absent
|
| M. Babb |
Aye
|
| C. Coia |
Aye
|
| G. Rodgers |
Aye
|
| S. Carty Vetere |
Aye
|
| A. Tobien |
Aye
|
| D. Requena |
Aye
|
C.Coia commented on the transition and priorities to retain teachers.