Brighter Choice Charter Schools
Minutes
Governance Committee Meeting
Date and Time
Thursday December 10, 2020 at 8:30 AM
Committee Members Present
M. Snyder (remote), N. Maresca (remote), N. Velilla (remote), T. Hanmer (remote), Z. Nelson (remote)
Committee Members Absent
None
Guests Present
K. Ford (remote), K. Mclean (remote), L. Licygiewicz (remote), R. McLaughlin (remote), S. Jahn (remote)
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
M. Snyder called a meeting of the Governance Committee of Brighter Choice Charter Schools to order on Thursday Dec 10, 2020 at 8:30 AM.
C.
Approve Minutes
T. Hanmer made a motion to approve the minutes from Governance Committee Meeting on 11-12-20.
M. Snyder seconded the motion.
The committee VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
II. Governance
A.
NYSED Visit Debrief
B.
COVID-19 Update
K. Ford’s and K. McLean’s updates on their NYSED visits, as well as their reports on the continuing Covid situation were postponed until the academic policy meeting.
C.
Merit/Bonus pay
S. Jahn described measures being taken to use the merit pay allocated in last year’s budget to provide a one-time “bonus in lieu of a pay raise” to all faculty and staff. There is $120,000 in each school’s budget for this purpose. There were no objections from the board.
D.
Discipline Policy
L. Licygiewicz described four changes BCCS has made to the disciplinary policy in compliance with NYSED recommendations.
E.
Board By-Laws
L. Licygiewicz also described changes made to the by-laws, specifically regarding the office and responsibilities of the board vice-chair.
III. Other Business
A.
K. McLean reported that she would be sending a survey to parents asking for their response to the changes recently made in the key design elements of the mission statement.
B.
403b account
T. Hanmer made a motion to authorize the opening of a new bank account to handle money accrued and dispensed in BCCS compliance with 403B payments to the retirement accounts of former employees.
N. Velilla seconded the motion.
The committee VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
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 8:48 AM.
Respectfully Submitted,
M. Snyder
M. Snyder reported briefly on the NYSED visit with Z. Nelson, T. Hanmer, and her. M. Snyder described the meeting as “overall positive,” with less emphasis on finances than in the past. She was pleased that it provided an opportunity to talk about BCCS moving forward, with or without ongoing Covid pandemic concerns.