none

Mr. Brown commented on the busy graduation season, seeing more graduates and current students in the community, and remarked on the impact Da Vinci has on the community.

Mr. Mora spoke about the Da Vinci and Dana Middle School graduations, saying that all were well received, and that Dana families especially happy to be out of the sun.

Mr. Bañuelos thanked the teachers and faculty for a fantastic year and the three graduation ceremonies.  He considers it an honor and a privilege to attend them.

Dr. Brann also commented on the graduation ceremonies, and mentioned the additional parking secured for the Dana graduation.  He spoke about visiting the campus on a recent Sunday evening, and the fifty or so students and adults working on a robotics project, as well as the PLTW training going on for about 250 teachers from other schools.

Dr. Wunder acknowledged Erin D'Souza, who will be the Da Vinci Communications principal in the fall.

He also spoke about the search for new board members, revealing questions for prospective trustees, and speaking of video interviewing and online surveys.  He asked the trustees for their feedback on the questions, and asked if any members would like to join a working group to initially screen prospective members.  

Dr. Brann said that he would like to join the screening group, saying that the most important thing is to find members who can attend.
Mr. Brown asked if the intent was to bring a group of candidates or to bring the final candidate to the board.  Dr. Wunder responded that it would depend on how many people apply.  Mr. Brown spoke about looking for candidates to encourage to apply, and said that he would like to help with the committee.  

Mr. Brown said that he would send in a few questions he'd like to see added to the survey.
Mr. Mora clarified that a resume or bio would be one of the first requests of the prospective candidates.
Mr. Bañuelos said that he would be out of the country for two weeks, but that he would like to serve if possible.
Mr. Mora said that he would also be out of town, but for alternate weeks, and would work jointly with Mr. Bañuelos.
 

Dr. Wunder gave the financial update, as Mr. Mayotte was absent due to illness.
He explained that depositing fundraised dollars into the Da Vinci Schools Fund will remove the "noise" from the Da Vinci Schools budget, and give administrators and the board a clearer picture.

The books should close in August, and Da Vinci Schools will end up in the black.

Areas of Focus

• Reversing Direct Hourly & Stipend Expenses - there are a couple of intern teachers who are affected by this, not meeting the salary threshold, putting them in the hourly pay group.  As a charter, Da Vinci must abide by labor laws.
• Da Vinci Extension is a program, not a separate entity, and is put on the books of the other schools.  DVX net income went down due to lower than projected enrollment; academic support might be too rich; rent costs increased.  To correct, improve enrollment.  The Central Office is looking at putting DVX under Connect.  A plan will be brought to the Board in future. Discussion ensued regarding revision of the Connect charter.
• Examine substitute teacher spending - substitutes are obtained through agencies. Mr. Mora asked about making a small pool of Da Vinci subs. The challenge is that there are days when a large number of faculty are out for some reason, and a small group of substitutes won't be able to cover them.  Dr. Ring commented that the administration will do a deeper dive into the subject.  Mr. Brown said that he would like the numbers correlated to actual staff numbers per year.  Mr. Mora would calculate an average number of substitutes per month.  Further discussion ensued.  Dr. Wunder clarified that the Board was directing the staff to conduct an analysis of the substitute situation.

Mr. Bravo spoke about the lease agreement with Continental Development Corp. for Da Vinci Extension, saying that the lessee would be Da Vinci Schools, not Wiseburn.  Minor adjustments to the parking arrangements were made.  Site visits were made so that IT and facilities could begin to prepare the site.  The agreement is for two years, at $5K per month.  The move would be conducted on August 1.  

Dr. Brann spoke of the benefit of separating the older students from the younger ones.  

Adjustments must be made and communicated to the students, as this is a professional building.

Del Aire site update:
The KYA quote has been obtained:  asphalt and slurry in the back of the campus may not be needed, and the area will be cleaned out and fenced off.
Portables will be swapped for refurbished portables with built-in restrooms.
Unneeded furniture will be donated to other schools, as it cannot be sold.
The new projection of costs is $776K, which is lower than the initially approved amount ($800K+).

Mr. Mora asked if the community can be kept apprised of the beginning of work and the decrease in size and costs.  Mr. Bravo spoke of the possible re-striping of the parking lot to maximize spaces and reduce impact on surrounding streets.  Mr. Mora warned about re-striping too tightly and making the spaces unusable.

Finally, Mr. Bravo gave a brief update on the adjustment of the HVAC system at 201 N. Douglas, saying it is close to perfect.
 

Dr. Brann spoke of founding Da Vinci Schools employees, recognizing the people who have been employees for the full decade, since 2009.  He would like Dr. Wunder to help him acknowledge the work of these individuals.

He would like to send out a letter to each of the founding employees, signed by the Board and Dr. Wunder.  

Dr. Brann thanked Ms. Yolanda Saldana-Bautista for her ten years of service, as she retires from Da Vinci Schools at the end of June.
He also thanked Ms. Kate Parsons, as she is also moving on from Da Vinci Schools in July.
 

Mr. Bañuelos asked about the 15% reserve wording - that 15% is taken as a whole, but Dr. Wunder said that Da Vinci wants each school to meet the 15% reserve level.  In the aggregate, Da Vinci is already meeting the 15% threshold.  Mr. Bañuelos wants the Wiseburn Unified School District informed of this aggregate vs. individual LEA clarification regarding the reserve.

Discussion on Del Aire construction funds reflected in the budget ensued.
Mr. Mayotte was directed to include the construction figures in the 2019-20 budget.

Discussion on specific funding reflected in the budget ensued.
Mr. Mora asked if the CTEFP funds ($1.6MM) were in the 2019-20 budget.  He is under the impression that CTEFP monies were to be a reimbursement of previous expenses.  Mr. Mora noted that there are assumptions in any budget, and if they don't happen, you make a variance.  The Board requested that pending grant request dollars be shown in the budget. 

Mr. Bañuelos asked about the loan payments in the budget.  Mr. Mayotte responded that he is hoping not to have to borrow money for the Del Aire site.  Mr. Mora asked if Da Vinci will make the 15% reserve.  Mr. Mayotte clarified that the unrestricted reserve will be met, but the cash reserve will likely be less.  Dr. Wunder responded that there will be tight months where the line of credit could be used, but Mr. Mayotte does not believe it will be needed.

Brief discussion with Mr. Brown on changes in the LCAPs since the last presentation ensued.  Specific dollar amounts may have changed, but key items have not.

Earlier in the agenda, Mr. Bravo noted that the named lessee in the agreement is being changed to Da Vinci Schools from Wiseburn Unified School District.

Mr. Bañuelos asked for clarification on how Presentations of Learning (POLs) are factored into students' grades when the policy states that "grades become final at the end of each semester," and yet POLs are presumably executed after all other course grades are on the books.  Mr. Wallis responded that the Presentation of Learning (POL) is a separate course grade.  Ms. Parsons added that  the teachers use the POLs as a final opportunity to prove mastery, students typically focus on their weakest Essential Skill during a POL, and POLs may influence the student's final grade.

Mr. Bañuelos inquired as to how students who don't pass first semester go on to pass the second semester.  He would like the policy aligned to what the teachers are already doing.  He requested language about credit recovery in the policy.

Mr. Bañuelos asked about the grade table in relation to honors courses.  Brief discussion ensued between the principals and the Board regarding Honors classes using a 5-point scale for a weighted GPA.   Mr. Bañuelos requested language on honors courses be placed at the end or under the table.

Mr. Bañuelos also asked about the section of the policy referring to incomplete/fail grades.  He recommends that makeup classes taken in summer be averaged with their original failing grade.  Mr. Wallis spoke about mastery-based grading; if students do well in recovery classes, they prove mastery.  Incomplete/fail grades do not count toward a recovery GPA, but they remain on a student's record, and colleges and universities take that into account.

Further discussion ensued.
Dr. Hawn agreed that colleges and universities take into account students' summer courses.  Students cannot really "game" the system by taking difficult courses in the summer instead of during the regular school year.  Averages aren't calculated in PowerSchool, but have to be manually calculated.

Closed session entered at 7:36

Open session reconvened at 8:42 p.m.

Dr. Brann reported that no action was taken.