The Exploris School
Minutes
The Exploris School Board Regular Monthly Meeting
Date and Time
Thursday May 22, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Location
The Exploris School: Elementary Campus
17 S Swain St, Raleigh, NC 27601, USA
5th Grade Classroom
Directors Present
C. Harden (remote), E. Grunden, S. Carothers (remote), S. Scipione (remote), S. Singer, T. Void, W. McLamb (remote)
Directors Absent
E. Buchan, G. Bayo, S. Darroch
Ex Officio Members Present
D. Brown, E. Burton, J. Corbat
Non Voting Members Present
D. Brown, E. Burton, J. Corbat
Guests Present
Abbey Burka (remote), Carolyn Floyd (remote), K. Morgan, Lisa Averitte (remote), Richard Averitte (remote), aaron bugher (remote), andrea wise (remote), kira kroboth (remote), mariah perry (remote)
I. Opening Items
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
E. Grunden called a meeting of the board of directors of The Exploris School to order on Thursday May 22, 2025 at 4:38 PM.
C.
Approve Minutes
S. Singer made a motion to approve the minutes from The Exploris School Board Regular Monthly Meeting on 04-24-25.
T. Void seconded the motion.
The board
VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
II. Committee Reports
A.
Finance
W. McLamb made a motion to Vote to approve 24-25 budget revision.
E. Grunden seconded the motion.
TV: can you explain what this is?
KM: these are final changes to budget through March required to reconcile by year end.
SSinger: can we use surplus for maintenance? We need a list of needs.
WM: yes
The board
VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
W. McLamb made a motion to Approve the audit engagement letter.
T. Void seconded the motion.
The board
VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
B.
Educational Excellence
C.
Governance
E. Grunden made a motion to Vote on the slate of three presented board members.
S. Singer seconded the motion.
Richard Averitte (board candidate) made remarks to the board.
The board
VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
D.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
E.
Director Evaluation & Support
III. The Exploris Foundation
A.
Foundation Update
E. Grunden made a motion to table reports by PTO and Foundation Board.
W. McLamb seconded the motion.
The board
VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
IV. Closed Session
A.
Facilities & Legal Items
S. Singer made a motion to enter closed session to discuss real estate matters.
W. McLamb seconded the motion.
The board
VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
T. Void made a motion to exit closed session.
W. McLamb seconded the motion.
The board
VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
V. Closing Items
A.
Adjourn Meeting
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 6:50 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
E. Grunden
EG: very unhappy with town hall. Online support poor, questions not answered, no board unity/confidence. Suggested second town hall soon. Suggested holding regular online meetings, board members “adopt” an area to support parents locally.
SSinger: we need more organizations in school: clubs, in-school meetings, organizations.
CH: decision to go forward was disrespectful to the online guests. Board needs better organization and structure. town halls will not be effective until the board learns better how to work together.
SSinger: we need to fill board structure before we can try to go forward.
SScipione: where can we out our focus so that we can fix this.
Action items
Board chair needs to develop plan to chart issues and needs, including staffing, and then committees and parents to be involved. By June meeting, board chair will have this plan to committees and board in general.