Ridgeline Education Corporation
Minutes
Board Meeting
Date and Time
Wednesday September 18, 2024 at 4:15 PM
Location
In person: 1922 S General McMullen Drive, San Antonio, TX 78226
Virtual via Microsoft Teams: https://llac.io/RECBoard
Meeting ID: 248 959 160 729
Passcode: de7HNh
Directors Present
C. Humphrey, L. Davis (remote), M. Lewis (remote)
Directors Absent
None
Guests Present
A. Holmes (remote), A. Miller (remote), D. Petropulos (remote), D. Pierce (remote), G. Sharifi (remote), H. Ruiz (remote), Jeannette Cook (remote), Justin Wood (remote), K. Delaney (remote), K. Willmann, M. VanKirk (remote), Michelle Martinez (remote), Michelle VanKirk (remote), Nadar Ali II (remote), R. Reyes (remote), V. Chase (remote)
I. Opening Items
A.
Call the Meeting to Order
B.
Record Board Member Attendance
C.
Introduction of In Person and Virtual Attendees
D.
Pledge of Allegiance
II. Approval of Agenda
A.
Approval of Agenda
III. Review and Approve Minutes from Previous Meeting(s)
A.
Prior Meeting Minutes
IV. Reports
A.
Finance
B.
School Leader
- Ms. Willmann shared on her PPT and began with a big thank you to the board members for approving the retention bonuses for teachers and staff.
- Ms. Willmann shared on marketing strategies to improve enrollment with partnerships and events to promote the campus. There was also discussion on whether to pause enrollment to focus on current students’ attendance.
- Ms. Willmann mentioned the December 6th graduation at 3:00p with a reservation at Domingo restaurant afterward.
- The Board discussed how to increase attendance.
C.
Management Organization
- Ms. Michelle Martinez shared on LIGA, the Latino Initiative for Growth and Advocacy, is an Employee and Staff Resource Group (ERG) aimed at promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion,
- particularly celebrating National Hispanic Latino Heritage Month from September 15th to October 15th. Ms.
- Michelle VanKirk shared on the Grad4Life survey is a 23-question survey for soon-to-be graduates to share their future plans and the impact of staff on them, ideally taken within the last month before graduation.
- Mr. Holmes shared on Board member bios need updating, especially for three newly reinitiated members, with assistance available for writing and photography. He also mentioned Board members are encouraged to update their bios and can receive help from the PR team.
D.
Legal Update
Legal counsel shared that there was no legal update at this time.
V. New Business
A.
A-F Academic Accountability Litigation in Texas
Ms. Pierce shared that the litigation involves the release of academic ratings by the TEA,
which has been delayed due to lawsuits challenging the legality of the ratings.
Mr. Wood also explained there may be political benefits to releasing the ratings, and some schools are voluntarily doing so.
B.
2024-25 Employee Handbook
Mr. Holmes mentioned the summary of changes to the Employee Handbook and Ms. Pierce added the law firm is comfortable with the updates and recommended the board approve the 2024-25 handbook.
VI. Open Discussion regarding future Board Agenda items
A.
Open Discussion
Mr. Humphrey and Mr. Davis reiterated the focus on the need for a more robust marketing strategy to increase Average Daily Attendance (ADA). A marketing plan will be presented at the next board meeting.
VII. Closing Items
A.
Next Scheduled Board Meeting
Next Scheduled Board Meeting October 16, 2024, at 4:15pm.
The Board was presented with the financial statement as of August 31, 2024, including the balance sheet, income statement, cash projections, and revenues & expenses with an explanation and discussion. The budget was based upon an ADA of 150 and the School currently is at 141 ADA.