No public comment 

Guests

• Michael Hays
• Shannon James 

1. Current Significant Issues 
   1. Firewall and Internet Infrastructure
      1. Daily internet and phone outages
      2. Emails sent to addresses outside of our network are going to Spam and are considered a risk to open
2. Matters for Approval or Acceptance
3. VOTE - December Surplus 
4. We are requesting Board approval for: 1 Chromebook - damaged, 3 books - student lost/paid for 
5. FYI - January Surplus: 147 items for surplus/removal from Brighten Academy’s fixed asset inventory
   1. Student Lost / Paid For – Library & Materials (14 items)
   2. Technology – Damaged / Unrepairable / End of Life (13 items)
   3. Technology – Lost / Missing (52 items)
   4. Furniture / Equipment / Misc. – Damaged (6 items)
   5. Instructional Materials – Outdated / No Longer In Use: Legacy Common Core / Coach Assessment Materials – 4 items, Georgia Coach Legacy Instructional & Teacher Materials – 68 items
6. Key Accomplishments 
   1. Family Tours for Prospective Families  
   2. Practicum Students from West Ga. Tech College 
   3. The Phoenix Report: The State of the School Address:
      1. FAQ’s answered posted in Parent Newsletter and Monday Memo
7. Matters for Noting 
   1. PTO Updates: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NVc5hCbpEl9E_16BVhOgWYbZAwTq7rA9/view?usp=sharing 
   2. EL Mid-Year Review: Scheduled for February 12th
   3. Facilities Report:
      1. $184k balance from general budget; $200k ERC funds must be used by July1 
      2. Maintenance Plan for SY26
      3. Gymatorium Survey
   4. HR & Finance Update: 
      1. Accounting & Payroll Reconciliation
      2. Enhancement of Hiring Practices
      3. Benefits Platform Transition
   5. Discipline Update: Out of 37 referrals, 16 of the referrals were physical incidents. Last year at this time, we were at 14 physical incidents out of 19 referrals. This shows a 30.44% decrease in physical incidents (Our goal is to decrease by 3% each year).
   6. Safety drills: Safety Drills Update

The school remains in full compliance with the required monthly safety drills. Our January fire drill was conducted on Friday of last week and was completed successfully. The building was fully evacuated, and all students were accounted for in under five minutes—exceeding our typical evacuation time of six to seven minutes. This improvement reflects continued staff preparedness and effective emergency procedures.

Update on Mid-year Review of all staff (TKES & LKES): All teachers and administrators mid-year reviews are complete.

Screen/Post new positions and Current Vacancies: 8th grade Math-Posted on website, TeachGA, & Staffing agencies.  Received a resignation for an Elementary Teacher position.

Instructional supplies for 2nd semester (if budget allows):All allotments were issued at the beginning of the school year.

The Executive Committee will meet on Monday, February 23rd following the full body meeting. 

• Finance Chair made a motion to approve December financials (approving now due to last meeting being cancelled due to weather)
• Shauncey seconded. Passed unamiously. 
• FTE count and financials look good. 

• Discussed the budget amendment timeline. The goal for completion is the end of March. 
• Waiting for information from Douglas County, the CFO, and administration. 
• The amendment will come up as "information only" at the beginning of March followed by two public hearings. 

FY2026-2027 Budget Time line 

• Final feedback due from different department to Finance team -2/15/2026
• Prelimniary budget draft due to school leader-2/22/2026
• Budget updated based on updated enrollment and funding calculation- 2/27/2026
• Budget finalized and approved by school leader- 2/28/2026
• Budget draft submission to finance committee- 3/6/2026
• Finance committee review and update- 03/06/2026-03/15/2026
• Finalize budget for finance committee and board approval pending funding updates from Authorizer- 3/20/2026
• Finance committee first buget hearing scheduled by- TBD
• Finance committee second budget hearing scheduled by- TBD
• Board Approval of the final budget- No later than June 2026 Board meeting

Katie Smith shared a Fundraiser Plan and Timeline for Birdies fore Brighten. The document includes dates, committees, sponsorship information and the marketing graphic. 

• Discussed elections and timelines.
•  Board application packets are due on Monday, February 15th. 

Policies up for review

• F18-21
  • F18- Reviewed. No edits made
  • F19- discussed brighten basics and highlighting a better sense of community. no edits. 
  • F20- Tabled. Committee will ensure it aligns with by-laws and is in compliance. 
  • F21- no edits made
• Reviewed H7- will do further research and bring to the board. 
• Firmed up The Brighten Academy Leadership Policy

The Governing Board will be present at the Chamber gala on March 14th. 

The Chamber will host this event on February 11th. 

February 25th. Mrs. Pugh will attend. 

Business after hours event will begin following the gala at 6pm.

• GCSA March 9-11th
• Ribbon cutting for the Brighten Academy Charter School Grocery Store on 3/23 at 2:00pm.
• Student Council requested the Boards attendance at their last meeting on May 6th.
• Brighten Broadway: Mean Girls May 8-10th 
• 8th grade graduation May 20th.