Breakthrough Public Schools
Minutes
Breakthrough Public Schools Joint Board Meeting
Date and Time
Wednesday October 20, 2021 at 5:00 PM
Location
Citizens Southeast Cafeteria
15700 Lotus Drive
Cleveland, OH 44128
15700 Lotus Drive
Cleveland, OH 44128
Meeting of the Boards of Breakthrough Public Schools, Citizens Academy Southeast, Citizens Leadership Academy, Citizens Leadership Academy East, Village Preparatory School Cliffs, Village Preparatory School Willard, and Village Preparatory School Woodland Hills.
Directors Present
A. Davis, A. KOPIT, B. Schlang, C. Tancer, D. Eisenberg, J. Howard, J. Johnson, K. San Marco (remote), L. Zucca, P. Harris, S. Steinhouse, Y. Saunders-Polk
Directors Absent
A. Lee, Q. James
Guests Present
A. McRae, A. Prass, D. Mangen, E. Wilkins-Copeland, H. Halleen, J. McBride, M. Johnston, P. Schaar, R. Johnson, S. Ertle, S. Wernet, T. Thornton
I. Opening Items
A.
Call the Meeting to Order
Call to Order: Jennifer Howard, Chair, BPS Board called the meeting to order at 5:03 pm welcoming Ralph Johnson, our new CEO of Breakthrough. Alan Kopit, Chair, School Boards called the School Board meetings to order at 5:03 pm.
J. Howard called a meeting of the board of directors of Breakthrough Public Schools to order on Wednesday Oct 20, 2021 at 5:03 PM.
B.
Record Attendance
C.
Welcome Ralph Johnson!
D.
BPS Board Votes to Approve Minutes from 9/1/21 Special Board Meeting
C. Tancer made a motion to approve the minutes from Special Meeting of the Board of Breakthrough Public Schools on 09-01-21.
L. Zucca seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
E.
BPS and School Boards Vote to Approve 9/14/21 Joint Board Meeting Minutes
P. Harris made a motion to approve the minutes from Breakthrough Public Schools Joint Board Meeting on 09-14-21.
S. Steinhouse seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
A. Kopit requested a motion to approve the Joint BPS School Board minutes of 09/14/21. Linda Zucca so moved and Amonica Davis seconded and all were in favor. Motion carried.
II. Public Comment
A.
School Boards Public Comment
None.
B.
Public Comment - LEA's use of IDEA Part B Funds
None.
III. Academic Excellence
A.
Fall iReady Results
A. McRae provided an overview of the fall iReady outcomes stating a full analysis was shared in the Board materials supplemented with a PowerPoint presentation. Andrew stated that overall while we saw lower diagnostic scores there were some schools performing higher. Schools that performed higher included Village Prep Willard and Village Prep Cliffs with noticeably higher scores in Math. CLAE and E Prep Woodland Hills continue to have a sizeable portion of their student populations who are performing very low in Math and Reading.
B.
Academic Excellence Committee Updates
D. Eisenberg provided the update stating there’s a lot going on and more discussion would follow later in the meeting.
IV. Family Partnership, Enrollment, and Marketing
A.
Enrollment Update
Enrollment Update – A. Prass provided the update highlighting the following:
- Distributed copies of the latest enrollment report and enrollment narrative
- The Enrollment report does not allow for or incorporate our summer loss – report reflects last day of school up to the first day of school and through 9/30
- Report focuses on the students that should be with us and how many left up until 9/30
- Enrollment report consists of the students/families that we have and new families that our Enrollment team worked hard to attract
- Will continue to enroll until March/April
V. Talent
A.
Staffing Update
School Staffing Update – J. Younker provided the update supplemented with a PowerPoint Presentation highlighting the following:
- Review of teacher shortages across the nation and at Breakthrough
- Challenges in STEM/Math hard to fill
- 129 new hires this season and still not seeing new talent coming in as we see it going out – seeing a continued trickle of exists
- Working on new strategies to fill the gap and stop staff from leaving – utilizing virtual intervention specialists and staffing agencies
B.
Total Rewards Update
J. Younker provided the update stating we are still collecting a lot of the data, met with the Finance Committee and will share more information later.
VI. Finance
A.
September 2021 Financial Reports
September 2021 Financial Reports – Doug shared the Schools and BPS highlights from September 2021 financial report included in the Board materials.
Action of All School Boards – A. Kopit raised approval of the September 2021 Schools Financial Reports. Sam Steinhouse so moved, and Linda Zucca seconded, and all were in favor. Motion carried.
Action of BPS Board – J. Howard raised approval of the September 2021 BPS Financial Reports. Cynthia Tancer so moved, and Danielle Eisenberg seconded, and all were in favor. Motion carried.
B.
Approval of Revised FY22 Budget Matrices and Five-Year Forecast submissions
Action of All School Boards – A. Kopit raised approval of the FY22 Budget Matrices and Five-Year Forecast submissions Resolution. Linda Zucca so moved, and Joy Johnson seconded, and all were in favor. Motion carried.
C.
Financial Committee Updates
Doug provided the update stating the organization remains fiscally healthy and sound and previewed the projected year-end deficit numbers for BPS schools (-$250K) and for BPS/CMO (-$800-$1M)). Doug then provided an update on the PPP dollars received ($4.7M) with another potential ($1.6M) coming and very fortunate to be in this position. Doug explained that the challenge is not FY22 but next year and the year after as we determine what our projections will be, what our assumptions are going into next year, and the need to really get it right in order to remain fiscally sound. Doug shared that we are also starting the FY23 budgeting process now and planning to prepare a one Breakthrough budgeting process for FY23 as one District (consolidating the schools, FOB and BPS).
VII. Governance
A.
Governance Committee Updates
K. San Marco provided the update stating the Governance Committee meeting is scheduled for later in the month and planning to meet with Diana Starks regarding the Human Resources Advisory Committee regarding candidates.
VIII. CEO Support Committee
A.
CEO Support Committee Updates
P. Harris provided the update stating the Committee will meet next Monday and the topic will be CEO Support & Evaluation.
IX. Network Updates
A.
Health and Safety Updates
T. Thornton provided the update supplemented with a PowerPoint presentation highlighting the following:
- Still navigating the surge that started in July
- Summary of COVID case activity through Friday, 10/8
- Summary of quarantined students and reasons
- Review of key strategies to continue to improve and keep staff and scholars healthy, safe, and in school
B.
BPS Board Votes to Approve Refreshed Cleveland Plan
For BPS Board vote: Jennifer Howard raised approval of the Refreshed Cleveland Plan. Cynthia Tancer so moved, Danielle Eisenberg seconded, and all were in favor. Motion carried.
C.
BPS Board Ratifies Updated Casualty/Liability Insurance Contract Package
D. Mangen and S. Wernet provided the background on updating the insurance contract. Doug stated we are recommending the Board’s approval to move forward with a lower umbrella insurance coverage than we currently have.
Jennifer Howard raised approval of the Updated Casualty/Liability Insurance Contract Package. Alan Kopit so moved, Cynthia Tancer seconded, and all were in favor.
D.
Annual Plan Qualitative Dashboard
P. Schaar stated the Dashboard was not included in the board materials this month. The Leadership Team has decided to take a step back and look at our Annual Plan priorities along with our current priorities and do a reassessment. An updated Dashboard will be provided at the next meeting.
X. School Boards Consent Agenda
A.
School Boards Vote to Approve Consent Agenda
Action of All School Boards – A. Kopit raised approval of the Schools Board Consent Agenda. Linda Zucca so moved, and Sam Steinhouse seconded, and all were in favor. Motion carried.
XI. Sponsor Updates
A.
CMSD Updates
CMSD updates provided in the Board materials.
B.
Buckeye Updates
Buckeye Updates provided in the Board materials.
XII. FOB Update
A.
FOB Updates
Susan Ertle provided the update highlighting the following:
- J. Zitzner working to schedule meetings with both (FOB/BPS) Board members for a discussions on how things are functioning, experiences, etc.
- Fundraising for Alumni Success program coming along very well
- FOB Conversation with Alumni Success Program staff scheduled for Wednesday, October 27 at noon at 12:30pm via Zoom
XIII. Executive Session
A.
Executive Session of the Board of Citizens Leadership Academy East
There being no further business for the School Boards meeting, A. Kopit requested a motion to adjourn the meeting and requested the Board CLAE to move into Executive Session with roll call at 6:23pm to discuss an employment issue and requested the BPS Board to remain.
B.
Executive Session of the Board of Breakthrough Public Schools
XIV. Closing Items
A.
Adjourn Meeting
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 7:15 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
J. Howard