None

Mr. Brown expressed that he was happy to be in attendance.

Mr. Bañuelos welcomed Mr. Brown.  He also thanked all Da Vinci teachers, and shared that his son Eric will be attending UC Santa Barbara in the Fall.  Mr. Bañuelos also expressed his pride in the work and contributions of the FRC team, winners of the World Championships.  Mr. Bañuelos spoke of anticipating the Wiseburn Unified School District's Board's settlement and closeout of Phase Two of the project at 201 N. Douglas, and their consideration of a loan to complete the soccer field at 201 N. Douglas.

Dr. Brann spoke of the FRC team and the support they received from Da Vinci staff, faculty and Northrop Grumman engineers.  
Dr. Brann also spoke of the visit of Col. Ann Igl to the 201 N. Douglas campus.  Col Igl is the commander of the L.A. Air Force Base.  

 

Dr. Wunder introduced Dr. Jennifer Hawn, who will be heading the human resources department beginning in the 2019-20 school year.  

Dr. Wunder spoke with appreciation of Ms. Carla Levenson who has been working to secure a $1.6MM grant.

He also spoke of the New Board Member Selection process:  1) The board discusses the position;  2) develop online application; 3) push out call for applicants via Constant Contact database; 4) form subcommittee to evaluate applications; 5) interview top three candidates; 6) involve WUSD throughout.

Thursday, August 8, 2019 is the date that most respondents have indicated they can attend.  The meeting would be an all-day (8 a.m to 5 p.m.) event held within the district.  Dr. Wunder suggested hiring a facilitator to run the meeting.

Mr. Brown asked if the date would allow enough time for the site administration and Central Office to implement suggestions for the 2019-20 school year.  Dr. Wunder responded that the site administrators begin working on the next year's planning in January, so certain items may not be changeable.

The date was finalized; Dr. Brann volunteered to assist in securing a venue.

Mr. Steve Wallis and Dr. Scott Weatherford gave a presentation on the administrative leader hiring process.  There were two hiring symposiums held:  the first was for internal candidates, and the second was for external candidates.  The applicants were scored based on a rubric created by the principals, Dr. Wunder, Mr. Bravo, and Ms. Saldaña-Bautista.  During each symposium, candidates met with parents, site administrators, and the CMO.  At each meeting, the candidates participated in an activity or were given a scenario and had to respond with a course of action and their reasoning.  Exit interviews were held with all candidates.  Dr. Wunder met with the principals, Ms. Yolanda Saldaña-Bautista, and Mr. Vicente Bravo where it was determined that they had qualified candidates, and a third symposium was unnecessary.

Ms. Morgan asked clarifying questions.  Mr. Brown shared that the process makes sense to him, and the key is having the resumes and candidates scored by so many people.
Dr. Brann expressed appreciation for the caring people who worked on hiring.

Mr. Mayotte and Dr. Wunder presented the financial update.

Mr. Mayotte gave some projections for the end of the year, saying that he anticipates a positive net income compared to previous projections.
Regarding the previously Board-approved line of credit, the banker moved from Pacific Premier to Banc of California; Mr. Mayotte will try to secure the line of credit with the new bank, citing a good relationship with the banker who moved, which could be beneficial in the future with other financial issues.

The May Revise was presented:

• The Governor's May Revise contains a 3.26% COLA.  Da Vinci has invested $7.2MM in the 201 N. Douglas campus
• The STRS employer contribution will be reduced for the next two years.
• The other changes will have a minimal effect on Da Vinci Schools.

50% Rule spending guardrail - potentially to be presented for Board approval in June.  Site administrators would be responsible for keeping the total costs of teachers, counselors, academic coaches, stipends, and office personnel at or under 50% (excluding benefits and shared-across-all-campus costs).

Dr. Wunder spoke of the Da Vinci Schools Fund, which will separate the costs of fundraising from the Da Vinci budget.  

    

Discussion on authorized personnel, amount cap, and number of signatories ensued.
It was agreed that any check for more than $1,000 would require two signatures.  A total of four signatories would be added to the account to ensure ease in obtaining signatures.

Public Agency Retirement System (PARS), is a defined-benefit plan.  The savings (about $42K) from the PARS program for part-time employees would help fund an increase in Da Vinci's contribution to the 457 retirement plan of classified staff.  El Segundo Unified, LAUSD, etc. also use PARS.  Da Vinci does not participate in PERS.  Da Vinci Schools retains about 120 part-time employees.

Mr. Mayotte spoke of the May 31 deadline to apply for the 0% loan (there is a 6.5% finance fee, resulting in about $200K in fees for a $3MM project).  Mr. Bañuelos had recommended meeting with solar company Engie.  Engie could install a parking lot project or a rooftop solution; either would result in providing 60% of the campus' energy.  Payback would be expected in 13 years, including fees. There would be no out-of-pocket costs to Da Vinci Schools; the payment structure will be based on DV savings per year.  Engie also presented a purchase plan agreement, where Engie would take the tax credit in return for installing a solar energy system. There would be a 28 year period where Da Vinci would see a small savings.  The difference between the 0% loan and the purchase plan is $1.3MM.

Dr. Wunder clarified that the item before the Board is for the loan, not for picking which solution to pursue.
Dr. Brann spoke of needing the Wiseburn Board's approval, as either plan would require a physical change to the campus buildings.  Mr. Bañuelos shared that Mr. Mayotte had sent the District documentation for the options.

Discussion on teacher and counselor salaries ensued.  Da Vinci is comparable to other charter schools at the end of the salary tables, but lower than other schools in the first 10 years.  

Mr. Bañuelos asked if waiting for the June subcommittee meeting would create an issue for these items and the forecast.  Mr. Mayotte explained that hiring and open enrollment currently occurring were creating a time constraint.

Discussion ensued on the cost of medical benefits.  The rate locked for about 18 months because Da Vinci is attempting to move from a July 1 start to a Jan. 1 start.  The insurance firm, Charter Life, pools about 36 charter schools together to negotiate better rates.

Mr. Mayotte is confident that in the long run, costs will be reduced.
 

See discussion for D

Mr. Banuelos asked how these items fit into Mr. Mayotte's budget for 2019-20 and beyond.
Mr. Mayotte spoke about the lack of one-time costs, and being able to absorb $800-900K increase in costs due to the move to 201 N. Douglas.  If DV can continue the pace of its economies of scale, it will realize the funds to afford these compensation changes.

Mr. Mayotte credited Dr. Ring and Ms. Johnson for their efficiencies in special education costs.

Mr. Meath asked if Mr. Mayotte had consulted legal advice to determine that this would be expense reimbursements rather than wages.

After discussion, the item was tabled for further information
 

Dr. Brann asked if there were more partners in the agreement.

Dr. Brann asked about funding.  Dr. Wunder shared that a donor had been secured.  Other partners have signed a two-year agreement.
Further discussion ensued.

Vote on Item O., with the understanding that there won't be any cost to Da Vinci; Dr. Wunder will find a source to cover the $18,250 cost.

Discussion on the alignment of the Da Vinci calendars with Wiseburn Unified School District ensued.  Spring Break 2020 has been aligned in this calendar.  Dr. Ring shared that conversations have begun regarding sharing Professional Development days with Wiseburn. 

 

Discussion ensued on the updating of the policy to create a baseline policy for all the schools.  The intent is to have a standard minimum dress code that allows site administrators to add to it if desired.  Ms. Morgan spoke about the desire to publish a consistent policy across the schools for the website, etc.

Dr. Wunder mentioned the policy in the student handbook, saying that this item is a Board policy, as opposed to a site policy.

Dr. Brann objected to the dress code.
Mr. Meath felt that all the schools should have the same code, especially the ones co-located on the same campus.

Dr. Brann mentioned that the Wiseburn Board members would need to weigh in on the terms of Roger Bañuelos and Israel Mora.

Mr. Bañuelos said that it is a ratification or consent, not an approval of the Wiseburn Board's terms.  

Terms for Jennifer Morgan and Brian Meath were extended
Terms for Roger Bañuelos and Israel Mora were consented to/ratified.

Dr. Brann spoke about the CEO evaluation process and the fact that a CEO evaluation has not been completed for the last five years.  He will ask Dr. Wunder to complete a self evaluation.  Dr. Brann and Ms. Wohlwerth will create an evaluation form to distribute to the Board for completion with a June deadline.  Forms will be returned to Dr. Brann, who will summarize the comments and the Board will then meet with the CEO.

Mr. Meath and Mr. Banuelos thanked Dr. Brann for his leadership.

Closed session entered at 8:16 p.m.

Reconvened at 9:45 p.m.

In Closed Session, the Board approved the Resignation Agreement and General Release between the District and a certificated employee.
The Roll Call vote was as follows:
Brian Meath:  yes
Jennifer Morgan: yes
Ken Brown: yes
Roger Banuelos: yes
Don Brian: yes

Mr. Israel Mora was absent.
Item carries, 5-0

Dr. Brann spoke of the presentation on the site administration hiring process.  The Board recognizes that this is not an action item on the agenda; more work will be done by HR and the administration.  The Board will ratify the item in a future meeting.  The Board approved the recommendations on the Design Principal and Assistant Principal.  The Board approved the recommendations for the Principal and Assistant Principal for DV Communications.  The Board will give specific guidance at a future meeting for Da Vinci Science administrative position.  A Special Board meeting will be called in the next week or so.

Dr. Brann appreciates the work of the principals in making these decisions.