The New American Academy Charter School
Minutes
TNAACS Board Meeting
Date and Time
Thursday September 17, 2026 at 5:00 PM
Directors Present
C. C​uellar-Lezcano (remote), C. Kelly (remote), F. Monrose (remote), H. Hunt (remote), V. McDonald (remote)
Directors Absent
D. Dula
Guests Present
Dennis Segrue, MMB & Co., Elaine Schmiedeshoff, CSBM (remote), J. Trani (remote), L. Parquette Silva, Svetlana Gnesina, CSBM
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
C.
Approve Minutes
II. Finance & Data
A.
TNAACS Annual Audit
Dennis Segrue from MMB & Co. shared the results of our recent audit. He reviewed the Audit Financial Statements, the Report Required by Government Auditing Standards, and the Independent Auditor Reports dated June 30, 2026.
Dennis reported that there were few year-over-year changes. He focused first on the auditor's opinion and noted there was no change from the previous year. It is the highest opinion an auditor can give. There were no material or non-material misstatements.
He then reviewed the balance sheet and noted a decrease in the school's cash position, which is due to the school's certificate of deposit. He noted that when combining our CD and cash on hand, TNAACS has 137 days, well above the typical Charter School average of 101 days. He noted an 8% increase in operating revenue and a slight 1% increase in expenses. This is positive, shows adherence to our budget, and demonstrates fiscal responsibility.
Dennis moved on to Functional Expenses, where a decrease in personnel expenses was noted. He also shared that the cost of using a staffing agency increased this year. He noted that personnel accounts for 47% of the school's operating expenses. This is right in line with other charter schools.
Dennis then moved on to the cash flow statement, where a slight decrease in net income was noted; however, this is still a positive number. There is a decrease in cash/restricted cash that is due to the 4-month Certificate of Deposit. No subsequent events were noted during the audit.
He then moved to the Government Auditing Report. There was one enrollment finding. It was the same as last year. TNAACS is currently below 85% of its maximum enrollment. Dennis noted this is being seen across New York State charter schools. He noted that statements are free from any material misstatements. No corrected or uncorrected misstatements were reported.
B.
TNAACS Data Share
III. Governance
A.
Staff Updates
L. Silva shared that two staff members had resigned since our last board meeting, one on August 31st and one on September 14th. The staff member who resigned on August 31st was replaced by September 4th. The new teacher is An Associate who is NYS certified. Because of current enrollment in grade three, we decided not to replace the second teacher and instead redistribute his students to the other two classes in the grade. The student-to-teacher ratio is still below 20:1.
B.
Leadership Team Coaching
L. Silva discussed strengthening skills across the school ELT, including building confidence in managing people effectively through providing leadership coaching. She shared recommendations from Sara Hassan of people we could consider hiring to do this work. L. Silva will be sending C. Kelly the names of potential coaches, and she will reach out for proposals.
IV. Other
A.
Board Professional Development Resources
L. Silva reminded the board about the professional development resources provided online by Board On Track.
J. Trani shared student performance data across time by grade for the NYS ELA exam and the NYS math exam. The data was for last years's 4th and 5th grade cohorts. 3rd grade data, while available was not shared because the cohort has no comparison data yet. Ms. Trani said she also included which students received math tutoring last year, which was offered for targeted students in a 16-week cycle, three days per week. It was noted that in the 5th grade cohort, students who participated in the tutoring program did not improve their NYS math exam score from 4th to 5th grade and some scores decreased. Ity was noted that the students selected for tutoring were considered "pushables" or students who had the potential to demonstrate growth.
Ms. Trani shared that the ELT had discussed the data, taking a closer look at which teachers taughtr math and or math tutoring, shared we want to see students increase scores over time year over year. The ELT also discussed that in the 5th grade cohort who was tutored we did not see growth , either a color change or testing on grade level. The team also discussed potential next steps, including building the conceptual knowledge of ther teachers who were tutoring. We discussed leveraging our students who are stronger in this area. We also discussed how the skills taught in K-2 buyild for 3 to 5. We discussed the introduction of our new math curriculum in grades 1st and k this year. with the goal of strengthening foundational skills.
Ms. Trani then moved to the 4th grade. In the 4th grade, all students who participated in our tutoring program showed growth. It was noted that we see more consistent performance by the students in this cohort.
L. Silva shared that it can be challenging to compare scale scores, since the test is a norm referenced exam with the scale score for levels shifting each year. The only stable scale score noted is that a 450 is always the start of a level 3. This is why when looking for growth we are focused on color or numerical levels. It was suggested that this data could be used with students during data chats.