Brighter Choice Charter Schools

Minutes

Board Meeting

Date and Time

Thursday October 24, 2024 at 9:30 AM

Location

250 Central Ave. Albany, NY 12206

Trustees Present

M. Snyder (remote), N. Clement, N. Velilla, T. Hanmer, Z. Nelson

Trustees Absent

C. Driggs

Guests Present

K. Ford, K. Mclean, L. Licygiewicz

I. Opening Items

A.

Record Attendance

B.

Call the Meeting to Order

M. Snyder called a meeting of the board of trustees of Brighter Choice Charter Schools to order on Thursday Oct 24, 2024 at 9:33 AM.

C.

Approve Minutes

T. Hanmer made a motion to approve the minutes from Board Meeting on 09-20-24.
N. Velilla seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

D.

Approve minutes

N. Velilla made a motion to approve the minutes from Board Meeting on 10-12-23.
T. Hanmer seconded the motion.

Members who were official during the 10-23 meeting voted.

The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

II. Committee Reports

A.

Finance Committee Report out

Martha Snyder reported that the Finance committee met in September. There are a few adjustments that will be made to update enrollment at the Boy's school, school contributions to the staff HSA, the draft audit, and retention bonus plan. Luke reported that there will be updates to the security cameras that will be $20K capital expense. The committee discussed a possible transition to a 401K  from a 403B (Noah did recuse himself because there could be a bid from his employer). 

B.

Governance Committee Report out

Martha reported on the Governance Committee meeting where the committee heard directly from Ken Claflin about the draft audit and the strong organization. Ken and the leadership team expressed mutual appreciation for the professionalism and collaboration during the process. The principals of each school reported on the current points of interest for their schools, including enrollment, staffing changes, interim assessments, special populations and special events. The Boy's school Kindergarten readiness Saturday program (Jump Start) has been successful so far with growing interest. This will be a program that continues forward with expansion considerations. 
 

 

C.

Approve Draft Audit Report (Vote)

Z. Nelson made a motion to approve the audit for the 2023-2024 school year.
T. Hanmer seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

D.

Vote on the draft email report

This item is a typo.

III. Other Business

A.

Executive session

T. Hanmer made a motion to enter into executive session to discuss staff incentive bonus program.
N. Velilla seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
Z. Nelson made a motion to exit executive session.
N. Clement seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

The board asked Luke and Paul to have an amended budget for the November (latest December) to vote on that includes HSA, 403B, merit, and incentive proposals. The board will look for dates for an all staff meeting sometime in December. The schools will look at 12/12/24 for the all staff meeting.  

IV. Closing Items

A.

Adjourn Meeting

T. Hanmer made a motion to adjourn.
N. Clement seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 10:00 AM.

Respectfully Submitted,
Z. Nelson