Leigh Anne Naser introduced herself and shared that she is the parent of two currently enrolled students. 

Matthew Ryan introduced himself and shared his enthusiasm to work with the Reach Cyber Charter School team. 

There was no public comment at this time.

David Taylor asked the Board to review the agenda distributed prior to the meeting. Jane Swan, CEO, reminded the Board that the agenda was amended the evening before (March 14, 2023) with the addition of the contract with SAP Concur under Consent Items.
 

Jane Swan, CEO, reviewed the current enrollment numbers for the school, noting trends in enrollment.

Mrs. Swan shared that just that morning, the school had received approval of its comprehensive plan. She further shared that the senior leadership team, along with our Board President and Solicitor were invited to an in-person meeting at the PDE on April 4th.   

Michael Garman, Director of Human Resources, reviewed current staffing levels with the Board highlighting the 798 current staff members and 84% of staff who are 10-month staff.

Karen Yeselavage, Director of Finance, provided an update on the status of the annual audit. She further reviewed the school’s financial statements with the Board. She reviewed the revenue and expense statements, advising on changes since the previous months’ statements. Ms. Yeselavage further reviewed with the Board the school’s balance sheet and current forecast.

Marcella Arline thanked Mrs. Yeselavage for meeting with her recently to review the financial reports. Mrs. Arline recommended reviewing the existing PNC and investment accounts. Mrs. Yeselavage will schedule a meeting with the appropriate parties. 

Mr. Taylor asked if there were any items from the Consent Items that should be moved to Action Items for discussion, or tabled. No changes were noted.

• Approval of minutes from February 15, 2023 Board Meeting
• Approval of Staffing Report
• Approval of Pearson Invoice(s) for February
• Approval of contract with Quality IT
• Approval of Contract with SAP Concur 

Joshua Hicks, Manager of Federal Programs, presented recent updates made to the school's travel and conflict of interest policies as included in the board packet.

Corey Groff, Director of Teaching, shared information about contracting with Turnitin, an anti-plagiarism resource.

Mr. Groff shared details of the proposal from KnowledgeWave to provide training for Microsoft products.

Mr. Groff shared information about a potential contract with Class Technologies, Inc. Class Technologies is a virtual classroom platform built on Zoom used to spark engagement, interaction, and connection. 

With many questions about the contract remaining to be answered, approval for this contract will be postponed until the April 2023 board meeting.

Michael Garman, Director of Human Resources, shared details of a proposal with Robert Half International for staffing, recruiting, and sourcing for non instructional positions. 

Kelley McConnell shared a proposal requesting approval for a $250,000 reserve for summer learning kits through Summer Bridge Activities. Kits will be mailed to about 5,000 students entering grades Kindergarten through 8th to practice skills throughout the summer to prevent summer learning loss. 

Brandie Karpew, Board and Legislative Liaison shared an update on recent government affairs. She specifically highlighted the recent school funding decision from commonwealth court, the governor's budget address, and the outcome of the recent special elections in Allegheny County.

Ms. Johnson presented on behalf of the School Success Partner team. She reviewed PVS' support of transition efforts and enrollment.

Brandie Karpew shared information about the upcoming national charter school conference which will be held June 18-21 in Austin, Texas and invited the board members to advise if they were interested in attending.

JD Smith, Director of Career Readiness, reviewed the MOU included in the Board
materials with the Board.

The Board entered into an Executive Session at 10:02 a.m. upon a motion being made, seconded and confirmed via roll call vote of all Board members present. The Board cited the following for entering into the Executive Session: Pursuant to 65 Pa. C.S. §§ 708(a)(1) – to discuss any matter involving the employment, appointment, termination of employment, terms and conditions of employment, evaluation of performance, promotion or disciplining of any specific prospective public officer or employee or current public officer or employee and 65 Pa. C.S. §§ 708(a)(5) – To review and discuss agency business which, if conducted in public, would violate a lawful privilege or lead to the disclosure of information or confidentiality protected by law. 

Board members present were: David Taylor, Paul Donecker, Gail Hawkins Bush, Marcella Arline, and Matt Ryan.

Guests present at the request of the Board were: Pat Hennessey, Jane Swan, and Mike Garman. All others left the meeting at this time.

There being no further discussion and upon a motion being made, seconded and confirmed via roll call vote of all Board members present, the Board resumed Open Session at 10:23 a.m.