Ventura Charter School of Arts and Global Education
Minutes
Regular Board Meeting - May
Date and Time
Thursday May 29, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Location
Ventura Charter School of Arts and Global Education
2060 Cameron Street
Ventura CA 93001
Room 20
The Ventura Charter School of Arts and Global Education (“School”) welcomes your participation at the School’s Board meetings. The purpose of the public meeting of the Board of Directors (“Board”) is to conduct the affairs of the School in public. We are pleased that you are in attendance and hope that you will visit these meetings often. We honor our partners in education. We recognize that we are a collective group of teachers, parents, students, and community. We encourage written and verbal communication. Your participation is vital to the healthy operation of our school. Our guidelines:
- Agendas are available to all audience members at the door to the meeting and online at venturacharterschool.org
- “Request to Speak” forms are available to all audience members who wish to speak on any agenda item(s) or under the general category of “Oral Communications”.
- “Public Comments" is set aside for members of the audience to address the Board. However, due to public meeting laws, the Board can only listen to your issue, not respond or take action. These presentations are limited to five (5) minutes each and total time allotted to non-agenda items that will not exceed thirty (30) minutes. The Board may give direction to staff to respond to your concern or you may be offered the opinion of returning with a community-requested item.
- With regard to items that are on the agenda, you may specify that agenda item on your request form and you will be given an opportunity to speak for up to five (5) minutes when the Board discusses that item.
- When addressing the Board, speakers are requested to state their name and affiliation with the School.
- Community members may request that a topic related to School business be placed on future agenda in accordance with the guidelines in Board Governance Policy. Once such an item is properly agendized and publicly noticed, the Board can discuss, respond, and possibly act upon such an item.
- In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and upon request, the School may furnish reasonable auxiliary aids and services to qualified individuals with disabilities. Individuals who require appropriate alternative modification of the agenda in order to participate in Board meetings are invited to contact the Director’s office. To request assistance contact (805) 648-5503.
- Public requests for agenda and materials should be directed in writing to the Executive Director at lisa.h@venturacharterschool.us
- Board agendas for regular meetings are posted 72 hours in advance at www.venturacharterschool.org and at 2060 Cameron Street, Ventura, CA 93001.
Directors Present
Erika Dowd, Liz Smiley, Sam Estes, Skye Stifel, Tom Mc Nerney, Tricia McClain
Directors Absent
None
Ex Officio Members Present
Christi Sandbach, Lisa Hildebrand
Non Voting Members Present
Christi Sandbach, Lisa Hildebrand
Guests Present
Isabelle Rhode, Rudy Calasin
I. Opening Items
A.
Call the Meeting to Order
B.
Record Attendance and Guests
C.
Mission Statement
D.
Approval of Minutes for the Regular Board Meeting for April 17, 2025
E.
Approval of the Agenda
F.
Consent Agenda
The board was asked to approve the Consent Agenda:
-Ratification of attached check register, purchase orders, summary of revenue and expenditures for the month of April, 2025.
--Gifts to School:
--Credit Cards:
February
LHildebrand: $14,554.83
CSandbach: $1,617.35
-Personnel:
None
Hiring:
None
G.
Upcoming Events
--June 2 - VCS Finance Committee Meeting
--June 10-11:15 - Clap Out for K-4th Graders
- 4:45 - Promotion Picnic - 5th - 8th Graders
- 5:30 - Promotion - 5th - 8th Graders
- 8:30 - 10:30 - 5th - 8th Graders Skating Plus
--June 11 - Last Day of School Students
--June 13 - Last Day of School Teachers
--June 19 - Office Closed for Juneteenth
--June 26 - VCS Board Meeting
--July 1 - July 31 - VCS Office Closed
--August 1 - VCS Office Reopens
II. Communications
A.
Public Comments
None.
B.
President and Board Report
None.
C.
Board Committee Reports
Finance Committee will meet on June 2, 2025.
Board Nominating Committee met in May to consider an applicant for the Board.
D.
Teacher Report
None.
E.
Directors' Report
Christi and Lisa reported on end of year activities. Lisa also reported on her ongoing work with VUSD regarding the VCS aging facilities.
F.
VCOE Director of Charter School Support and Oversight Report
None.
III. Items Scheduled for Information, Discussion, and/or Action
A.
Board Nominating Committee
The Board Nominating Committee withdrew their recommendation for Benny Martinez to serve on the VCS Board due to a conflict of interest.
B.
Local Control Accountability Plan
The Board heard a presentation of the 25/26 Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP). The Board will vote on the LCAP at the regular June meeting of the Board of Directors.
C.
Dyslexia Screener - Amira
California law, specifically Education Code Section 53008, mandates that all public schools in California screen students in kindergarten through second grade for risk of reading difficulties, including dyslexia, using approved screener tools, beginning in the 2025-26 school year. Ventura Charter School requests Board approval to use the State Approved Amira dyslexia screener beginning in the 2025/2026 school year.
D.
J13-A Form
Ventura Charter School was closed due to the Mountain Fire on November 7th and 8th, 2025. The Request for Allowance of Attendance Due to Emergency Conditions, Form J-13A is used to obtain approval of attendance and instructional time credit pursuant to Education Code (EC) sections 41422, 46200, 46391, 46392, 46393 and California Code of Regulations (CCR), Title 5, Section 428. Approval of a Form J-13A request from the California Department of Education (CDE), combined with other attendance records, serve to document a local educational agency’s (LEA) compliance with instructional time laws and provide authority to maintain school for less than the required instructional days and minutes without incurring a fiscal penalty to the LEA’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) funding.
In the event of a closure due to emergency conditions there is not an immediate impact to LCFF funding and there is not a specific deadline to submit a Form J-13A, thus there is not an urgent need to file Form J-13A in the midst of the emergency event.
The Board was asked to approve the J13-A Form.
E.
MOU with Ventura County Office of Education Indian Education
F.
Forms 990 and 199
G.
Year End Resolutions
H.
Certificate of Signatures
IV. Other Business
A.
Future Topics
--LCAP 2024 Report
--2025 LCAP
B.
Board Meeting Check In
The Board checked in on their 2024/2025 goals:
VCS Board Goals for the 2024/2025 School Year:
Goal 1: Develop a well-governed organization- Governance Committee (Recruit diverse board members from the community, review/revise annual board survey.)
Goal 2: Students progressing towards the highest level of achievement.
Goal 3: Build community presence/outreach for a sustainable organization (Marketing plan, increase enrollment and a waiting list, promote VCS as a leader in education in Ventura County)
V. Closed Session
A.
Motion to go to Closed Session
B.
Return to Regular Session
C.
Report of Action Taken in Closed Session
No action taken.
Tom McNerney read the VCS mission statement:
VCS engages every student in meaningful and supportive learning experiences to grow resilient, educated, and socially intelligent human beings.