Ogden Preparatory Academy
Minutes
OPA Board of Directors Meeting
Date and Time
Thursday April 13, 2023 at 4:30 PM
Location
1435 Lincoln Avenue
Ogden UT 84404
The Mission of the Ogden Preparatory Academy Charter School is to provide a challenging curriculum where academic excellence, character development, and individual growth are nurtured in a safe and happy environment that involves the active participation of students, teachers, parents and community members.
Directors Present
J. Howell, M. Swenson (remote), S. Mejeur, S. Zwygart
Directors Absent
E. Trevino, W. Davis
Ex Officio Members Present
D. Deem, K. Kennington, S. Lopez, S. Mathers (remote)
Non Voting Members Present
D. Deem, K. Kennington, S. Lopez, S. Mathers (remote)
Guests Present
Brenda Gerena, E. Callison, S. Wright, T. Young
I. Opening Items
A.
Call the Meeting to Order
B.
Record Attendance
C.
Approve Minutes
D.
Approve Minutes
E.
Opportunity for Public Input
F.
Ratify votes from February and March meetings.
There are only 3 board members in person. Will ratify next month.
II. Finance
A.
Financial Review
Presented by Debbie Deem. She went over the budget summary report.
Also the budget detail report was discussed. At this time we also discussed the student count and next year's enrollment.
B.
No Red Ink
Stephanie Mathers discussed what this program is and at this time would like to renew for next school year. We discussed that it is just for Junior High students and this will be our fourth year using it.
C.
Playground Turf - Elementary
Would like to put artificial turf underneath the Elementary and ECC playgrounds. Debbie presented the third bids received for this. Discussed how hot the turf can become. We have plans to have the sunshades up and to irrigate it to help keep it cool.
We discussed other options like the foam, which would be twice the price. Also discussed are the long-term durability, subgrades, and the fall rating for them. Maintenance to upkeep this would also be an additional cost in the future. So we will table this for now to look more into the foam vs the turf on annual upkeep and cleanup to get more information.
III. Administrative Report
A.
Administrative Board Report
Reviewed and discussed the April board report.
- Elementary Updates
- Junior High Updates
- Teaching & Learning
- Special Education
- Finance
- Operations
- Human Resources
- Enrollment
B.
FY24 Calendar
Of note - Changing the minimum days to Wednesday instead of Friday. Discussed the pros for this and the impact on the parents and the students. Also discussed the professional development teacher days.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| M. Swenson |
No
|
| J. Howell |
Aye
|
| W. Davis |
Absent
|
| S. Mejeur |
Aye
|
| E. Trevino |
Absent
|
| S. Zwygart |
Aye
|
C.
Proposed Employee Benefit Changes
In the past, we offer a stipend to staff who decline benefits. It is not something we have to do, and we would like to not to do this starting next year. We discussed if there will be any issues with staff and if it could end up being more expensive. We did look into grandfathering in, or doing a tenure. We will continue to look at numbers and come up with other options, like putting it at the end of the year.
We we would like to to add a Daycare assistance benefit. Discussed how they will be required to apply for DWS.
We will table this vote to update the benefits next month after looking more into the options for the medical stipends.
IV. Executive Session
A.
Motion to enter an executive session to protect the privacy of an individual.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| S. Zwygart |
Aye
|
| M. Swenson |
Aye
|
| W. Davis |
Absent
|
| S. Mejeur |
Aye
|
| E. Trevino |
Absent
|
| J. Howell |
Aye
|
B.
Motion to exit the Executive Session
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| S. Zwygart |
Aye
|
| S. Mejeur |
Aye
|
| W. Davis |
Absent
|
| J. Howell |
Aye
|
| M. Swenson |
Aye
|
| E. Trevino |
Absent
|
C.
Director Evaluation
Mark Swenson left early.
V. Policy Updates
A.
Policy Updates
These two were up for aged review. Stephanie Mathers presented the changes. We did discuss for the tuition reimbursement and about how were are trying to make this equitable.
- Tuition Reimbursement
- Employee Immigration
Safe School Policy
Stephanie Mathers presented the updates. There have been a lot of changes for this. We also have input from our attorney with recommendations.
- Of note - transfering power to CMT Process for the hearings
- Board is the only one who has power to expel, if recommended from the CMT
- State updates
Once the redline changes are updated, the order will be changed into a more logical workflow. As things are finishing up, we plan to bring it back for further review as well.
Today's vote is to approve the current changes presented at this time.
VI. Other Discussion
A.
Discussion
- Would like to add a June Board Meeting. Will choose a date at a later time
- Upcoming Trainings that we need to get scheduled. Would like approval on exploring the options and getting things booked.
- Furniture requests - it will be big and we will bring an approved price range and then from there start the ordering.
No public and no public input.