Rhianna expressed her congratulations to the team for a successful open house event, highlighting that it was both enjoyable and well-received by the families who attended. Adrienne also extended her gratitude to the board and Rooted staff for their support, allowing her to take time off to be with her father. She appreciated everyone's efforts in ensuring that everything ran smoothly in her absence.

Steven Carney and Matt Paolini provided a financial status review, confirming strong liquidity with 109 days of cash on hand. The conversation also covered the upcoming 'friendraiser,' aimed at building support for Rooted. In addition, plans are underway for a fundraising dinner, tentatively scheduled for either Thursday, October 4th, or Thursday, October 10th. The event is planned for a Thursday evening around 5 p.m., which is a convenient time for members of the business community to attend. We are currently in the process of selecting a venue.

Staffing Updates: We have welcomed several new staff members, including Angie as the Director of Operations Fellow, a new office manager, a part-time guidance counselor, and a new paraeducator. Instructional staff returned on August 14th, and the paraeducator and guidance counselor joined shortly thereafter.

Currently, we have one paraeducator, compared to the two we initially budgeted for, allowing some flexibility depending on the needs of the school year.

Operations: A complete inventory schedule is underway to label all new furniture. The Base Camp and Climb sessions have been initiated, and a DEI session is planned for the 2024-2025 school year.

Enrollment: We have achieved a 94% enrollment rate with confirmed families, although four families have not yet responded or been actively engaged.

Events: Our second annual back-to-school party was a success, with over 100 attendees.

Compliance: All compliance requirements have been met to date, although procedure development is currently on pause.

Fundraising: Our collaboration with AMA, which began in March, has been productive, resulting in substantial support. This partnership is now coming to a close.

Academic Updates: Steven reported that the school will offer a range of 9th-grade classes and utilize Red Comet for 10th-grade students to make up any missing credits. There was a review of tech courses, highlighting the need for all students to first master fundamental computer skills before pursuing additional certifications. For world language instruction, Red Comet will be used for two years, allowing students to choose their preferred language, as hiring a world language teacher for a single class every two days proved challenging.

Program Review: A comprehensive review of the full program is underway to ensure compliance with all relevant federal laws.

Professional Development: The school year began with a leadership retreat focused on workforce development, and the entire staff is currently engaged in professional development activities.

Grant Applications: We have applied for five grants, including one from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Additionally, through Excellence Schools, we have received funding for Open Seat, an organization that offers trauma-sensitive counseling to students.

Most of our spending has been finalized, with significant purchases made in August to prepare for the new school year. Enrollment ended on a positive note with 26 students, which aligns with our target.

Regarding revenue, 83% of our funding comes from public sources. We have received all of our expected state funds, reaching up to 90%, though federal revenue has slightly lowered this percentage. A large CSP grant is expected in September but will be recorded as an August transaction. We have also submitted the final end-of-year claims for other federal funds.

All funding applications have been submitted, and we have received all anticipated private revenue. Our cash reserve stands at 109 days, nearly double our goal of 60 days, indicating strong financial health.

Fresh n’ Local has decided not to renew our contract for the 2024-2025 school year, which presents a significant challenge because no other food service provider currently serves schools as small as ours. Fresh n’ Local proposed terms that included a price increase, removing milk from the fixed-price offering, and instituting a 50-meal minimum. These material changes to the initial contract were non-negotiable on their part.

As a result, we are left without a food service company. For now, Fresh n’ Local has agreed to provide us with frozen entrées, and we will source fruits and vegetables from local grocery stores to meet our immediate needs. However, managing food service independently is highly compliance-driven and would require a full-time role to handle the associated requirements.

Without a dedicated food service management company, we won’t receive reimbursements for meals for students who qualify for free and reduced lunch, although we will continue to charge families for paid lunches.

To address this issue long-term, School Operations is working on bringing a new food service company to Washington State to serve all charter schools, with a goal of having this solution in place by next year.

In the meantime, the board will assist in finding resources for food donations to support our meal program.

Efforts are underway to engage with the Rooted School Foundation, which is seeking a $4 million grant. This funding would move the foundation closer to becoming a charter organization and support the implementation of the Overgrad program, which helps students develop post-graduation plans.

Additionally, we have the opportunity to participate in a survey conducted by Johns Hopkins, which will provide valuable insights.

We have also agreed to a data collection and sharing initiative with the Rooted School Foundation. This collaboration could help secure additional funding opportunities in the future.

Policy 2126 (AIDS Education) was introduced for the first reading, outlining the school’s approach to HIV/AIDS education. Feedback will be collected before the final adoption.

Steven met with Kevin to discuss the proposal for the new Rooted School committee structure, especially considering the many new members joining. Here are the recommended committee setups:

• Finance Committee: Will meet monthly. Tyrone is recommended as chair, with Taine, Steven, and Matt as committee members.
• Academic Excellence Committee: Will meet quarterly. Jent is recommended as chair, with Lisa and Steven as members.
• Governance Committee: Will meet quarterly. Adrienne is recommended as chair, with Rhianna and Steven as members.
• Fund Development Committee: Will meet monthly. Adrienne is recommended as chair, with Ashley and Steven as members.
• Community Engagement Committee: Will meet monthly. Sheila is recommended as chair, with Steven, Nikki, and Adrienne LK as members.

We are aligning our systems with the latest state and federal updates, which may lead to some changes in our fiscal policies:

Donor List Reporting: We plan to update the date for providing the list of donors to the school. Currently set for December, it will be moved to January to ensure we capture all December donations.

Credit Card Receipts: State auditors will review credit card receipts for every charter school. Employees must submit their receipts within 30 days. If not, they will receive a warning and need to file a loss form. Repeated non-compliance will result in the employee losing credit card privileges for the year.

Personal Use of School Credit Cards: There will be a clear process for handling cases where a school credit card is used for personal expenses. Employees will need to reimburse the school, and there may be consequences depending on the circumstances.

Federal Compliance: We will adhere to federal guidance on reporting for plans and time and effort, which will require reports to be submitted either monthly or semi-annually.

Food Service Vendor Payments: For food service vendor bills paid via automatic debit, the following protocols will be in place: the board must review and approve the contract, monthly invoices must be reviewed and approved, and automatic debits cannot exceed $20,000 per month.

The board entered into an executive session at 7:22 PM to evaluate the performance of Steven Carney, the Executive Director. The session lasted 20 minutes.  Executive session ended at 8:02 pm and no final actions were taken. The board will work with Steven to set goals for the upcoming year based on the discussion.

Next Board Meeting: Scheduled for September 24, 2024.