The Exploris School
Minutes
Board Meeting
Date and Time
Tuesday August 28, 2018 at 4:30 PM
Location
The Exploris School - Middle School Campus
Directors Present
B. Kingery (remote), C. Jones, E. Schollmeyer, G. Burnette, J. Frawley, K. Byars-Nichols, K. Furr, K. Harris, K. Johnson (remote), K. Von Weihe, L. Perry-Lawless, M. Mitchell-Neal, T. Kingsberry, T. Miller
Directors Absent
C. Hutchens
Guests Present
M. Gargan, S. Hardy, S. McKay
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance and Guests
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
T. Miller called a meeting of the board of directors of The Exploris School to order on Tuesday Aug 28, 2018 at 4:36 PM.
C.
Approve Minutes
T. Kingsberry made a motion to approve minutes from the Board Meeting on 07-24-18 Board Meeting on 07-24-18.
K. Furr seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
D.
Public Comment Opportunity
Shannon Hardy, thank you for your service.
II. ED Report
A.
Strategic Plan Update
Ellie updated the group with a reminder to us of the school's core values.
The current strategic plan expires this year. A group is looking at core areas of enrollment, leadership and HR, finance, facilities and infrastructure, branding and marketing.
The current strategic plan expires this year. A group is looking at core areas of enrollment, leadership and HR, finance, facilities and infrastructure, branding and marketing.
Next steps are to meet with a consultant and teachers about the strategic plan.
B.
Center for Innovation
Shannon and Sonja updated the group on the Center for Innovation with a draft mission and preliminary plan and budget.
Tom recommended that Board Chair and Foundation Chair meet before the next board meeting to parse out where Center for Innovation will live.
C.
Academic/ Personnel / Operations
Ellie provided information about testing scores and other successes.
Board approval is requested for the following:
Recommend that the Board approves the following new hires ▪ Mariah Perry – K Teaching Partner
Recommend that the Board approve the use of the following service providers to meet the needs of our EC students.
▪ Dr. Catherine Snow – Psychologist
▪ Jenn Grellner – Speech Therapist
▪ Lisa O’Connor - Speech Therapist
▪ Cheryl Stephenson – Occupational Therapist
Recommend that the Board approve the following student teachers from NCSU:
Recommend that the Board approves the following new hires ▪ Mariah Perry – K Teaching Partner
Recommend that the Board approve the use of the following service providers to meet the needs of our EC students.
▪ Dr. Catherine Snow – Psychologist
▪ Jenn Grellner – Speech Therapist
▪ Lisa O’Connor - Speech Therapist
▪ Cheryl Stephenson – Occupational Therapist
Recommend that the Board approve the following student teachers from NCSU:
- Sameerah El-Jurf –Full Practicum Fall 2018 – 6th Grade Language Arts with Devon Rose
- Rachel Benisvy – Shadow in the Fall 2018 – Full Practicum Spring 2019 – 8th Grade
- Language Arts with Jessie Frances
K. Furr made a motion to approve all above hires as listed.
M. Mitchell-Neal seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
The administrative team is reviewing and evaluating the current structure. We are evaluating the need for an Associate Director of Finance, Operations, and Facilities. The requirements of the position will be further defined along with an assessment of the budget implications by September board meeting. This position, if approved and filled, would likely exhaust the surplus.
Operations:
Implementation of the new lunch vendor at the elementary campus with Spicy Green Gourmet has gone very well. Meals have been provided on both campuses for students in need of lunch. (Not all forms are returned so we anticipate more economically disadvantaged students in the future.) Spicy Green went back to Durham Day 1 to get more food to ensure needs were met at ES. Jersey Mike's went back and made extra sandwiches for MS on Wednesday, A Place at the Table provided emergency lunches on Thursday, by Friday My Hot Lunch Box was set up to provide donated lunches as well.
The pilot launch of the online Charter Pay system for the online processing of payments for Before and After Care and Field Experiences was not successful. A parent letter was sent apologizing for the frustration and inconvenience since the full system implementation did not go as planned during the test phase. Pay Pal was re-established for the Before and After Care program and teachers will continue to collect and track field experience payments.
Projected Enrollment Data for 2018 - 2019:
A total of 132 new students have been added during the 2018 – 2019 enrollment process. As of 8/21/18 there were 453 students enrolled. The remaining 3 students accepted but have had unique situations and have not yet attended for their first day. We have made multiple contacts and are offering seats to the next students on the waitlist.
Implementation of the new lunch vendor at the elementary campus with Spicy Green Gourmet has gone very well. Meals have been provided on both campuses for students in need of lunch. (Not all forms are returned so we anticipate more economically disadvantaged students in the future.) Spicy Green went back to Durham Day 1 to get more food to ensure needs were met at ES. Jersey Mike's went back and made extra sandwiches for MS on Wednesday, A Place at the Table provided emergency lunches on Thursday, by Friday My Hot Lunch Box was set up to provide donated lunches as well.
The pilot launch of the online Charter Pay system for the online processing of payments for Before and After Care and Field Experiences was not successful. A parent letter was sent apologizing for the frustration and inconvenience since the full system implementation did not go as planned during the test phase. Pay Pal was re-established for the Before and After Care program and teachers will continue to collect and track field experience payments.
Projected Enrollment Data for 2018 - 2019:
A total of 132 new students have been added during the 2018 – 2019 enrollment process. As of 8/21/18 there were 453 students enrolled. The remaining 3 students accepted but have had unique situations and have not yet attended for their first day. We have made multiple contacts and are offering seats to the next students on the waitlist.
D.
Finance
The anticipated increase in the state per pupil funding has increased our original surplus projected from $13,996.06 to $53,985.56.
Governance
The revised weighted lottery policy was submitted for review by the CSAB. After that review it will be sent to the State Board of Education for approval. In the future we may want to modify our lottery policy to include that completion of enrollment packet is required in order to formalize acceptance within the specified timeframe. This year many new families were non-compliant with paperwork which caused a delay in getting all new students fully enrolled.
Capital Campaign/ Foundation
Foundation Account Balance as of 8/20/18: $480,347.36
Plans are underway for campaign targeting new families to be launched early in October.
The revised weighted lottery policy was submitted for review by the CSAB. After that review it will be sent to the State Board of Education for approval. In the future we may want to modify our lottery policy to include that completion of enrollment packet is required in order to formalize acceptance within the specified timeframe. This year many new families were non-compliant with paperwork which caused a delay in getting all new students fully enrolled.
Capital Campaign/ Foundation
Foundation Account Balance as of 8/20/18: $480,347.36
Plans are underway for campaign targeting new families to be launched early in October.
E.
Legal Update
The board voted to move into closed session to prevent confidential information from being made public.
Tom made motion, Theo seconded, and motion to go into closed session passed unanimously.
Keely move to come out of closed session, Kelly seconded, motion passed unanimously.
III. Committee Updates
A.
Development Committee
Will update next meeting.
B.
Education Excellence Committee
The Education Excellence committee will provide any updates on progress towards their goal to the board and ask for specific support, if needed. September 11 (4-5pm at ES) Discussion Topics: possible revisions to definitions, goals, measurements; possible board training on issues related to academic oversight and educational achievement is needed this year. Committee's guiding documents attached below FYI.
C.
Governance Committee
Will update next month, they are meeting in Sept.
D.
Facility
Bob, Tom, Ellie will meet soon with developer to get an update.
IV. 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 6:24 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
K. Byars-Nichols