Ivy Hill Prep Charter School
Minutes
Board of Trustees Meeting - Ivy Hill Prep
Date and Time
Monday February 24, 2020 at 6:30 PM
Location
Ivy Hill Prep Charter School, 475 East 57th Street, Marital Arts Room, Brooklyn NY - CALL 201-785-7737 to ENTER SCHOOL
IVY HILL PREP - BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Directors Present
A. Laniyan, D. Lewis, K. Wedderburn-Henderson (remote), M. Kane, M. Michael, N. Williams, T. James
Directors Absent
A. Jimenez-Schulman, J. Small
Directors who arrived after the meeting opened
N. Williams
Guests Present
A. Johnson, B. Parker
I. Opening Items
A.
Call the Meeting to Order
M. Michael called a meeting of the board of directors of Ivy Hill Prep Charter School to order on Monday Feb 24, 2020 at 6:57 PM.
B.
Record Attendance and Guests
C.
Approve January 2020 Board Meeting Minutes
M. Michael made a motion to approve the minutes from Board of Trustees Meeting - Ivy Hill Prep on 01-27-20.
A. Laniyan seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
D.
Approve Minutes from Special Meeting
M. Michael made a motion to approve the minutes from Special Meeting on 02-05-20.
A. Laniyan seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
E.
Vote to Approve Agenda
M. Michael made a motion to Approve Agenda.
A. Laniyan seconded the motion.
The only change may be that we may move through the schedule faster.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
II. Head of School Evaluation & Support Committee
A.
Discuss Ongoing Support
Discussed ongoing support around finalizing goals for HOS.
III. Governance
A.
Discuss Ongoing Governance Issues
The Board discussed the development of a board handbook. The board handbook will serve as a centralized resource for all Ivy Hill Prep documents which would be helpful to trustees. It will not only be beneficial for board recruitment, but also for ongoing board development.
B.
Discuss Recruiting New Trustees and Succession Planning
There are currently nine board members. It is the board's goal to continue active recruitment to ensure that board continues to grow and remains fully populated. Trustee members should continue to think about succession on officers.
N. Williams arrived.
IV. Finance Committee
A.
Review Financial Dashboard for Month Ending January 2020
Treasurer Nataki Williams presented the financial report.
- Cash on Hand: Cash on hand is below the 90-day benchmark. Ivy Hill Prep is currently spending more than it is receiving in revenue during the reporting period. Management did not provide any details regarding not meeting the cash on hand benchmark. However, the Finance Committee proposed working with IHP management to determine a better ways to manage the timing of expenditures to increase the benchmark.
- Income: IHP is receiving more income than anticipated because the attrition rate is lower than expected. This has resulted in more income than planned for in the budget but even with increased revenue cash on had benchmark is not where the Board would like to see it. It was also explained that the DOE is also reimbursing the entire expense around the facilities costs.
- Outstanding Revenue: There is still an outstanding grant of $232,000. However, management reported that it is very unlikely that these funds will come in prior to the end of the fiscal year. The Board asked management if this delay is standard. Management is seeking out information from other charter schools who have received the grant in the past.
B.
Vote to Approve Public Announcement System Bid
A. Laniyan made a motion to To Approve Bid for Public Annoucement system.
T. James seconded the motion.
After a discussion around whether the bids were comparable to each other, the finance committee recommended that vote be taken to approve the bid recommended because having a functioning Public Announcement System was an important safety mechanism the school needed to have in place.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
V. Development
A.
Reminder of Board Giving Goal
Board Chair Marsha Michael reminded the Board of the importance of individual board giving committment.
B.
Discuss Development Initiatives
The Development Committee is planning a trivia event at The Chelsea Bell. Th event will be scheduled late April or early May.
VI. Academic Achievement
A.
Review Academic Dashboard
Main academic benchmarks discussed including enrollment, attrition, attendance and new applications.
B.
Vote to Approve Enrollment Policy
M. Michael made a motion to Approve IHP's Enrollment policy.
N. Williams seconded the motion.
Enrollment policy needed to be amended to reflect a one day enrollment policy where parents completed the enrollment procedure in one day.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
C.
Vote to Approve Year 2 Academic Calendar
T. James made a motion to Vote to Approve Year 2 Academic Calendar.
A. Laniyan seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
D.
Webinar on Academic Achievement Oversight
Academic Achievement Committee recommended that board view a training webinar on the board's oversight role pertaining to academic achievement. The webinar was created by Board on track but due to technical difficulties webinar could not be played during the course of the board meeting. However, the link to the webinar and slides for the webinar were provided as part of the board meeting materials.
VII. Facilities Update
A.
Update on Renovation Process
The renovation began on February 10. The lockers were removed and the classrooms were skim coated and covered. This week represented the first week that renovations would be occurring at the same time as when scholars were in the building.
VIII. Head of School Update
A.
HOS Report
- Enrollment: The Head of School reported that there are now 116 students enrolled. The school has a capacity for 120 students.
- Assements: The STEP Assessment revealed that only one out of the the four classes met the goal. There will be a new STEP Assessment in early March and the data will be reviewed during the next board meeting.
- Suspensions: A suspension was reported for February. The Board discussed the issue of suspending young students. Management discussed that there a number of interventions in place prior to suspension and suspensions are only used a last resort.
- Updates on School Culture & Events: There will be a Black Wax Museum event to celebrate Black History month.
- Staffing: The teaching fellow was hired and new social worker was hired.
IX. Closing Items
A.
Meeting Evaluation
B.
Adjourn Meeting
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 8:03 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
K. Wedderburn-Henderson
Documents used during the meeting
- Feb Special Meeting Minutes.pdf
- Ivy Hill Monthly Financials - January 2020 (002).xlsx
- Charter Technology PA Proposal.pdf
- Head of School Report_February.pdf