H. Dulgeroglu called in to the Finance Committee Meeting.  B. Valentine-Watts came to the Committee Meeting but had to leave early at 11 am.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

The agenda was voted on with two revisions
1- The Core 3 report by the OEI was postponed to the January board meeting.
2- Approval of Toby Miller as new Finance Committee Chair

R. Ernst opened the floor for public input. No pubic input was given.

The minutes were approved with to changes, 
1. M. Gonulalan was not present at the meeting, it could not change it in the minutes but it is noted.
2. The last paragraph in the Academic Excellence Committee notes, Reads - We will discuss the closure further at the December board meeting - It is changed to read - The South closure discussion will be continued at the  Governance Committee  Meeting on December 21, 2017.

M. Dundar informed the board as to why he had to leave the board, he works long hours and didn't feel he could be present as he should be on the board.

R. Ernst presented him with a plaque thanking him for his 9 years of service to the IMSA board. 

M. Chisely shared that he and M. Dunn had talked and they thought it would be good to take a look at classroom instruction.  M. Dunn shared 2 videos that he recorded of one 4th grade math teacher and a 7th grade ELA teacher.  These videos showed the class and the steps of their process: The beginning the middle and the end of the lesson. One of the things they are looking a is what goes on in the classroom and how much time they have in the classroom.  The math and ELA classes are 90 minutes, social studies are 90 minutes every other day and the remainder of the classes are 45 minutes.  They are also addressing differentiation with I do, We do, and You do. The Asst. Principals of Academics ( APA's) are doing the spot check in the classrooms throughout the week. 
 

Before the finance committee report, B. Guler announced that he was stepping down as the Finance Committee Chair effective immediately.  T. Miller, a current member of the finance committee will assume the position of Committee chair.

The board approved T. Miller unanimously as the new chair of the Finance Committee.

T. Miler reported that the committee is really digging in to see what we are being charged by some of our vendors.  They are also looking at how we can do better, their intent is not to micromanage but to really understand what our expenses are and how we can save. How they can master school finance by helping to provide an aggressive revenue plan along with best practices.  

For IMSA North there was nothing out of the ordinary, they separated out the donations and the instructional staff categories so that they can be tracked individually.  The revenue is starting to come in now.  School supplies are over budget at this point, There will be some additional reallocations will be made at the February budget revision meeting.

They are also currently working with the bank (BMO Harris) so that we can incur fewer charges. The work will be finalized by the end of this fiscal year.

T. Miller went over the finances for IMSA West.  The Textbook and Supplies are over budget for this time at 97%, School supplies are over budget at this point, There will be some additional reallocations will be made at the February budget revision meeting.

T. Miller discussed the attrition rate and the fact that since there is only one actual  ADM count it won't hurt the budget as much.  
O. Secen talked about the grants that North has applied for: They have been approved for the Title IV grant with the amount of $78,000 and the SIG grant they did not get and that was $700,000 plus.  There are two other grants that are in process The 21st Century Grant $300,000 for a tutoring program and also the Counseling grant. He will update the board as they get more information.  

T. Miller stated that we invest well in Papa Johns and Jimmy Johns and we need to look for opportunities for better relationships with these folks.

There was also an audit expense for Donovan CPA, then the building rent and transportation are their biggest expenses.  M. Chisely asked if we were over or under on any items? So far just the textbook/supplies.  R. Ernst asked if the audit company will report to the board in January of the results of the audit? M. Arslan will check into that.  H. Menendez stated that this is a common practice for schools to have their auditor report back their findings.

T. Miller shared that the Admin team meets monthly before the board meeting to go over the budget.  There is also a line item in the financials where we pay almost $1200 to the Marion County Storm Water Management, the finance committee along with the treasurer will work on this to see what this is pertaining to and do we really owe it.  

R. Ernst shared that the Governance Committee will continue the South closure discussion at the next Governance Committee Meeting.  The items they will  discuss are some questions that came up in regard to the closing process:

• What was missed during the time we were receiving low grades on performance?
• What ques were missed or ignored that would have lead to more rapid action?
• What performance statistics were missing, misinterpreted or ignored that could have led to more effective corrective action?
• What could school leadership and Board have done differently to mitigate the performance issues?
• What decisions were made (or not made) that in retrospect where insufficient or harmful to performance improvement?
• Now, what systems/procedures/policies are we putting in place to avoid this situation in the future?

R. Ernst will then report out to the board.  

J. Brown shared the new Legal Council Policy. It was asked if the Board Chair could contact the attorney and yes he can. It was requested that a change be made to the wording to read: If the attorneys are contact the Superintendents  office will notify the board chair. M. Arslan stated that some items such as student related items may not be brought to the board, however, school related items will be. We will provide a copy of the revised legal policy at the January meeting.

M. Arslan shared that he and M. Dunn have been working on the reviewing our existing policies. M. Dunn asked if these policy reviews should go through the Governance Committee and then be reported out to the board?  R. Ernst said that committees bring their items or policies to the board for approval.  B. Guler asked if the Governance Committee needs to do the approval for the committee items?  T. Miller stated that if they are acting as an Executive Committee then it is good, but are they really micromanaging at that point?
R. Ernst said all policies are board approved.  D. Pierson, The by-laws state what the Governance Committee can do.  M. Dunn, there are 200 pages of policy that you all need to know, There are some pieces that we need to be added.  How do you want it brought to the board?   R, Ernst said he trusts everyone and that there is a level of individuality.  The big policy should be Governance Committee and then go to individual committees. Discussed and then presented to the board.
T. Miller the concern is that we don't want people blindsided.  M. Dunn if we use the traditional Roberts Rules of Order they should eliminate that from happening.
It was decided that the existing Policies will be reviewed by the Governance Committee. New policies will be presented to the full board for review and approval.

T. Miller shared that since he is now taking the Finance Committee Chair position, that Jim Sparks would take the chair position for the Development Committee.  The committee did not meet yet, however, he has spoken with B. Valentine-Watts and she is interested in being on the committee.  They should have an update at the next board meeting.  T. Miller is talking with KIPP to see what they are doing to raise money for their schools and see if we can incorporate some of their ideas.

O. Secen shared the highlights of IMSA North:

• Robotics Teams - Middle school is going to state championships  ~ Elementary is consistently coming in 2nd however they are determined to qualify for state as well ~ H/ S had their first competition today.
• They had over 300 science project compete at the Science Fair, and some of them will advance to the Regional Fair as well as to CONSEF. 
• They received the Title IV grant and will be able to build their electric go-kart and do the 3D workshops.
• Challenges - Enrollment and attrition as well as lack support staff.

 M. Atlihan shred highlights of IMSA West

• Robotics - Middle school is going to state championships
• They are participating in IMPD's writing contest
• A Teacher applied to Toys for Tots and they are donating a toy for the elementary kids and so,e will be used in the Tiger Store.
• Science Fair in February
• Saturday School has had approximately 60 students attending
• They are also looking to possibly add Pre-K - they visited an IPS Pre-K and it was very encouraging.

Both schools will send the Robotics schedule to the board, so they may attend.  O. Secen will also send the basketball schedule.  J. Sparks asked if we had sponsors for the Robotics and we do but minimally.  
 

T. Miller shared that he has enjoyed the Concept SIS website, it provides great information.  He also received some great feedback from a parent that he ran into.  D. Pierson received the Concept newsletter however, they do not receive the school newsletters.  They will be added to the schools list to receive them.  T.Miller met with Melissa Danisch from Board on Track, he talked to her about possibly coming to one of our board meetings to share some features of BOT.   R. Ernst requested that more school tours are done. M. Dunn said they will schedule more for the second half of the year.  He also asked about inviting staff , teachers and students to the board meeting. This will be discussed more to see how that would work best.