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DeKalb Brilliance Academy

Minutes

FY26 Full Board Meetings

Date and Time

Monday September 22, 2025 at 7:00 PM

Pre-work: 

Directors Present

B. Hartman, C. Armour, Jr., J. Akpan (remote), J. Caruth, J. Counts, L. Norris, M. Freeland, M. Greene, Q. Johnson, S. Samuels

Directors Absent

None

Ex Officio Members Present

E. Parks, K. Herbert

Non Voting Members Present

E. Parks, K. Herbert

Guests Present

J. Alter, T. Logan

I. Opening Items

A.

Record Attendance

B.

Call the Meeting to Order

M. Freeland called a meeting of the board of directors of DeKalb Brilliance Academy to order on Monday Sep 22, 2025 at 7:11 PM.

C.

Approve August meeting minutes

Q. Johnson made a motion to approve the minutes from FY26 Full Board Meetings on 08-25-25.
M. Greene seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.

II. Meeting opening

A.

Mission and Vision

Mesha recited mission and Quentin recited the vision.

B.

Board Commitments

C.

Public Comment

No one present

III. Committee Updates

A.

Committee Updates

Governance -3 policy revisions for vote today suggested by the school's Legal counsel

 

 

Finance — under-funding by GADOE (which will be at least partially corrected in mid-year adjustment starting in March), despite cash flow being strong. Reduced by $765,000. There are higher than projected education costs. Bottom line expected to be less than $500K.

 

Partnership- grant prospecting and submission using tools like ShareWay and Givebutter, etc., goal to pursue at least 3 new grant opportunities over 50K per month

 

Board giving and individual fundraising- ensure we have 100% board giving by June 30 with $1500 per board member

 

 

Academic- reviewed year 4 baseline data from DIBELS and MAP (ELA and Math)

 

  • reviewed Y4 DBA priorities, goals and guiding meetings
  • dashboard will be ready to share in October

IV. School Leadership Report Out

A.

School Leader Report Out

Staffing- opening a 3rd self-contained classroom,

  • these are the most difficult positions to staff
  • moved a 2nd grade teacher to cover a 5th grade departure and hired a new 2nd grade teacher
  • 12 kids per class which is the max

 

Enrollment- 747 applicants (exceeded our goal of 600)

  • we need to get 10 more students each in 4th and 5th (current waitlists are 0)

 

Attendance- so far in September has average daily attendance of 95.93% (exceeded 95% goal)

 

Staff development- week over week development trajectory  focusing on key indicators needed for academic rigor

 

First parent workshop- 40 families showed up

 

Spirit week- Hispanic Heritage

 

Playground design charrette with students

V. Board votes

A.

Social Media Policy- recommends revisions the social media policy from the school's legal counsel as present to the board

Q. Johnson made a motion to approve the recommended revisions to the social media policy from the school's legal counsel as presented to the board.
J. Counts seconded the motion.

FERPA violations better protected

The board VOTED to approve the motion.

B.

FY25 End of Year Family Calendar Revision

Motion to approve the revision to the FY25-26 school year calendar as submitted to the board.
B. Hartman seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.

C.

Reduction In Force Policy- language from the school's legal counsel as presented to the board

M. Greene made a motion to approve the recommended reduction in force policy from the school's legal counsel as presented to the board.
J. Counts seconded the motion.
  • would be brought to the board for approval if ever needed to be utilized due to a budget shortfall.
  • would also provide better EEOC protections

 

 

The board VOTED to approve the motion.
Q. Johnson made a motion to move into executive session for a personnel matter.
J. Counts seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
Q. Johnson made a motion to end executive session.
B. Hartman seconded the motion.

at 8:20pm

The board VOTED to approve the motion.

VI. Board Workshop

A.

Fundraising Gap Brainstorming

  • less access to local tax revenue and district-level supports--> persistent operating gPA
  • reimbursements and services lag behind needs--> we frontload costs and capacity
  • BOARD ACTION- take 3 minutes to search your LinkedIn to see what connections you have in GaDOE and OMB. Put those in Groupme chat.

B.

Growth: Replication// High School

  • Replicating our K-8 model in new communities allows more students to benefit from a project-based, career-connected education, meeting the demand for high, real-world learning experiences.
  • Expansion to pre-k offers children early learning and social emotional development.
  • Expanding into high school supports students from foundational learning through graduation, equipping them for high-demand careers and providing continuity in their education journey.

VII. Closing Items

A.

Team shoutouts

  • Quentin gave a shutout to Jocelyn, Kedra and Eva for their pivot with the under-funding matter with GaDOE
  • Quentin gave a shout out to Jazmin for her legal perspectives and guidance bringing attention to present matters
  • Joceyln gave a shout out to the new board members
  • Jazmin gave a shout out to Mike for being a great board president 
  • Mike gave a shout out to the board 
  • Jazmin gave a shout out to Tiyana for her weekly board reminder emails

B.

Meeting closing

C.

Adjourn Meeting

There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 9:11 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
J. Counts
Documents used during the meeting
None