B. Chan went over CFO report. 

B. Chan discussed a report from PSIS October 2024. The report shows 1 out of 5 students is an MLL student, 1 of every 6 is special education student and 4 out of 5 are eligible for free and reduced lunch. This has an impact to the school on per pupil count. 

- Once this extra amount comes in, we will update our books and updated forecast of the school. 

The dashboard was also discussed with the board members in attendance. 

Current Cash Position:

•  Checking: $ 909,331
•  Food Service: $ 2,681
•  Reserve: $ 288,318
•  Total: $ 1,200,330

 Credit card balance: $1,951

Everything in red is unfavorable and everything in black is favorable. We haven't recognized most of the CN. We recognized the salaries but not the other expenses. 

School Improvement Grant and FY25 Mental Health, we should expect about 93,000 from the budget. This hasn't been approved just yet by the CSDE so we put it as a delta for now. 

There is a delta on Professional/ Contracted row on the dashboard summary of expenses. This is specifically related to ADP. Now that we have had multiple months of ADP services, the admin fee is about $93,000 a year. 

The expenses are within range, we are keeping a close eye on these expenses. Hopefully we will get the additional revenue from the per pupil which will help cushion from the unexpected expenses.   

No new vendors.

No other finance committee updates.

COO went over the Final Enrollment Update: 

October 1st, 2024 compared to October 1st, 2023. 

Final Enrollment Number: 662 to 659

MLL: 128 to 104

SPED: 115 to 121

Free and Reduced Lunch: 544 to 345 

What this Data Shows: 

• We met our enrollment target!
• 23% Increase in ELL population
• 4.7 decrease in SPED population
• Students Eligible for Free and Reduced Lunch Increase from 52% to 82% (significant impact to budget)

Budget Impact - Allowing the school to provide more resources for students

• Identified needs for wrap around services and other resources:
  • Medical and Snap Benefits 
  • Housing 
  • Food Banks/ After School Food Pick Up 
  • Winter weatherization resources 
  • Winter Clothing 
  • School Supplies 
  • Community resources available at Parent Teacher Conferences 

Facilities Update: 

• Parking Issues 
  • Uptick in car vandalization during the months of September and October (1 to 2) incidents each week, impacting staff, fellows, and community members. 
  • No Handicap Accessible Parking for Great Oaks Staff 
    • Cherry Street Partner Team partnering with Bridgeport PD to provide daily police presence.
    • Long-term plan to install more lighting and cameras.
    • 4 spots identified that will be marked and designated as Handicap Accessible Parking by the end of next week. 
• New HVAC company has completed audit.
• New Operations Facilities Manager - Start Date November 25th 

Operations Professional Development:

• 5 Ops Team Members Certified and Approved Connecticut Notary Public, Officials. 
• Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) training hosted by CSDE.
• Vetting Educational Technology training hosted by the CSDE - Providing tech in a safe and secure manner and securing data. 
• Criminal Justice Information Security (CJIS) - Security and Privacy training. 
• 3rd Annual Symposium on Increasing Educator Diversity, hosted by the CSDE: Best Practices for Recruiting and Retaining Educators of Color.

On Wednesday November 8th, 2024, we were noticed that Great Oaks Charter School has been officially removed from "Turn-Around" Status as a Category 5 and placed into "Transitioning Status" as Category 3. 

This is incredible news for us as a school! 

- We were one of 3 schools in the State to be removed from Category 5 or Category 4. 

- Comparatively, 47 schools in the State were placed into Category 5 or Category 4. 

This does mean the following: 

• Reduced funding through ineligibility for SIG Grant, Loss of CN Grant Years 4 and 5, and Low Performing Bond Grant 
• Reduced additional points in grant applications for Tier 4 and Tier 5 support schools making grant opportunities harder

Planning Forward: 

• Decisions on identifying priorities will need to be made regarding the following aspects of the school over the next two years:
  • AmeriCorps Member Allocation
  • Teacher Coaching Model
  • Instructional Model
  • Technology Usage and Implementation
  • Revisit of Sustainability Planning
  • Long-Term Savings and Financial Structure

There are also some State grants that are expiring which require planning decisions:

• 2025-2026 - High Dosage Tutoring Grant
  • Implication - Full Tutoring Program Cost
• 2025-2026 - School Improvement Grant (SIG)
  • Implication - Currently funding 2 coaching positions
• 2027-2028 - Commissioner’s Network
  • Currently funding portions of  2 coaching positions, 2 teaching positions, Curriculum Implementation, Technology/Data systems, Professional Development Consultants. 

The board suggested keeping track of these expiring items so that we don't fall behind on anything. Board Treasurer, C. Sneed, discussed using Sage Intact for tracking expenses.

Mitigating Factors: 

• Free and Reduced Lunch:
  • By engaging in the alternate process for identifying families in need, the school can increase Per Pupil Funding. 
• Additional Grant Opportunities:
  • Creating a more robust narrative regarding the school’s progression can increase additional funding streams
• State increases to funding:
  • State funding is expected to increase over the next two school years increasing overall projected revenue

Board Task:

For the December meeting, the idea will be to have Chris and Denise present for the CEO report. Please provide topics you would like to hear from them to Farah by December 1st.

Board Chair, B. Carlson, would like to see a Winter Clothing Drive after Thanksgiving. 

B. Carlson would also like to see the audit for the HVAC Company.