M. Harris called this meeting to order at 5:01 PM on September 3, 2025.

No one was present for a public comment

• Susan discussed the fundraising results from last year being just shy of goal due to there being less support at Midtown
• Factored this into the goal for this year
• Reminder that the annual meeting is on October 8th

Annual Goals & Priorities

• Scholar achievement, scholar enrollment, scholar retention, talent retention, and maturing systems continue to be the cornerstones of the work we do

Tracking Goals & Priorities

• Updating the way we are monitoring and reporting on work based on feedback received from the board and board committees
• Updating progress monitoring dashboard, introducing a new enterprise monitoring dashboard, new board metrics tracker and new community engagement dashboard
• This will allow a deeper analysis and ensures data is accessible and clear

Tools & Philosophy Shift

• Focusing on a strong execution of academic strategy - partnering with Simply Great Schools
• SGS shares a commitment to clarity, alignment, simplicity, and relentless execution of a shared vision towards clear agreed-outcomes
• Our challenge is a lack of relentless execution not a lack of innovation
• We have developed the tools, resources, and partnerships to support staff in execution

Scholar Population

• 4/5 campuses are at or above the budget floor
• Breakthrough Southeast is lagging a bit but this is expected as we adjust the structure of the school in response to SY24-25 challenges

School-Based Staffing

• This is one of the most successful years so far with staffing and the minimal open positions

Summer Operations Readiness

• Facilities - 75+ projects
• Technology - Improving/updating technology tools
• Operations - New transportation contractor and new food service vendor

Summer Professional Development

• New Teacher Summer Institute and the All Staff Summer Institute had the majority of respondents strongly agree that presenters were prepared, content was relevant, sessions were meaningful and aligned to the things that BPS says are important
• We had some logistical feedback on expectations during "work time", access issues with materials, and a need for a more structured differentiation
• There are already discussions on how we can improve the logistical feedback items for the remainder of the year
• Ultimately, the majority of teachers felt better prepared for the school year, were set up for success, and left the PD days with a stronger grasp on expectations and support

Misc.

• There was a question regarding if there is a plan in place for staff who fall off the path
• Response: Staff will have the same coach all year - support system will grow if we see there are areas where the staff member needs extra help. With this idea, the hope is no one falls off track and support is given before they fall off the path
• Within week one, if teachers are not meeting expectations, they have mandatory clinics to partake in to help get staff back on track
• Aditi wanted to add that the all staff PD had a great response from staff and she spoke to multiple people who were appreciative of the level of coaching and clarity there was while starting the year

July 2025 Financial Summary

• June 2025 summaries were in the packet and there will be another update after the audit
• The cash drop is not a surprise - right on track with our use of reserves
• Deficit is lower which is conservative - no reason to believe we won't meet budget
• All of the schools are meeting the sponsor benchmarks - no reason to believe this will change
• Last year's FTEs are being paid until October, so if those are in the report, that is why

State Forecasting Changes

• Normally in October and May - this is changing and will now be in August and February
• FY26 forecast delayed to October 15, 2025

Finance Committee

• Adding per-pupil expense KPIs
• Disaggregating campus-level financials for more actionable items

EMIS Reporting

• Formal corrections were submitted today (9/3) for student enrollment 
• FTE counts in July were not accurate - this issue was raised and corrected
• Will increase the frequency of FTE submissions - we are getting more proactive in reporting as a response to the errors

No questions on the NLT Reports

Michelle walked us through the Academic Excellence Committee 

• Excited to step into the committee chair role
• Met with Andrew and Dr. Day who expressed that this year had the best opening day - kids felt safe, welcome, and excited.
• Congratulations and shoutouts regarding enrollment, growth, and no leader vacancies.
• Andrew highlighted a couple of the new leadership roles and structure to support in academics - starting the school year with a fully staffed team, new CAO, new Head of Schools, new Managing Director of Schools, restaffed Curriculum and Coaching team, Director of Scholar Wellness, Director of Scholar Experience, and a Project Director.
• Dr. Day talked about the need for professional development that is structured. We decided to create a leadership development week where leaders receive either a half or full day of professional development.
• Tracking curriculum fidelity to ensure teachers are using curriculum the way that they should be. First tracking will be in October so we can assign teachers to tiers to know how to support them. 
• Grady added that it's impressive the amount of work and development that has been done up front for the school year.

There were no further notes to add - everything was covered during the financial update. No further questions.

• Aditi covered the Governance Committee updates since Cecil is out
• Thankful for the retreat attendance - continuing the evolution of what the board and staff need to be focused on
• Synthesizing the board's priorities - plan to share at the October board meeting
• Committee leaders got together to discuss what each committee wants to do and accomplish so the leaders can act as the stewards in those goals
• Solidified the date for the board orientation - September 17th
• Juliet discussed that we stamped who is assigned to each committee which can be found in the packet
• More to come from the Governance Committee in the coming months

Sanjay discussed the CEO Support & Evaluation meetings with Andrew from over the summer

• The confidence from Andrew and the team are items that the board buys into 
• Excited to see the data summaries that Andrew discussed earlier in the meeting

• Fall site visits are scheduled - CMSD looks at classrooms and shares an informative report and also looks at SPED records, and student enrollment files
• COI forms were sent out via DocuSign
• Report card results will come out in the next week and a half - if any schools didn't meet the standards, there will be a letter that is sent out about what needs to change

• Lookout for an email from Emily for the board roster and disclosures
• No monthly board report for the month
• Should have received a tier 3 letter that requires a corrective action plan

With R. Novak's departure, the School Board adjourned its executive session and no longer had a quorum.