Brighten Academy
Minutes
Policy Committee Work Session
Date and Time
Monday February 10, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Committee Members Present
J. Smith, M. Vitale, R. Finan, S. Battle
Committee Members Absent
None
Guests Present
C. Burns Falker, S. Littles
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
C.
Adoption of Agenda
Matt made the motion, Coriya second
D.
Approval of Minutes
Coriya made the motion and Regina second. Minutes are in BOT however not listed in drop down option.
II. Policy/Governance Committee
A.
Meeting Rules
B.
Current Cycle Policies
C4 disruption or interruption of operation of public schools: no feedback from staff (Littles); last reviewed 3-8-22; will leave with no edits and open to opp for staff to review; policies align with dcss: Littles question: when we don’t get timely feedback from staff, if board is amenable can we move forward to approve without external feedback? Shauncey: yes, but it is good to have checks and balances, so we can review again at any time. Committee agreed.
C5 food service management policy: has input in his mailbox (Littles); Sparks and Davis confirmed that it is good; Matt – how is meal price brought to the board for review? Davis will get an answer to ensure we in compliance (Matt acknowledged Bemus handles the contract); Jamilia – in the event of poisoning/outbreak, what is our procedure to communicate? Davis will consult with legal counsel to confirm. We will contact parents and take the necessary steps. What is safe communication with parents so that we can stay ahead (Jamilia)? After notifying health dept, and parents/guardians, how do we notify school community.
Shauncey – are we recommending this for the policy? Jamilia – yes: Parents and guardians should be contacted immediately and then information should be disseminated to the school community.
Matt – how is free/reduced lunch administered? We follow state guidelines.
C6 sale and consumption of food during school day: Littles: recommend that we remove #2, second sentence: “The Nutrition Director will provide appropriate handling procedures on request”. Question: what is the concern with this sentence? No context provided. Discussion on this topic...
Shauncey – is this related to bringing in cupcakes? Or other items?
How do we consider liability concerns? What is the current process? Bring a closed container to the front office and then it goes to the classroom.
Does this counter the Brighten culture? (public comment) ex: 8th grade breakfast
We need staff perspective on this policy (all items, not just #2).
Table until we have an opportunity for more feedback.
#1: Remove first sentence.
#2: Add: without prior approval; remove second sentence.
Consider asking what parents are planning to bring.
Implement appropriate checks and balances in the beginning.
Could we encourage an ingredient list be provided with food that is not pre-packaged? Or note if there are specific known allergens (wheat, eggs, soy, peanuts, etc.). Yes - add this as #5
FDA has a list of 9 food allergens (we can add this into our language) - Matt
Sesame, soybeans, wheat, peanuts, milk, eggs, tree nuts, fish, crustaceans
Does school already have a list of allergens in the school?
D1 bank procedures: reviewed with no edits (Littles). Does finance need to review? Yes (Jamilia). Committee agrees.
D2 bids and quotations: reviewed with no edits by Katie Smith (Littles). Should finance review?
Revise language on page 2, number 2: “office of business services” to “director of finance”
Does this mean Katie would sign or just review (Shauncey)? It depends on what is at stake (Davis). Also based on amount and budget (Coriya)? Yes
D3 capital assets accounting: reviewed with no edits (Littles). When does the audit happen (Jamilia)? Items are stickered for inventory and Ms. Peterson handles this for electronic items (Davis). Would Candy do this audit? Not sure. Just an audit of capital assets (exceed significant value) - Matt. Candy would not do this audit – Kriston Peterson doesn’t do a capital audit... Surplus is different. We need to identify items, process, and person. Tabled
C.
Suggested Policy Review Items
Proposal for 2nd technology policy: Littles provided printed copies for review. RAN OUT OF TIME. Commitee asked to review for next meeting. Bring suggestions. Littles will provide a synopsis in advance of next meeting..
D.
Tabled Policies for Review
C2-Solicitations of Staff and Students:
- What is the process for presenting the Fundraising plan?
- Is there an approval process?
- Does the process go through a specific Administrator?
E.
Updates from DCSS
no updates
F.
Updates from GADOE
no updates
Discussed meeting rules