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Élan Academy Charter School

Minutes

Board Meeting

Date and Time

Wednesday June 30, 2021 at 6:00 PM

Location

Via Zoom Meeting Conference as per State of Louisiana Proclamation Number 2020-30 
Phone Discussion (646) 558-8656;
Meeting ID: 825 6221 7713;
Password: NONE 
709 Park Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70114; (504) 619-9720; www.elanacademy.org 

The matters listed are those reasonably anticipated by the Chair to be discussed at the meeting. Not all items listed may, in fact, be discussed. Other items not listed may be brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by law. All agenda items are informational unless otherwise denoted, though all committee reports require a vote for acceptance. The meeting will be held on the campus of the school. 

Directors Present

A. Olatunji (remote), A. Shabankareh (remote), D. Barnes (remote), D. Patin (remote), D. Willeman (remote), G. Thomas-Batiste (remote), J. Stewart (remote), R. Watkins (remote), S. Brown (remote), T. Taylor (remote)

Directors Absent

D. Hoover

Ex Officio Members Present

R. Carter (remote)

Non Voting Members Present

R. Carter (remote)

Guests Present

M. Clark (remote)

I. Opening Items

A.

Record Attendance

B.

Call the Meeting to Order

D. Patin called a meeting of the board of directors of Élan Academy Charter School to order on Wednesday Jun 30, 2021 at 6:04 PM.

C.

Approval of May 26 2021 Board Minutes – Darren Patin (Voting)

A. Shabankareh made a motion to approve the minutes from May 26, 2021.
D. Willeman seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.

D.

Approval of Today’s Meeting Agenda - Darren Patin (Voting)

A. Olatunji made a motion to approve the minutes from.
G. Thomas-Batiste seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.

II. Head of School Report

A.

Head of School Report – Melanie Askew (Voting)

NOPS Updates on Reopening - 
  • Students will have to wear masks next year, except for outside activities
  • Teachers_ masks are optional, if they are vaccinated
July 6th communication will go out with official guidelines 

Contracts
  • Awaiting contract with Revolution Foods

HR
  • Filled Positions

Leading NSNO 

Reviewed the STEP and MAP data 
State of the School
  • Comparison of Schools
    • Difficult b/c some schools did not test during pandemic and  there were a variety of different return to school models
    • Compared to Nashville Classical, Ethos Classical, and Circle City Prep
  • Reviewed Literacy goals and achievement
  • Reviewed STEP Goal for the year by grade and classroom
  • Reviewed STEP results and Overall MAP growth goals
  • Reviewed DEI data related to academic achievement 
  • LEAP 2025 scores will be released at the end of July
  • Discussed attendance goals
  • Insight Survey 
    • Still scoring across higher domains
  • Started COVID Response Planning with team
    • Accelerating STEP goals
    • Reading Instruction adjustments
      • Will incorporate iReady
    • Math Instructional Adjustments
      • bringing back math stories
      • replacing calendar math
      • incorporating iReady
  • PD for teachers 
  • Strategic interventions
    • Summer programs
    • Independent choice block will be used for RtO
    • 3 interventionists
  • Data Driven Protocols
    • Will lead Academic Team
    • iReady will be assisting
    • School Runner will be assisting with data interpretation
Darren asked about current grants
8/20  of current cohort who are at or above grade level expectations improved from beginning of the year.

R. Watkins
Summer camp- will it be continued every year? 
Plan is for the pilot this summer to continue, pending funding.
Will be keeping it limited to current Elan students and select new students due to capacity.
R. Watkins made a motion to approve the minutes from.
A. Olatunji seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.

III. Governance

A.

Governance Committee Report - Darren Patin (Voting)

Darren spoke with NOPS
  • Fisher building will not be ready
  • Will remain in current building and modulars
  • Discussed financing new school construction
Strategic Plan

Board Retreat
  • Spoke with Dr.Peterson
    • 1 day retreat - $3K, 9am - 3:30pm
      • 8/7
    • Cost
    • Freddie Wicker w/NSNO
      • Will give pricing within next 1-2 weeks
Insurance Proposal
  • Insurance policy in place
  • Pricing is within reasonable range- 15k
    • We don't have flood coverage in place
    • Business income increased from 50k to  200k
    • Flood premium of 100k was over 5k/year
Officer Selections
  • Darren - Chair
  • Roger -Vice Chair/Treasure
  • Daphine- Secretary
Discussed Board Membership
    finding potential members

Formalize meeting dates

Discussed HoS Evaluation
Discussed Staffing
Discussed Budget 

RFP- Janitorial Services

Background checks will be discussed at July meeting

 
R. Watkins made a motion to approve the minutes from Governance Committee Meeting on 06-23-21.
A. Shabankareh seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.

IV. Academic

A.

Academic Committee Report – Anane Olatunji (Voting)

Dr. Olatunji

1. Divided responsibilities among team members 
2. Set calendar
3. Continued the DEI data review project into 2021-22 SY

Discussed software issues with getting the solicited data
Discussed how to categorize SPED students when disaggregating data
 
G. Thomas-Batiste made a motion to approve the minutes from.
R. Watkins seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.

V. Finance

A.

Finance Committee Report – Roger Watkins (Voting)

R.Carter 
Reviewed April Financial Update 2021
Reviewed FY 21 Previous vs Current Forecast 
Net - 14,500

Reviewed May 2021 Financial Overview
May 2021 cash ending- $1.2 million
CC Liability - $7k

Reviewed Final FY 2021 Previous vs Current Forecast
EOY Bonuses to Staff - $26K
Net Impact- $57,764

EOY Cash - $1.25 million cash on hand

 
A. Shabankareh made a motion to approve the minutes from.
A. Olatunji seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.

B.

Approval of Finance Policy Addendum - Re: Check Signatories (Voting)

R. Watkins

Check Signatories 

Authorized signers on school deposit accounts shall be Head of School, Board Treasurer, Board Vice-Chair, and Board Secretary.  Preferred order to seek board signatures when necessary are from Board Treasurer first, Board Vice-Chair second, then Board Secretary.

Motion to approve by R. Watkins
D. Patin made a motion to Roger Watkins.
A. Shabankareh seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.

C.

Approval of Finance Policy Addendum - Credit Card Rewards Policy (Voting)

Roger Watkins

Credit Card Rewards -  Credit card reward points shall be redeemed at least once per fiscal year, and the method of redemption shall be a statement credit towards the school's credit card balances.
R. Watkins made a motion to Approve the Credit Card Rewards Policy.
J. Stewart seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.

D.

Discussion of 2021 - 2022 Elan Academy Charter School Budget (Non – Voting)

R. Watkins

Reviewed Budget Summary 2020-21 tp 2023-24
Revenue for state and Local sources has currently decreased
- increase in Federal resources for next year
- salaries have a larger gap from last year to next year
    - all positions will be filled
- Supplies cost increased
- due to one time laptop purchases
- Positive operating budget for 21-22 SY
Beginning balances are increasing 

Discussed FY 22 Revenue Assumptions
- Food services seem to increase from 21 to 22 due to COVID attendance

Discussed FY 22 Projected Cash Balance
124 days of cash on hand
$1.8M

Discussed Risks, Uncertainties, and Opportunities
- Funding, enrollment, and staffing

A. Oluntaji asked about staffing projections as they relate to the budget. 
R. Watkins made a motion to Approve Budget.
G. Thomas-Batiste seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.

VI. Development

A.

Development Committee Report – Ashley Shabankareh (Voting)

Development Committee did not meet this month

Transition to Tiffany Lewis will be discussed this Friday.

VH1 - Ashley has been working with their "Save the Music" team and Elan will be getting one of their grants to start the music program.
S. Brown made a motion to approve the minutes from.
R. Watkins seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.

VII. Additional Business

A.

Old Business

Discussed Teacher Appreciation Week

B.

New Business - Darren Patin

R. Watkins made a motion to Update the Check Signing Policy.
G. Thomas-Batiste seconded the motion.
In order to ensure proper oversight if the Head of School is not able to sign a check requiring two signatures, the school's Head of Operations will generate the check through the school's financial management software.  The check will then meet the two signature requirement by having signatures from two of the authorized signers on the school deposit account, with the order of preference stated in the financial policy regarding check signatories.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.

C.

Consideration and Vote on proposal from Revolution Foods for food services contract.

Only received 1 proposal

Revolution previously served 2018-19, 2019-20
Genuine served 2020-21, was unsatisfactory

258K 
Breakfast, Lunch, After school snack
272 students
B- $0.98, L- $1.07
Summer school lunch
J. Stewart made a motion to Authorize HoS to enter into contract with Revolution Foods.
A. Olatunji seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.

D.

Vote on 2021-2022 Board Officers

G. Thomas-Batiste made a motion to Approve the 2021-22 Board Officer Roster.
D. Willeman seconded the motion.
Darren Patin - Chair
Roger Watkins- Vice-Chair/Treasurer
Daphine Barnes - Secretary
The board VOTED to approve the motion.

E.

Discussion of Committee and Board Meeting Calendar Dates for 2021 - 2022 School Year - Todd Taylor (Non - Voting)

R. Watkins made a motion to Approve the 2021-22 Committee and Board Meeting Dates.
A. Olatunji seconded the motion.
Reviewed yearly dates and conflicts with holidays.
Dates are to be posted on the website.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.

F.

Consideration and Vote on the Head of School Evaluation, contract extension, and parameters for the 2021-2022 school year.

VIII. Closing Items

A.

Chairman's Remarks

B.

Adjourn Meeting

There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 8:00 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
D. Barnes
Guests are welcome to speak during each agenda item with recognition from the presiding officer. In the event to comments or debate may appear to be lengthy, the presiding officer will set a time limit the open comment period; will define the time length each person is afforded to speak; will recognize the order of the respondents, and each person will be asked to state their name, city, parish, and affiliation with the school (examples: employee, administration, parent, community guest, school board representative). This policy subject to change, as necessary.