Northwood Academy Charter School
Minutes
Board of Trustees Monthly Meeting
Date and Time
Wednesday December 18, 2019 at 5:30 PM
Location
Northwood Academy Charter School (4621 Castor Avenue)
Trustees Present
J. Marshall, J. Williams, K. Maddox, K. Spraga, M. Bly (remote), V. Jefferson
Trustees Absent
D. Madison
Guests Present
A. Hollister, Amy Kelly, C. Carey, K. Dugan, Sommer Sigler, T. Hunt, Tony Repice
I. Opening Items
A.
Call the Meeting to Order
J. Williams called a meeting of the board of trustees of Northwood Academy Charter School to order on Wednesday Dec 18, 2019 at 5:30 PM.
B.
Record Attendance and Guests
C.
Resolution 121819.001: Approval of Agenda
M. Bly made a motion to approve the minutes from Board of Trustees Monthly Meeting on 11-20-19.
K. Spraga seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
D.
Resolution 121819.002: Approval of Minutes
K. Maddox made a motion to approve the minutes of the November 20, 2019 meeting of the Northwood Academy Charter School Board of Trustees.
V. Jefferson seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| M. Bly |
Aye
|
| K. Maddox |
Aye
|
| J. Marshall |
Abstain
|
| D. Madison |
Absent
|
| K. Spraga |
Aye
|
| V. Jefferson |
Aye
|
| J. Williams |
Aye
|
E.
Community Comment
Ms. Sommer Sigler, parent of a 7th grade scholar, spoke before the Board to advocate for a change to the Upper School Uniform. Ms. Sigler would like following suggestions to be considered:
- Black or Khaki pants with the Northwood Polo Shirt
- Jeans with Northwood Gear for Dress Down Fridays
II. Finance
A.
Resolution 121819.003: Annual Audit Report
J. Marshall made a motion to approve the annual audit report as presented by Barbacane, Thornton & Company, LLC.
V. Jefferson seconded the motion.
Northwood is being issued a clean opinion with no findings.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
B.
Resolution 121819.004: Approval of Financials
K. Maddox made a motion to approve the Financial Report and all supporting documents submitted by the Business Controller, which shall be incorporated in the record of this meeting.
J. Williams seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
III. Committee Reports
A.
Finance Committee
J. Marshall (Committee Chair) officilaly requested that all purchases, projects, etc that would have a budget impact to be submitted to the Finance Committee for review and discussion.
B.
Governance Committee
Board President received draft renewal document and will send to Committee Chair to review areas of governace feedback. Upon review by the Committee Chair, an action plan will be submmitted for further discussion with Board President and CEO.
C.
Human Resource Committee
K. Spraga gave update of last committee meeting and highlighted the following:
The Committee has identified the following 5 areas of concern based on the survey results:
• Discipline
• Lower School Counselor
• Professional Development (Act 48 hours / Content / Prep)
• Technology
• Leadership
Next Steps:
• Communication with full Board and staff via email (By end of this week)
• Communication with staff regarding Lower School Counselor (Wednesday of next
week)
• Administration develop Action Plans (Immediate)
• Staff Focus Groups facilitated by Total HR (January)
• Morale will be added as a topic for feedback but an action plan will not be developed
• Focus Group Summary provided by Total HR (January 31, 2020)
• Action Plan submitted to HR Sub-Committee (February 19, 2020)
• HR Committee Meeting (if needed) to address Action Plans (March 4, 2020)
• Action Plans vetted and updates reported during monthly Board Meetings
The Committee has identified the following 5 areas of concern based on the survey results:
• Discipline
• Lower School Counselor
• Professional Development (Act 48 hours / Content / Prep)
• Technology
• Leadership
Next Steps:
• Communication with full Board and staff via email (By end of this week)
• Communication with staff regarding Lower School Counselor (Wednesday of next
week)
• Administration develop Action Plans (Immediate)
• Staff Focus Groups facilitated by Total HR (January)
• Morale will be added as a topic for feedback but an action plan will not be developed
• Focus Group Summary provided by Total HR (January 31, 2020)
• Action Plan submitted to HR Sub-Committee (February 19, 2020)
• HR Committee Meeting (if needed) to address Action Plans (March 4, 2020)
• Action Plans vetted and updates reported during monthly Board Meetings
D.
Strategic Planning Committee
A. Hollister gave an update on the committee meeting that was held on December 4th. She will provide the exact cost for the Independent Proposal for the strategic plan work.
E.
Student Achievement Committee
K Maddox (Committee Chair) requested a meeting with C.Carey after the winter break regarding Math Curriculum changes.
IV. Staff Reports
A.
CEO
Board reviewed the December 2019 CEO report and supporting documents, previously
submitted by A. Hollister.
Discussion Included:
submitted by A. Hollister.
Discussion Included:
- A Hollister will submit the renewal document at the January meeting.
- New parent survey information was expanded upon. This will include identifying the top areas of concern from the survey and providing a define feedback loop. Top 2 or 3 will be identified to the board in April and a final presentation will be given to the board in May.
- Talent Review please add a February 28th to the last section of the proposal with final submission to the board at the March meeting. The first payment will be sent to T Hunt by 12/20.
- Please provide documentation in a more timely manner (specifically renewal). Provide an executive summary of the findings (who was the student, what was the cost and how do we move forward) to the board with an action plan for internal controls moving forward at the January meeting. The final audit report and the renewal draft will be sent to the board by Friday, 12/20. The board will ask T Taylor for clarification on how the repayment to the SDP.
B.
Principal
Board reviewed the December 2019 Principal report and supporting documents, previously
submitted by C Carey.
Discussion Included:
submitted by C Carey.
Discussion Included:
- Board would like a feedback loop for the internal student survey that is given.
- C. Carey will review the gum and locker portions of the document resented.
- The possible new math curriculum will have a budget impact. Must be presented by April.
C.
Student Services
Board reviewed the December 2019 Student Services report and supporting documents, previously
submitted by P. Friedman.
Discussion Included:
submitted by P. Friedman.
Discussion Included:
- Compensatory Ed Hours
- Due Process and associated costs
D.
Operations
Board reviewed the December 2019 Operations report and supporting documents, previously
submitted by K. Dugan.
Discussion Included:
submitted by K. Dugan.
Discussion Included:
- PECO (lights in the parking lot). If no progress is achieved with PECO by next month, we will seek alternative sources/options for lighting.
- Bus Incident
- Safety Incidents based on the new reporting requirements for the Safety Coordinator.
E.
Human Resources
Board reviewed the December 2019 Human Resources report and supporting documents, previously
submitted by T. Hunt.
Discussion Included:
submitted by T. Hunt.
Discussion Included:
- HR Initiative Timeline
- Key Performance Indicator
V. Unfinished Business
A.
Resolution 121819.005: Job Descriptions
J. Marshall made a motion to adopt the amended Community Coordinator Job Description and Community Coordinator plan to reflect the dual Job Title of Community/Career Readiness Coordinator.
K. Spraga seconded the motion.
Goals will be developed within the next few weeks for evaluation purposes for the balance of the year. Job responsibilities will be categorized with percentages utilizing the PDQ process and presented during the May 20th Board Meeting.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
B.
Resolution 121819.006: Independent Consultant Proposal
J. Marshall made a motion to accept and ratify the proposal of Lauren Iannucilli as an Indepedent Consultant to include statement of work, stakeholder engagement, dashboard development and finalized action plan developement at a rate of $120/hr not to exceed $10,000 with the following timeline:
February 19, 2020: Part 1: Stakeholder Engagement, list of stakeholders and questions presented to Board.
March 18, 2020: Part 2: Goals and Dashboard presented to Board.
April 15, 2020: Part 3: Final Action Plan presented to Board.
V. Jefferson seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| M. Bly |
Abstain
|
| K. Spraga |
Aye
|
| J. Williams |
Aye
|
| K. Maddox |
Aye
|
| D. Madison |
Absent
|
| V. Jefferson |
Aye
|
| J. Marshall |
Aye
|
VI. New Business
A.
Resolution 121819.007: Personnel
K. Maddox made a motion to accept the personnel changes, modifications and additions as presented in the attached Key Performance Indicator (KPI).
M. Bly seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
B.
Resolution 121819.008: Strategic Talent Review Proposal
K. Spraga made a motion to accept and ratify the Strategic Talent Review Proposal submitted by Total HR Solutions, LLC to develop a formal talent review process at a cost of $14.080.
J. Williams seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| J. Williams |
Aye
|
| K. Maddox |
Aye
|
| D. Madison |
Absent
|
| K. Spraga |
Aye
|
| M. Bly |
No
|
| J. Marshall |
Aye
|
| V. Jefferson |
Aye
|
VII. EXECUTIVE SESSION
A.
Legal
J. Williams made a motion to ENTER executive session.
V. Jefferson seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
K. Spraga made a motion to ENTERED open session.
K. Maddox seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
VIII. Closing Items
A.
Adjourn Meeting
J. Marshall made a motion to adjourn the meeting.
K. Spraga seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 8:53 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
M. Bly