Quorum established with all members present.

Ms. Endres led all members and guests present in the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States of America (USA). 

There were no requests for public comments.

Mr. Hussey provided his Executive Director's update, with highlights as follows:

* Thanks, Mrs. Rayzor, Mrs. Reinboth, and other History teachers for organizing a fantastic History Day that allowed students to present meaningful and insightful projects for various stakeholder and community groups; next round is at the County level; thanked the judges for their time and feedback;

* Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) visit is next week (Feb. 6-8); ECRA Boardmembers are informed of a WASC/ECRA Board Meet-n-Greet Next Sunday, Feb. 5th, from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on campus in the library; no violation of Brown Act as long as no board business is discussed;

* Charter Oversight Visit is February 28th and March 1st; visit is conducted by LAUSD Charter Schools Division (CSD);

* Data on School Based Therapist; we now have a fourth therapist; Data highlights include: 85 risk assessments; completed 50 safety plans for students and parents; 22 DCFS reports during the first semester; some topics discussed include: academic stress, peer relationships, communication with their parents, anxiety symptoms, and depression symptoms; our school staff has referred 57% of these students and 32% of the students have self-reported; 90% of therapist/student interactions come from a school-based/located person;

* Youth Vaping epidemic; ECRCHS is part of a class action lawsuit against Juul who just agreed to a $1.2B settlement of which ECRCHS will receive a portion of funds;  

* ECRCHS is now looking to be part of a lawsuit against social media companies FaceBook, Tik-Tok; Instagram, YouTube; we've seen anxiety and depression which severely affects students' success in schools, as a result of the huge impact social media has made on our students and not positively; 

* Winter Sports winding down; playoffs begin in two weeks; Spring Sports will begin their season in the next couple of weeks; 

*Winter Formal will be held at Madam Tussaud's in Hollywood on Saturday, Feb. 11th, 2023, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.; should be a fun event for our students as we continue to return to a regular high school day and extra-curricular activities.

* Due to high winds, we had a tree split apart on campus; we are having trees evaluated as a result of recent rain and winds.

Mr. Wood provided his Chief Business Officer's update, with highlights as follows:

* Cafeteria continues to do phenomenally well with participation, which is up 64% from last year; we're interviewing students to find out what they are interested in; with profits that have to remain within cafeteria, we've dome some electrical work over the Winter to speed up service for students; to the tune of approximately $130K; continued investments planned between now and the end of the year; 

* Governor's budget (preliminary) - Mixed news; revenues coming down; balanced budget; special fund for economic uncertainties (Gov. possibly going to tap heavily into this "rainy day" fund will decrease by $14M); little bit of a caution; 

* 2023-2024 LCFF Overview - COLA 8.13% as of January; 8 factors will determine COLA; equity multiplier does not apply to ECRCHS; 

One time funding: 

Additional Categorical Funding; "12th Grade Cultural Enrichment" (current estimate $200 per student ($180K for field trips and cultural events) and "Opioid Overdose Reversal" investments 

* Statewide Enrollment Trends by Region Enrollment predicted down across State; Southern CA down 7.73%

* Sample/Example: Assuming 8.13% COLA; If ADA goes from 10K to $98000 means COLA would go down substantially; we need to stay on top of enrollment; Lottery and outreach to ensure that we keep the cofferes full is ongoing; 

* Covid Testing - Vociferously disputing $1.6M invoice from Vendor Fulgent in conjunction with LACOE, GHCHS, BCHS, and PUC consortium of schools; LACOE may provide possible assistance to our efforts; 

Ms. Malconian asked Mr. Wood on what is the Statewide Enrollment Trends report based, to which Mr. Wood and Mr. Hussey noted that it's based on students leaving the region/State;

Mr. Solkovits asked Mr. Wood if the Covid billing is based on more tests than were administered, or was it based on services not agreed to, to which Mr. Wood noted that we received late billing; services started in January but the first bill we received was in August; It's an invoice that gives thousands of names, but gives no details of the relationship with students, who could be going to Birmingham for all we know; there is insurance information on there; got employees on there all of whom have insurance; potential risk of double-billing if we were to pay the invoice and if they bill the employees separately/additionally; also, no accountability back to the school if we were to pay the full or other amount and then Fulgent was paid separately via employees' insurance/Athem Blue Cross/Kaiser Permanente.

Mr. Solkovits added that he hoped that ECRCHS's attorneys also look into the fact that the Federal Government was paying for/subsidizing COVID-19 tests, to which Mr. Wood acknowledged. 

Mr. Wright asked about our lottery/enrollment/wait list, to which Ms. Endres acknowledged that they have conducted the lottery process; anyone who had applied within the deadline was accepted, which was approximately 500+ students; our goal is to register these students as soon as possible (March, tbd) so as to enroll them and reduce the risk of their going to another school; 

Mr. Hussey noted that he had reached out to Hale CMS to ensure that the students know that they have to register/enroll and that it doesn't happen automatically, even for resident students; 

Mr. Wright congratulated Mr. Wood and Alejandra for his work on the cafeteria; noted jokingly that Mr. Wood is not only the Chief Business Officer, but the "Cheeseburger" Officer for the work in the cafeteria.

Ms. Malconian noted that a Finance & Investment Committee Meeting was convened but there is nothing new to report;

School Site Safety Committee - Mr. Wright praised Ms. Endres for her efforts and noted that we no longer have kids walking around during 5th and 6th; praised efforts to monitor hallways with the security;

Athletics Oversight Committee - Nothing to report, per Mr. Wright;

Capitalization - Ms. Malconian noted that the committee has not met since the last board meeting; Mr. Wright noted that there is one project going on at North Campus; Re: Wings Over Wendy's will be removing their property; by rules of our charter and bylaws, Wings Over Wendy's can no longer convene meetings on ECRCHS property without specific insurance requirements without specific club and insurance requirements being met; 

Executive Director Evaluation Committee - Ms. Ibach noted that she has nothing to report, but that the committee will begin their work next month; Mr. Solkovits noted that he'd like to get through WASC first.

Travel - Mr. Kofahl noted that he has nothing to report. 

Technology Committee - Fernando Delgado informed the board that he sent out a full-disclosure email as the school is in the process of purchasing/piloting two applications, an attendance management application and a tardy/detention application which were created and are owned by Mr. Delgado's father; the apps. are currently in use at LAUSD schools and at some charter schools, including Birmingham, Taft, Granada Hills, and SOCES; Mr. Delgado described how the apps would work to reduce paper and how the apps would synchronize with our student information system, and facilitate communication with parents;  Mr. Solkovits asked how these apps are protected from breach to ensure that people's data is not compromised, to which Mr. Delgado noted that everything resides on the ECRCHSW server; encryption; we're using third party apps; noted that anything created by someone can be undone by someone, but the proper safeguards are/would be in place against breaches;

In response to Mr. Solkovits' follow-up question regarding Liability; Mr. Delgado noted that the proper data protection agreements are in place with LAUSD, so proper liability protections are in place against breaches of security/information;

Mr. Wright asked how this saves us money; Mr.  Delgado noted that the apps automate about 98% of the work currently being done by one or more staff; 

Mr. Hussey noted that the two apps will allow us to communicate with families of students who are late or absent to get them in school; he noted that we're not really saving money, but increasing attendance which will result in more revenue and students in school and in class, thus resulting in better learning and test scores.  We're likely to increase ADA and enrollment.

Mr. Wright provided his Board Chair Update, with highlights as follows:

Ms. Ibach asked if we do automated early morning phone calls in response to students are consistently tardy to period 1, to which Ms. Endres noted that the parents receive emails; phone calls are made for early leaves.; Mr. Delgado noted that is where the app can come in.

Ms. Endres noted that over 50% of our student body does not live in our residence boundary and some take multiple buses; grace is expected; 

Mr. Solkovits noted from his teaching experience that students who were habitually late/truant had received automated phone calls that had been made with successive phone calls being made progressively earlier in the morning; he noted that the phone calls worked and that emails can be "blown off" more easily; the important thing is that the we send a message beyond emails; 

Mr. Hussey noted his agreement with Mr. Solkovits, noting the importance of getting to the root of the problem with each student/family and then working with them on a solution;  he noted that the apps should help with this effort; Mr. Delgado affirmed this, noting that the apps will free up time for staff to make specific phone calls to families to engage them in solutions and that another feature of the app(s) will be to help ECRCHS track efforts to engage students and families in order to support students' attendance;

Mr. Wright noted that our school is a jewel in the valley; we spend over $154K for buses; he suggested that the board support investing in charter buses for approximately the same amount, plus an approximate $50K more for high-quality buses wherein ECRCHS can also advertise which department or team is aboard the bus, as well as invite potential donors, businesses, and/or other sponsors to place a magnet on the side of the bus to advertise their business/organization and sponsorship;  

Mr. Wright noted that we have over 155 field trips; we can get a company to pay for a magnet/banner and raise money to cover the expense of the buses; 

Mr. Solkovits asked if the drivers we use are unionized, to which Mr. Wright noted that they are; Mr. Solkovits noted that he hoped that the board would partner with companies whose drivers are unionized and not subject to exploitation, to which Mr. Wright noted that if the drivers were not unionized, but the company saves money, the ECRA Board has a fiduciary responsibility to the school and not to the union;  Mr. Solkovits stated that he believes this would need to be costed out to see what the numbers say and that this is a "red flag" for him, to which Mr. Wright acknowledged Mr. Solkovits' point, while noting that Mr. Wright sees the "green flag" in that the contract for bus services could save the school money; 

Ms. Vargas asked for clarification on the number of buses, to which Mr. Wright described that the school would partner with one company that would have different size buses and who would allow us to place sponsorship magnets and magnets with the name of the school on the side of the bus for exposure and revenue; Ms. Malconian asked if the bus company would allow us to place magnets over the company's name, to which Mr. Wright replied in the affirmative as it would be part of the deal in order for us to enter into such a deal; 

Mr. Hussey noted that these are charter buses that are very nice and would show that our school is taking care of its students/student-athletes.

Ms. Clark added that she had just convened a meeting with dance guard parents recently and that the topic had been broached by parents who noted that other schools have their own school names and logos on their trailers.

Ms. Vargas, asked if we can do just one vote for future consent agenda items, to which Dr. Lowry responded in the affirmative.

Mr. Wood, CBO, provided the December, 2022, Investment Update, with highlights as follows:

OPEB Trust:

* Mr. Wood noted that this marks the 6-month mark of the school year; He noted that the OPEB trust opening balance was $20.5M; 

* We've made contributions of $220,000 per month or $1.3M in aggregate contributions; goal of fully funding the account;

* Market has been up and down; OPEB account gained approximately $50K over these past six months; ending balance of $21.8M;  

* Through last week, market has performed well and overall account balance has grown approximately another million dollars, reflecting an overall balance of $22.8M as of January 16th.

Gen. Fund Investment Account:

* Gen. Fund Account has $6.7M in the account as of the end of December, 2022; 

* We invite our investment advisor to come out every quarter to provide a quarterly update (Beacon Pointe's Mike Breller); he will join the Feb. Finance and Investment Committee Meeting and the February Regular Board Meeting for a more detailed update on our investments accounts/performance;

Ms. Malconian asked what percentage of being fully funded is the $21.8M OPEB Balance, to which Mr. Wood replied that the OPEB Trust Account is approximately 70% funded.

Boardmember Malconian and Mr. Wood, provided an overview of the RFP process, with highlights as possible:

* Every three years

* a template is used to request proposals; anticipate requesting proposals from at least five auditors

Mr. Solkovits asked if there is a rubric; implies bias might be included in the RFP process; wants to ensure personal opinion and heresay do not factor in to the RFP process; 

Ms. Malconian noted that the proposal is not going to be based on proposed cost alone; 

Mr. Solkovits noted that he understands, but alleged that he had witnessed at a prior board meeting the approval of a person who had already been hired and noted that that is an "a-- backwards" way of doing business; he requested that the RFPs and rubrics be brought to the board for transparency purposes; 

Mr. Wood noted that in spite of what the CBO might say, it's not the CBO making the decision; he cited the responsibilities of the F&I Committee who are charged review of the RFP process and proposals received, making recommendation(s) to the full board, etc. 

Mr. Wood assured due diligence will guide the process. 

Ms. Ilyas, Director of Accounting and Finance, presented the December 2022 Financial Update, with highlights as follows:

Balance Sheet: 

Assets and Liabilities

Budget to Actuals provides a sense of our spending; as of Dec. 31st; our halfway mark of revenues and expenses;

*State Revenue is trending higher; two new State Grants past our 1st interim period; one is for arts/music instructional block grant and the second is for learning recovery; 

* On the Expense side, employee benefits expenses include increases to statutory and locally provided benefits such as Social Security, Medicare, and health/medical and retirement benefits; 

* Overall, we're right where we should be at the six month mark; 

Mr. Kofahl asked about red ink/negative to which Ms. Ilyas noted that that red ink number was our actuals number at the end of September 2022; she noted that as of September 2022, we had not yet received all of our State Funding based on when the State pays us, while we were spending funds as we normally would on books, supplies, licenses, etc.; she noted the same thing for October, 2022; 

Ms. Vargas, noted that this is normally, with books, supplies, and licenses are typically spent at the beginning of the year; a 

Mr. Kofahl asked whether or not the red ink was based on money that we were spending or based on bills that we had not yet paid that we had put off paying, to which Mrs. Ilyas responded with an example of licenses being paid typically once per year while a utility bill would be paid on an ongoing basis; 

Mr. Kofahl followed up to state that the red ink is paid, to which Mrs. Ilyas responded that it is like a snapshot in time of the balance; as of September 30th, and October 31st, respectively, we were in the red, but as of December 31st, 2022, we have a positive balance; 

Ms. Malconian noted that funds came in in November and December, 2022. 

Mr. Kofahl asked about the ending balance being an obligation to which Mrs. Ilyas replied that our ending balance is a projection; our second interim is coming up, she said, which will reflect where ECRCHS projects its budget to be at the end of the year;  

Dr. Lowry, Director of Human Resources and Compliance, presented the proposed "Royal Recognition!" ECRCHS Employee Recognition Program and answered questions and comments, with highlights as follows:

* Dr. Lowry first presented context and a reason for the establishment of a schoolwide employee recognition program, noting that we often discuss the need to invest in our teachers and staff, improve our brand; pay attention to our teachers and staff; he noted a common theme that is communicated in the HR Office is the need to be recognized and appreciated; he noted that a recognition program would be another great investment in the people of the school;

* Dr. Lowry presented an overview of the proposed "Royal Recognition!" program awards that includes up to four (4) awards, all of which can be tailored to our school community, as follows:

1. Monthly "Royal Recognition!" Award (similar to an employee of the month-type of award) and details of the award;

2. Semesterly "Royal Ovation! Award - one person selected/recognized at a board meeting in December and one person selected/recognized at a board meeting in May; selectees/awardees to be selected and/or voted on by a committee comprised of one or more HR staff member(s), teacher(s), classified staff member(s), and administrative director(s), from the pool of monthly "Royal Recognition!" award recipients each Fall and Spring Semester;

Mr. Wright noted the importance of asking a variety of stakeholders to vote on award selectees/recipients so as to ensure that no perception of bias occurs, to which Dr. Lowry agreed.

Mr. Solkovits asked Dr. Lowry if he had broached this program with stakeholders, noting that he had seen programs in the past fail; program to backfire if it's viewed as a program that rewards "kiss-asses" and wanted to make sure that recipients weren't just awarded by the HR Department; Dr. Lowry assured Mr. Solkovits and Boardmembers that that is not the expectation or design of the program; 

NOTE: The monthly recognition award recipients are nominated by any employee of ECRCHS and receive a monthly certificate and/or other item(s) as long as nominees are in good standing at the time of their nomination;

NOTE: Only the Semesterly "Royal Ovation!" Award would require a committee comprised of a diverse group of stakeholders to meet two times a year (at the end of each semester) to review and select one (1) "Royal Ovation!" awardee each Semester from each semester's monthly "Royal Recognition!" Award winners.

Dr. Lowry noted this program had been presented by his HR Colleagues to all faculty, staff, and administrators present during the Opening Faculty Meeting in August 2022; Dr. Lowry noted, too, that he had presented this program to all administrators, too; 

3.  "Real Longevity!" Award - recognizes employees for length of service either during appreciation week or during the end of faculty meeting for completing specific numbers of years of service starting at the 5 year mark and with additional recognition every five years; Mr. Hussey noted that he liked the idea of including award recognition opportunities for employees who complete each term of probationary service, for example, after year one (1) and year (2) for certificated/teachers;  

Ms. Malconian noted that the "Real Longevity!" Award is the award she'd like to see implemented as it is completedly objective.

4. "Royal Prize Drawing!" - Spirit-based awards for randomly drawn employee names during lunch or other on a monthly basis; HR, Administration, ASB Student council; with music and "Rah-Rah," our monthly drawing; having a monthly faculty meeting; 

Ms. Malconian noted that she likes the idea of getting the students involved; 

Dr. Lowry noted, too, that Friends of ECR as a PTO group can get involved; 

Mr. Solkovits noted that one of his former principals did something like this at the end of every faculty meeting to give away five random gifts that had been donated by local businesses; 

the same principal had a department person of the month recognition based on student nominations, which allowed the principal/administration to avoid being accused of being biased;

Mr. Hussey noted his support and noted that the major thing for him is the use of public funds; he noted that the program was brought up at the F&I Committee last week and it's being brought to the full board in part for ideas, including possible funding sources outside of traditional sources; fundraising for the program and/or donations account, and/or direct donations of either money or gift cards, etc., are possible sources of program support; 

Ms. Ibach asked about the donations account to which Mr. Hussey said that it needs to be built up; Ms. Ibach asked a follow-up question about whether or not we have some alumni who can help with fundraising for the general donations account and/or with donations by local businesses, etc., to which Mr. Hussey replied that that is something that Ricardo (Marketing Coordinator) is going to be working on; 

Ms. Ibach noted that to get started it's best to go with the objective awards (Real Longevity, etc.), to which Dr. Lowry and Ms. Malconian commented in the affirmative; Ms. Ibach noted, too, that it could include objective awards such as perfect attendance; she recommended against giving keychains that were purchased and instead recommended gift cards donated from businesses over and broached the idea of hoisting banners that highlight teachers/staff/students/programs such as those that she has seen hoisted on Zelzah Ave. on the perimeter of Granada Hills CHS's campus; 

 Mr. Solkovits recommended putting a committee together for planning purposes and buy-in and recommended a student component to it, too; 

Dr. Lowry thanked the board for their input and noted that he looks forward to working with all stakeholders to tailor and implement our recognition program in support of all ECRCHS employees. 

Per Mr. Wright, Dr. Lowry announced the instructions for entering Closed Session.

Mr. Wright then announced that the Board was going into Closed Session at 7:38 p.m.

This item was discussed.

This item was discussed.

The Board reconvened in Open Session at 8:21 p.m.

Mr. Wright announced that no actions were taken during Closed Session.