Literacy First Charter Schools

Minutes

Literacy First Charter School Board of Trustees

Regular Board Meeting

Date and Time

Wednesday December 11, 2024 at 5:30 PM

Location

To attend this meeting in person go to:

 

698 W Main Street

El Cajon, CA 92020

 

To attend this meeting remotely:

 

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Literacy First Charter Schools exists to nurture the whole child from kindergarten through high school graduation by igniting a passion for comprehensive Literacy and equipping our students to wholeheartedly participate in their community.

Trustees Present

B. Johnson, J. Lewis, K. Evans, M. Simone, P. Schreiber

Trustees Absent

None

Guests Present

D. Beyer, L. Amorteguy, S. Robinson

I. Opening Items

A.

Record Attendance

B.

Call the Meeting to Order

P. Schreiber called a meeting of the board of trustees of Literacy First Charter Schools to order on Wednesday Dec 11, 2024 at 5:38 PM.

C.

Flag Salute

D.

Minutes from the November 13, 2024 Board Meeting

K. Evans made a motion to Approve the minutes from November 13th, 2024 Board Meeting Literacy First Charter School Board of Trustees on 11-13-24.
J. Lewis seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

E.

Current Agenda

M. Simone made a motion to Approve December 11th, 2024 regular board meeting agenda.
J. Lewis seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

F.

Public Comment on Agenda Items

G.

Public Comment on Non-Agenda Items

II. Executive Director's Report

A.

School Events, Program, and Staffing Updates

Debbie Beyer, CEO, shared current attendance numbers and upcoming Christmas activities at LFCS.  

Debbie Beyer shared the results of the Battery Storage facility that will be placed behind the Liberty Academy Campus.  Completion of the facility should be June 2025.  The wall separating the school campus and the facility should begin January 2025.

The staff Christmas Party is at the Grand Ole BBQ in Alpine at 1:00 Friday Dec 13th.

Debbie Beyer is meeting with all lead teachers and looking at the teachers on their team and evaluating the training that teachers may need to be the most effective in the classroom.   An evaluation of what we do and the why we do what we do. 

B.

Board Recognition of Kathy Paul

Debbie Beyer recognized Kathy Paul as an employee of LFCS will be retiring.  She was unable to attend.   Priscilla Schreiber recognized Kathy Paul upon her retirement. 

K. Evans made a motion to to recognize Kathy Paul for her service at LFCS upon her retirement.
M. Simone seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

C.

Board Recognition of Frances Balko

Priscilla Schreiber recognized Frances Balko for her service while working at LFCS.  She will be retiring at the end of December.  

M. Simone made a motion to to recognize Frances Balko for her service at LFCS upon her retirement.
P. Schreiber seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

III. Chief Business Officer's Report

A.

Current Financial Report

Steve Robinson, CBO,  shared the school's financials as of 11.30.24.

B.

Contracts and Large Purchases Notifications

Steve Robinson, CBO, shared the following contracts and large purchases:

IncStores.com: Flooring tiles for LCHS weight room project: $15,083.54.
A&B Air Conditioning and Heating: Replace two HVAC systems at LCHS over
Christmas break: $17,750.

C.

Facilities Report

Steve Robinson, CBO, shared facility reports for all the campus'

 

LCHS Alpine: The district agreed to credit us the $20,040 for the solar repairs needed
to get the system running at capacity again. Work has begun. The container and
flooring have been purchased for the LCHS weight room. two old and unfixable HVAC
units are scheduled to be replaced over Christmas break. Cloud based phone system
infrastructure work scheduled for the end of June and installation in July.
 

Junior Academy: The permit for the installation of the left hand turn lane and "no
blocking" signs on Bradley per the new CUP is being bounced back and forth between
the city and county. The ADA work at Freedom House will be done summer 2025 with
the project in permitting now and bids are being generated. The turf and stair project is
scheduled for Christmas break. Remaining carpet and tile installation pushed to
Easter break due to concerns over the tile. Cloud based phone system infrastructure
work scheduled for the end of June and installation in July. Solar is being explored for
this campus.
 

Primary Academy: We are pricing repairs to the playground structure now that we
have executed the 5 year lease.
 

Liberty Academy: School leadership has had multiple meetings with representatives
from RWE, the battery storage company, to discuss safety concerns regarding the
battery storage facility being constructed on 203 N Johnson Ave. A meeting for
parents and staff was held on12.10.24 at 6:00pm at 698 W Main. Construction
has started at 203 N Johnson Ave. Playground and turf replacement planned for
summer 2025. Cloud based phone system infrastructure updates scheduled for late
June and installation in July. Solar is being explored for this campus.

D.

Legal Issues

Steve Robinson, CBO, shared that Surety bond is cancelled and should be returned to us in January 2025 and the Zori case has been finalized.

E.

2024-25 LFCS 1st Interim Report

Steve Robinson, CBO, recommended the board approve the 2024-25 LFCS 1st Interim Report which contains budgeted revenue and expenses as of 10.31.24, actual revenue and
expenses as of 10.31.24, budget projections for fiscal years 2025-26 and 2026-27,
and cash flow as of 10.31.24.

K. Evans made a motion to Approve 2024-25 LFCS 1st Interim Report.
M. Simone seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

F.

2023-24 LFCS Audit

Steve Robinson, CBO, recommended the board approve the 2023-24 LFCS audit. The auditors
deemed all previous findings corrected and identified no new findings for fiscal year
2023-24. All audit adjustments have been fully explained, understood, and align with
the ending funding balance calculation in the audit.

M. Simone made a motion to Approve 2023-24 LFCS Audit with amendment that on page 17 is it corrected to say LFCS is authorized through the San Diego County Board of Education.
K. Evans seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

G.

Freedom House ADA Bids

Steve Robinson requested that Freedom House ADA Bids be tabled to the January 2025 regular board meeting. 

H.

LFCS Mathematics Placement Policy

Steve Robinson, CBO, recommended the board approve the LFCS Mathematics Placement Policy.

J. Lewis made a motion to Approve LFCS Mathematics Placement Policy.
K. Evans seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

I.

LFCS Suicide Prevention Policy

Steve Robinson, CBO, recommended the board approve the recently updated LFCS Suicide
Prevention Policy

B. Johnson made a motion to Approve LFCS Suicide Prevention Policy.
J. Lewis seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

J.

2024-25 LFCS School Plan For Student Achievement

Steve Robinson, CBO, recommended the board approve the 2024-25 LFCS School Plan For Student Achievement.

M. Simone made a motion to Approve 2024-25 LFCS School Plan for Student Achievement.
B. Johnson seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

IV. Governance

A.

Calendar change

Steve Robinson, CBO, recommended the board move the January 8, 2024 regular board meeting to January 15, 2024.

K. Evans made a motion to Move the January 8th 2024 regular board meeting to January 15 2024.
M. Simone seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

B.

Organizational Meeting

Priscilla Schreiber discussed a new slate of officers for 2025-26.  Discuss committee assignments. Continued service for board members terms expiring.    

M. Simone made a motion to Approve Jason Lewis and Katina Evans to continue to serve on the LFCS Board for another 4 year term 2024-28.
P. Schreiber seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
M. Simone made a motion to Appoint a new slate of officers to the LFCS Board, Katina Evans will serve as President 2024-2026, Jason Lewis will serve as Vice President 2024-2026, Matt Simone will serve as Secretary 2024-2026.
B. Johnson seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

C.

Governance Committee Report

D.

Finance Committee Report

E.

Facilities Committee Report

V. Closed Session

A.

Enter Closed Session

None

B.

Adjourn Closed Session

VI. Closing Items

A.

Adjourn Meeting

B. Johnson made a motion to Adjourn meeting at 7:14 pm.
K. Evans 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 7:18 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
L. Amorteguy