Our auditor, Jennifer Bull, went over our Audit status to the board of directors. 

The Status on our Audit: the significant audit areas have been addressed and substantive audit works is completed.

• An unmodified opinion issued on financial statements.

Remaining Open Items:

• Final approval by the TCWG
• Completion of Agreed Upon Procedures
• Signed management representation letter to be obtained
• Prepare tax return Form 990 for management and Board review- this has been extended and now due in May but per discussion of the finance committee we will work on getting this done by February. 

J. Bull went over PFK O'Connor Davies LLP's responsibilities, scope and highlights.

Financial Statement Highlights:

Statement of Financial Position:

• Assets down $953K
• Liabilities down $910K
• Net assets down $43K

Statement of Activities:

• Total public and support revenue increased $1.4million mainly in State grants offset by decrease in Employee Retention Credit, private donations and other funding.
• Expenses increased $682K-$628K in Salaries and related.

Auditor, J. Bull, went over Statement of Activities for the school and went over the number to the board of directors.

J. Bull went over required communications to our board of directors.

An ongoing concern for the auditors: They evaluate the school and report the school will continue for the next year. 

Significant Risks- improper revenue recognition, management override of internal controls and management obscuring/ making misleading disclosures.

During the audit there were no disagreements with management. 

There we no misstatements discovered. Several journal entries made that was presented to the finance committee and discussed. 

D. Zieff asks if we need to go into an executive session, J. Bull states no need for executive session. If there was anything needed J. Bull would've reached out to board chair or board treasurer personally. 

B. Carlson asked what else needs to happen. B. Chan reports we need to file EFS and the 990. J. Bull states that we are ahead of schedule and everything went smoothly. 

Once B. Chan gives those forms, the state dept. of education gives PFK procedures to perform on those reports. They do testing on expenses classifications and test the per pupil and compare the attendance records and student files. Then PFK issues a separate report to the department of education. B. Carlson asked for dates. J. bull reports the audit will be done after her team gets a management of representation letter. Audit is officially December 31st. Attendance report is due by January 31st. Actual tax return has been extended to May 15th but we will try to get it done by February.

D. Zieff went over financial report with the board.

D. Zieff reports that as of five months we are in a break even operation. The reason we can feel comfortable is that the auditor looked at 12 months and they didn't change any numbers so things are looking good.

We are paid every quarter by the state. We are owed 472,715. Most of our grants are paid after things have been spent. In Q1 (Jul-Dec) we are fronting most of the expenses. 

B. Chan went over cash burn for our board of directors. Our burn rate is basically what our outflow is each month.  

We have to manage the cashflow each week. We have a reserve account because of the ERC money. 

B. Chan also went over expense summary with our board of directors. B. Carlson discussed wanting to do a line of credit. B. Chan reports he will work on it after the audit items are sent.

COO, L. Hubbard, went over COO Report with the board of directors. 

Applications for the 2026 - 2027 school year opened on December 1st!  We received 10 applications in our first week without any marketing. 

Marketing Initiatives to closeout December:

• Social Media Posts
• Postcard Mailing 
• Canvasing to local partners
• Local School Partnerships

Mid-Year Teacher Certification Update:

Currently we have 57 out of our 64 staff members who are certified  (89%).  Seven staff members pending final approval from CSDE. We anticipate 100% certification by the End of the Year. 

Staff Permanent Cert - 51.56%

Staff Temp Cert - 48.44%

DSAP, CSEP, Resident - 23.44%

CEO, J. Scalice, shared CEO report to all attendees.

• As part of our Corrective Action Plan requirements, the Great Oaks Team will make a report to the Accountability and Support Committee of the CT State Board on February 4, 2026
• The Accountability and Support Committee of the CT State Board monitors school progress towards Corrective Action Goals established during a Charter School’s Renewal. 
• As a condition of renewal, we were required to create Corrective Action Goals related to Academic Performance, Student Attendance, and Certification

Corrective Action Goals

Achievement: Increase ELA and Math performance through specific teaching methods and coaching

Attendance: Reduce Chronic Absenteeism through the incorporation of Tier 2 and Tier 3 Strategies

Certification: Increase retention and recruitment through leadership opportunities and hiring practices

Academic Update:

Primary Strategies-

• Daily Learning Intentions and Success Criteria explicitly communicated and referenced throughout the learning period
• Provide opportunities for student discourse during structured lessons through intentional questioning and lesson/activity design
• Coaching, Observation, and Walkthrough feedback to increase teacher implementation of techniques and applications of Professional Learning

Primary Strategy Evidence - Data Points

• Learning Intention and Success Criteria (Intentional planning on what a student is learning for the day and how they can show it is being learned) has consistently shown 100% compliance during State walkthroughs.
• Vocabulary proficiency has shown a rise from 4% to 24% over the past 2 years (current 8th grade)
• Measurement and Data proficiency for math has grown from 7% to 62% over the past 3 years (current 9th grade)
   

Primary Strategy Evidence - Data Points

• There have been over 1,300 coaching, observation, and walkthroughs conducted since September of 2025; providing feedback and growth opportunities for staff
• State walkthroughs have shown a significant shift in student engagement increases and discussion opportunities for students.
   

Attendance:

Great Oaks is currently reporting a 44.86% decrease in student Chronic Absenteeism from this time last year

Currently 130 students have 5 or more absences

Primary Strategies

• Increase student and parent awareness of attendance, attendance procedures, and available support
• Engage in family and student meetings, support plans, and improvement plans
   
• Provide intense intervention through an additional Social Worker for students experiencing historically chronic absenteeism for focused support centered on improvement over time. 
   

Primary Strategy Evidence - Data Points

• Slightly over 70% of our Chronic Absenteeism students have been Chronically Absent for 3 or more years either at or prior to entering Great Oaks
• Students with 3 or more years of Chronic Absenteeism (Historically Chronically Absent) either at or prior to entering Great Oaks have shown an 18% decrease in overall absenteeism
• Less than 16% of students who were chronically absent last year are currently chronically absent

Certification: 

Out of 54 certified teachers, 13 teachers occupy leadership positions for development opportunities (24%)

Primary Strategies

• Increase outreach to certification programs, leverage certification opportunities for aspiring candidates
• Develop retention strategies to maintain certified staff for longer periods of time
• Continue to provide support with the Certification Process inclusive of check-ins, opportunities for testing support, and state communication

No new business to report.