All Board members were in attendance:

Shannon Glapion - Late

Ha'reanna Campbell - Late

Joe Daschbach [ EdOps] - Virtual Presentation

Ms. Khloe Cola was unavoidably detained, but will make a video presentation for the Board and ship that to Ms. Karpinski for distribution to all Board Members.

Joe Daschbach presented an overview of the 2025 Q4 closeout as well as the 2025 - 2026 Board Approved Budget [Q1] 

• Currently, Rooted's financial position is considered strong with over 200 days of cash on hand.
• Projected forecasts indicate that Rooted will close FY 25 - 26 with a modest cash surplus.

Executive Director, Kaitlin Karpinski, discussed the expansion of Rooted's Mission & Vision statement to include the following:

Nursing Pathway

Social Work Pathway

Ms. Karpinski unveiled her plans for both new programs and continuing to grow out our current tech IBC program.

FIRST READING:

The Board was asked to review and provide feedback/input to the draft Rooted School AI Policy.

PROPOSED BOARD RECOMMENDATIONS:

• Change nomenclature from Google Bard to Gemini in the policy.
• Review policy to ensure that it is primarily a "Use Policy" and not a "Punitive Policy."
• It should be considered a roadmap for student use moving into the future.

FIRST READING:

The Board was asked to review and provide feedback/input on the Rooted School Act 680 Policy.

ACT 680 of the 2024 Regular Legislative Session, called the “Given Name Act,” mandates schools adopt a policy implementing the provisions of the Act. The Act provides that a school governing authority shall not adopt a policy that provides for an inquiry into a school employee’s or student’s pronouns that are inconsistent with the person’s biological sex, nor shall it adopt a policy that provides for an inquiry into a school employee’s or student’s name other than the person’s legal name or a derivative thereof.

*Note: This proposed policy was drafted by our legal counsel, Adams & Reese.  This policy should not be subject to significant revision as Act 680 is part of LA Legislative Code.  

**All feedback will be heard and respected.

LINK TO ACT 680 BELOW:

https://legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1382701

The Board discussed the numerous proposed options regarding how to handle food insecurity among our students and families, given the impending suspension of both the SNAP and WIC programs due to the government shutdown.

• The Board will discuss recent concerns around the closing of the SNAP and WIC programs.
• Impact of government shutdown on NSLP
• Possible short-term considerations to address food insecurity among our families

• Ms. Karpinski discussed the need for 2 additional Board members.
• More information and support will be needed in securing Board members who are passionate about Rooted's Mission and are willing to commit to the work on behalf of that mission/vision.

Ms. Karpinski advanced the possibility of committee structures:

1. Academic Committee

2. Fundraising Committee

3. Governance Committee

This item was tabled for future board meeting discussions.  No decision was rendered at this meeting.

Current enrollment is 142 students.

Ms. Karpinski acknowledged that enrollment has decreased since August 2025 due to out-of-state transfers, an increase in homeschooling, hardship transfers and a general reduction in the high school age demographic both city-wide and state-wide.

Ms. Karpinski shared that the NOPS site audit will be taking place on 10/30/2025.

Ms. Karpinski shared the new metrics for charter renewal:

• Metrics for renewal
• General overview of renewal process