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The Meliora School

Minutes

Board Meeting

Date and Time

Tuesday January 20, 2026 at 7:00 PM

Location

Remote see details below

Directors Present

D. Stinson (remote), L. Hollon (remote), L. Hooda (remote), L. Ramdhanie (remote), P. Flinch (remote), Z. Mahmuda (remote)

Directors Absent

M. Powell

Guests Present

C. Keck (remote)

I. Opening Items

A.

Record Attendance

B.

Call the Meeting to Order

P. Flinch called a meeting of the board of directors of The Meliora School to order on Tuesday Jan 20, 2026 at 7:03 PM.

C.

Approve Agenda

P. Flinch made a motion to Approve the Agenda.
D. Stinson seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

D.

Approve Minutes from Previous Meeting

P. Flinch made a motion to approve the minutes from Board Meeting on 01-06-26.
D. Stinson seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

II. Recurring Items

A.

Head of School Report

Enrollment - 

  • 156 applications - exceed Year 1 enrollment target. 
  • Recommending an amendment to the enrollment policy
  • Live lottery on Friday (23 Jan 2026), in person and virtual. 
  • Indicators to move from application to enrollment - 10 days to accept their seat and get them started on the enrollment process. Planning to keep families who have fully enrolled warm post enrollment to make sure they show up the first day. Typical conversion rate is 3:1. 

Finance - 

  • Financial reports are coming.
  • Z-Combinator award of $20,000 at opening of the school. Pitched in front of high-ranking member of Charter School Growth Fund.
  • Payroll is now set up and scheduled to run on 31 January 2026.

Facilities - 

  • walk-through with architect this week to determine what needs to shift.
  • Lease should be finalized by next week. On track to get our GaDOE Facility Code
  • Discussion on when we can announce the location and details on when the building updates will occur (in the Spring). 

Hiring, Benefits, Payroll - 

  • DOO, Kiaura Stewart, officially started on 12 Jan 2026.
  • DOA - Accepted pending board approval. Part time as of 01 Feb 2026. 
  • Benefits are fully set up - health insurance and retirement. 
  • Hiring Systems and Compliance - using BambooHR for hiring, compliance (personnel documents, background checks, staffing plans), and documentation. 
  • Teacher hiring - starting to hire end of February and March

 

Events

  • Meliora Monday - high level of engagement, continue to drive applications.
  • Enrollment Lottery - 23 Jan 2026
  • School Choice Expo - 24 Jan 2026 (pending weather)

B.

Upcoming Events

Zenat gave an update on community outreach and engagement

  • Gwinnett County Non-Profit Club - organized sports clubs in the county - discussion 
  • Met with a few other organizations - Snellville 

III. New Items

A.

Procedural Vote: Acceptance of Michael Powell's Resignation

P. Flinch made a motion to accept Michael Powell's resignation.
D. Stinson seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

B.

Vote - Director Of Academics Offer

P. Flinch made a motion to extend a written offer to Staci Arrington as Director of Academics.
D. Stinson seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

C.

Vote on Board Officers

P. Flinch made a motion to to accept the recommended slate of officers.
D. Stinson seconded the motion.

Board Chair - Polly Flinch 

Vice Chair - Darrell Stinson

Treasurer - Lydia Hollon 

Secretary - Lydia Hollon

The board VOTED to approve the motion.

D.

Board Member Term Lengths

Board members selected their initial terms as Founding Members 

  • Polly Flinch - 1 year  (June 2025 - 2026)
  • Zenat - 3 year (June 2025 - 2028)
  • Laila - 2 years (June 2026 - 2028)
  • Lakeesha - 1 year (June 2026 - 2027)
  • Lydia - 1 year (June 2026 - 2027)
  • Darrell - 2 years (June 2026 - 2028)

E.

Commmitees

Board members reported in on committee meeting date and time. These will be recurring starting in February. 

  • Academics - 2nd week of the month (Wed) 6:30 - 8:30 pm
  • Finance -  1st Wed of the Month 6:30 - 8:30 pm 
  • Operations - 1st Saturday of the month 8 - 9 am
  • Community engagement - every Tuesday at 1 pm

F.

Board Retreat - January 2026

Details provided regarding the retreat and noted that in case of inclement weather this will be held remotely.

G.

Vote - Acceptance of CSP Grant

P. Flinch made a motion to accept the CSP sub-grant funding in the amount of $2,000,000 from the SCSC.
D. Stinson seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

IV. Closing Items

A.

Next Meeting Date: 03 February 2026

B.

Adjourn Meeting

There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 8:16 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
P. Flinch