None

Ms. Morgan commented that Da Vinci Extension was simultaneously holding its Achievement Awards online.

Ms. Latuner commented on the graduate lawn signs she had seen in her neighborhood.
Dr. Brann also commented that he had seen Da Vinci graduate signs, and requested the board members complete the CEO evaluation forms which had a deadline of June 8, 2020.  Dr. Brann added that he would like to begin revising the Magna Carta and Facilities Use Agreement.  Dr. Brann would also like the minutes of all Da Vinci Board meetings for his Wiseburn history project.

Dr. Wunder commented that the Magna Carta and the Facilities Use Agreement have been uploaded to Google Drive, and access has been given to Dr. Wunder, Dr. Silvers, Ms. Levenson, Ms. Harbeck, and Dr. Brann for their comments and input.

Dr. Wunder also commented that the Payroll Protection Plan loan funds had been deposited.  He credited Mr. Michael Amato, who had recently joined the Da Vinci Central Office team, for his expertise, efforts, and for working well with Ms. Sabrina Ayala and the CSMC team on Da Vinci's complex finances.

Dr. Wunder mentioned Da Vinci Extension's success:  24 Extension students received AA degrees in the 2018-19 school year; in the current school year, five AA degrees were received with five more pending and there are 12 BA students with one very close to completing a degree.

Finally, Dr. Wunder thanked the leadership team for stellar efforts and optimism during the pandemic.

Dr. Brann welcomed and thanked Mr. Amato on behalf of the Board.

Dr. Wunder prefaced the presentation by saying that it is more important than ever to clarify and simplify what Da Vinci is and what it does.

Mr. Richard Greenberg has been facilitating the work of the Da Vinci Schools Vision team, which consists of Dr. Wunder, Dr. Jennifer Hawn, Ms. Carla Levenson, Ms. Megan Martin, Ms. Natasha Morrison, Ms. Michelle Rainey, and Mr. Steve Wallis.

The purpose of the work is to streamline the Da Vinci vision, mission, and values statements at the Board's request, to develop a plan to create actionable goals, communicate the work to stakeholders, and identify next steps.

The team defined the following.
The new Da Vinci Vision Statement:  "A new generation prepared to lead, innovate and thrive in the modern world"
The Mission:  Culture, Next Gen Skills, Partnerships, and Impact
The Aspirational Values:  People First, Collaboration, Equity, and Possibility
The Long-Term Strategic Goals:  Culture, Growth, Operational Excellence, People, and Partnerships

Annual, measurable goals for 2021-22 and a future communications plan will be finalized by May 31, 2020.  Implementation of the future vision strategy and plan will occur in the second half of 2020.

Stakeholders will be identified, feedback will be gathered from the school community and the Board.

Dr. Brann thanked the team for the work.
Mr. Boston commented that the work was very impressive, and added that he had experience with distilling mission and vision statements for corporations, and they are not easy to create.  He looks forward to digging into the work.
Ms. Latuner thanked Da Vinci for successfully launching many children, including her own.
Mr. Meath thanked the team for their work.
Ms. Morgan commented that the work will help everyone to focus and make decisions.

Dr. Wunder introduced the presentation by speaking of the importance of the teachers at Da Vinci, and the difficulty in finding teachers in areas such as special education, math, and science

Director Dr. Scott Weatherford gave an overview of the one-year program and its benefits, saying that the Alder teacher residents are embedded at Da Vinci, know the school culture, and can be trained in specialty areas that are typically difficult to fill, like math, science, and special education.  Additional benefits are teacher retention, cost savings, and mentoring opportunities for established teachers.

The Alder Southern California Cohort includes Alder Graduate School of Education, Da Vinci Schools, WISH Charter Schools, ICEF Public Schools, LAPromise Charter Schools, El Segundo Unified and Environmental Charter Schools.

Teacher residents have been onboarded and will begin intensive training (four classes in six weeks) on June 15, 2020.  

Alexandra Moreno introduced herself.  Currently an academic coach at Da Vinci Communications, she will be an Alder teacher resident in the 2020-21 school year.  She appreciated the mentor teacher aspect of the Alder residency.

Program costs include a $129K cost to the Alder Southern California Cohort of schools, of which Alder provides $100K towards the director's salary, and the remaining $29K is shared among the schools.  Teacher residents receive a $15K stipend, and mentor teachers receive a $3K stipend, taken from school site budgets. Grants are being pursued for Da Vinci's stipend costs. 
In summary, costs to Da Vinci will be $117K for 2020-21, not including any grant funding that may be received.

Dr. Weatherford commented on the value of the program, saying that 98% of teachers completing the program are hired, even in an economic downturn.

Ms. Morgan inquired about the timing of hiring teachers coming out of the Alder program.  Dr. Weatherford responded that the teachers would be credentialed one year to 18 months from the start of the program year.

Mr. Boston had a question about financial savings indicated during the presentation.
According to Dr. Weatherford, historically, Da Vinci teachers were hired at year six of the salary table, and over the next five years, would cost Da Vinci more when compared with the teaching residents, who enter Da Vinci lower on the salary table.  Assuming all six resident teachers complete the program and are hired, savings would be gained after five years of retention.  Dr. Wunder compared it to an in-house farm team that could be transitioned to the major league.

Ms. Sabrina Ayala introduced the update by saying that the financials have been fully transitioned to CSMC, and so Mr. Scott Warner and Mr. Miles Denniston would give the presentation.

Mr. Warner spoke of March 2020 revenue ($360K) being 10% of April 2020 ($3MM) receipts, and predicted April figures will look much better.  Mr. Warner mentioned the CTE program revenue which the Da Vinci team is tracking down.

Discussion on financial targets ensued.  Ms. Ayala commented that the immediate goal is 30 days' cash on hand, with the eventual goal of 60 days' cash on hand.  With In Lieu of Property Tax funds, work on break-even budgets, etc., she anticipates the 30 day's goal is attainable in the next few months, and the 60 day's goal will follow.

Mr. Warner spoke of the budget models, having discussed each site's budget with its principal, and the uncertainty of the pandemic-related P2 budget revision.  

For the FY 2021 Budget, in the absence of historical data, expenses are considered annualized expenses through March 20 and are divided by each site's P2 ADA for a per-Average Daily Attendance (ADA) number.

Mr. Michael Amato gave a timeline for the budget process, and spoke of reviewing site budgets with each site principal.  Final decisions will impact staffing and expenses.  

Mr. Warner spoke of the Governor's May Revise announcement of a 12% cut in Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) revenue.  STRs and PERs retirement contributions will be suspended to help mitigate the impact of the cut to revenue. The extended tax deadline is also delaying the Governor's final budget. The uncertainty of the federal government's stimulus is also going to affect final figures.

P1 ends before the winter break.  P2 is the second period of apportionment (taking attendance), this year, P2 ended on 2/29/20.  The board will have to adopt a June budget, and the team will give budget revisions through the year.

Mr. Warner said that the budget is usually adopted in June, with a budget revision once school begins if necessary due to changes in enrollment, for example.  This will almost certainly happen this year because assumptions and per-ADA amounts will be changing in August and September.  ADA numbers are communicated to the State via P reports. P1 ends just before the holiday break, and P2 usually ends in late March to early April, but due to the pandemic shut down, P2 (the second period of apportionment, or reporting attendance) ended on February 29, 2020.  Revenue for virtually all funding programs is based on ADA.

Mr. Boston inquired about forecasting through year-end. 
Ms. Ayala commented that the usual approach is to meet with schools monthly and give regular monthly forecasts.  This time is unusual because the transition to CSMC occurred in March, and the team is still figuring out what the appropriate line items are and how to ensure correct data.  Once the team is able to build budgets, the monthly forecasts can be given.  Dr. Wunder pointed out that allocations were previously made at the end of the year, but now will be done monthly, which will be more accurate.

Mr. Meath spoke of the time twelve years ago and the state's stance then with deferrals that put schools in a bind.  He appreciates what the financial team is doing and acknowledges the need to be flexible about the process.

Mr. Vicente Bravo spoke of the June 23 blood drive which will be run by UCLA Health Center, and will be working out of the Black Box Theater.

Mr. Bravo also mentioned the Coalition for Adequate School Housing multi-part webinar on cleaning and disinfecting which he planned to attend.  The Operations team is considering how to handle sick students or staff, bathroom usage policy, health office rooms for sick vs. well students, cleaning and disinfecting.

Cost savings have been realized in that buses have not been needed for athletics, referees have not needed to be hired, air conditioning has been shut down, etc.  Mr. Bravo is working with a company called Facilitron to analyze facilities use and seek efficiencies and further cost savings.

A local group called Micron Disinfection gave the Operations staff a demonstration on airborne disinfection systems at the 201 N. Douglas campus.

Mr. Bravo has been monitoring federal, state, and local guidelines for direction of funding for purchases of Personal Protective Equipment for a physical startup or technology for remote learning.

Dr. Wunder spoke of the explicit public health and LACOE directive against holding graduations in person and the Wiseburn board's receipt of feedback that the restrictions might be modified in the near future.  Even if this occurs, switching to an in-person graduation at this late date would be impossible.  Dr. Wunder cautioned the board that they may hear families plead for in-person graduation; Da Vinci Schools has pledged to hold in-person graduation ceremonies when it is safe, and that would be only when the science and public health agencies declare it as such.

Ms. Latuner asked about the Beacon Day School expense.  Ms. Allegra Johnson responded that it was a nonpublic 

Dr. Brann asked if the Wiseburn Unified School District approved their calendar, and if the Da Vinci calendars were aligned with the Wiseburn calendars.  Dr. Silvers commented that the Wiseburn calendar was approved in the previous month.

Dr. Brann requested the Wiseburn calendars be sent to the Board members.

Closed Session entered at 7:55 p.m.

Public session reconvened at 8:50 p.m.
Dr. Brann reported that no action was taken.