Da Vinci Schools
Minutes
Da Vinci Schools Special Board Meeting
Date and Time
Wednesday March 10, 2021 at 6:00 PM
Da Vinci Schools ("DV") welcomes your participation at its Board meetings. The purpose of a public meeting of the Board of Directors ("Board") is to conduct the affairs of DV in public. Your participation assures us of continuing community interest in our schools. To assist you in speaking/participating in our meetings, the following guidelines are provided:
- Teleconferencing will be conducted through Zoom. Join Zoom meeting at https://zoom.us/j/99269469252, Meeting ID: 992 6946 9252, or dial (669) 900-6833.
- Agendas are available to all audience members on the Da Vinci Schools website at www.davincischools.org.
- Audience members who wish may speak on any agenda items or under the general category of "Public Comments," which is time set aside for members of the audience to raise issues not specifically on the agenda. However, due to public meeting laws, the Board can only listen to your issue, not respond or take action. These presentations are limited to three (3) minutes and total time allotted to non-agenda items will not exceed fifteen (15) minutes. Non-English speakers who use a translator shall have six (6) minutes in which to address the Board.
- The Board may give direction to staff to respond to your concern or you may be offered the option of returning with a citizen-requested item.
- The chair will recognize such individuals who wish to speak on a specific agenda item at the appropriate time. When addressing the Board, speakers are requested to adhere to the time limits set forth, and to not repeat remarks made by those who preceded them.
- Any public records relating to an agenda item for an open session of the Board which are distributed to all, or a majority of all, of the Board members shall be available for public inspection at 201 N. Douglas Street, El Segundo, CA 90245, during Business Office operating hours. Please contact the CEO's office at 310-725-5800.
Trustees Present
B. Meath (remote), D. Boston (remote), D. Brann (remote), J. Morgan (remote), J. Webber (remote), R. Ochoa (remote), R. Santiago (remote)
Trustees Absent
None
Trustees who arrived after the meeting opened
D. Brann
Trustees who left before the meeting adjourned
D. Brann
Guests Present
A. Daramola (remote), A. Wohlwerth (remote), Aileen Harbeck (remote), C. Levenson (remote), Christopher Jackson (remote), E. D'Souza (remote), E. Green (remote), G. Long (remote), Israel Mora (remote), J. Hawn (remote), K. Toon (remote), Kevin Hunley (remote), Lynn Rodriguez (remote), M. Amato (remote), M. Pioch (remote), M. Rainey (remote), M. Ring (remote), M. Wunder (remote), Neil Goldman (remote), Nelson Martinez (remote), R. Stoll (remote), S. Wallis (remote), Samuel Renteria (remote), Tami Christopher (remote), V. Bravo (remote), V. Rodriguez (remote)
I. Opening Items
A.
Call the Meeting to Order
J. Morgan called a meeting of the board of trustees of Da Vinci Schools to order on Wednesday Mar 10, 2021 at 6:02 PM.
B.
Record Attendance and Guests
C.
Approval of Agenda
R. Santiago made a motion to approve.
J. Webber seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| J. Webber |
Aye
|
| R. Santiago |
Aye
|
| D. Boston |
Aye
|
| D. Brann |
Aye
|
| R. Ochoa |
Aye
|
| B. Meath |
Aye
|
| J. Morgan |
Aye
|
D.
Public Comments
Dr. Wunder shared the public comments guidelines.
Renee Hubler commented that she'd like to know when the seniors would be back in school.
II. Information and Discussion
A.
Information and Discussion of Da Vinci Schools Proposed Phase II Reopening Plan
Dr. Wunder introduced the Phase II Reopening Plan.
Dr. Emily Green, Da Vinci Schools' nurse, spoke of the changing state and county public health guidelines and the difficulty in keeping up with those changes during planning and execution.
Michelle Rainey shared the challenges the site leaders have faced in planning for reopening, including staff availability, changing public health guidelines, difficulty in accommodating physical distancing, and variances in family and student needs.
Dr. Hawn shared the feedback gathered from families and staff, where most of the responding families and students indicated they would feel safe to return to school when all staff had access to COVID-19 vaccinations.
Site administrators presented the phased reopening timeline, prioritizing highest needs students, and the plan to continue remote instruction while adding some on-campus academic and social emotional support. Components of the phased reopening for all sites include academic support, social emotional connection opportunities and in-person graduation ceremonies. Social Emotional Connection activities will be held outdoors.
The plan for Da Vinci Communications, Design, and Science includes identifying high priority students and offering the opportunity to come to campus one day per week. On-campus supervised workstations for a small number of students will be available. Social emotional connection activities will be offered, based on staff availability. Multiple small in-person graduation ceremonies will be held over two days for each high school (June 2,3,4, 7, 8, and 9). The plan for Connect K-8 is very similar to that of the high schools, identifying high priority students, and offering outdoor social emotional connection activities. Connect graduation will be held in-person on June 10.
The plans for Connect 9-12 and Da Vinci Extension also include continuing remote learning for all students, identifying high priority students to offer support (based on staff availability) in the Skybox of the Gym, and social emotional connection opportunities for all students. DVX's Achievement Awards will be held virtually.
Phased Reopening School Site meetings to be held:
Connect K-8 - Friday, March 12 at 4 p.m.
Connect 9-12 - Monday, March 15 at 7 p.m.
DVX - Monday, March 29 at 7 p.m.
DVC - Wednesday, March 17 at 6 p.m.
DVD - Wednesday, March 17 at 8 a.m.
DVS - Wednesday, March 17 at 5 p.m.
Ms. Morgan thanked the staff for their hard work.
D. Brann left at 6:30 PM.
III. Action Items
A.
Approve Proposed Phase II Reopening Plan for Da Vinci Schools and Delegate Authority to CEO/Superintendent to Update the Plan as Necessary to Meet Student Needs and Comply with Public Health Guidelines
Mr. Meath thanked the staff as well.
Dr. Webber commented that in her opinion, Da Vinci has delivered exceptional care to the students, and thanked them for all of their efforts in making this work.
Mr. Boston also thanked the staff for the tremendous amount of thinking, planning, and consideration of safety and his appreciation for the administrators sought the opinions of staff, students, and families.
Mr. Ochoa spoke of the amount of work this challenging year has created, and in keeping the students, staff, and families safe.
Mr. Santiago expressed his appreciation for the herculean effort of the staff. He inquired about the dates listed on one of the presentation slides. Dr. Wunder stated that the slide deck will be posted online. The sites will hold meetings to gather further information while they plan. [Text added beyond this point at Ms. Morgan's direction during the approval of minutes at the 3/25/21 board meeting] Ms. Morgan clarified that research would continue at each school site on those dates, and each school would return with more details on the plan. Dr. Wunder concurred that the dates were for school sites to present more details on their school-specific plans to their students and families.
D. Boston made a motion to approve the Proposed Phase II Reopening Plan for Da Vinci Schools and Delegate Authority to the CEO/Superintendent to Update the Plan as Necessary to Meet Student Needs and Comply with Public Health Guidelines.
J. Morgan seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| J. Morgan |
Aye
|
| D. Boston |
Aye
|
| J. Webber |
Aye
|
| D. Brann |
Absent
|
| B. Meath |
Aye
|
| R. Santiago |
Aye
|
| R. Ochoa |
Aye
|
B.
Approve the Da Vinci Schools COVID-19 Safety Plan and COVID-19 School Guidance Checklist
R. Santiago made a motion to approve the Da Vinci Schools COVID-19 Safety Plan and COVID-19 School Guidance Checklist.
J. Morgan seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| J. Morgan |
Aye
|
| J. Webber |
Aye
|
| B. Meath |
Aye
|
| R. Ochoa |
Aye
|
| R. Santiago |
Aye
|
| D. Boston |
Aye
|
| D. Brann |
Absent
|
IV. Information and Discussion
A.
Financial Report
Mr. Amato shared that the audit took a little longer due to COVID and the auditors having to work remotely. As well, this audit required an additional Federal Audit, as the amount Da Vinci received in Federal Funding exceeded $750,000. The audit contained an adjustment: a carryover accrual on the books of $122K that the previous audit had not caught. Otherwise, the audit was clean.
After some discussion, it was decided to have the auditors present their report directly to the board in 2022.
Mr. Amato went on to present the FY 2020-21 year end projections (2nd interim report). He shared that despite the large deferrals that Da Vinci Schools has borne this year, the organization's cash position is healthy.
Future projections (2021-22 and 2022-23) are also good, even without the PPP funds, as there is a stimulus package for 2021-22. Mr. Amato predicts a healthy bottom line in 2022-23 given full spending to meet Da Vinci's goals for all students.
Dr. Wunder added that Da Vinci's annual fundraising averages about $2.5MM, and that a funder has recently expressed interest in supporting Connect 9-12. He thanked the staff for their work.
V. Action Items
A.
Approve the Da Vinci Schools Second Interim Financial Report
B. Meath made a motion to approve the Da Vinci Schools Second Interim Financial Report.
R. Ochoa seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| B. Meath |
Aye
|
| D. Boston |
Aye
|
| R. Santiago |
Aye
|
| D. Brann |
Absent
|
| J. Webber |
Aye
|
| J. Morgan |
Aye
|
| R. Ochoa |
Aye
|
B.
Approve the Da Vinci Schools 2019-2020 Audit Report
B. Meath made a motion to approve the Da Vinci Schools 2019-2020 Audit Report.
J. Webber seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| R. Ochoa |
Aye
|
| D. Boston |
Aye
|
| J. Webber |
Aye
|
| J. Morgan |
Aye
|
| B. Meath |
Aye
|
| R. Santiago |
Aye
|
| D. Brann |
Absent
|
C.
Approve Addendum for Additional Funds Master Contract for STAR of California for Special Education Services
R. Santiago made a motion to approve the Addendum for Additional Funds Master Contract with STAR of California for Special Education Services.
D. Boston seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| D. Brann |
Absent
|
| J. Morgan |
Aye
|
| J. Webber |
Aye
|
| B. Meath |
Aye
|
| D. Boston |
Aye
|
| R. Ochoa |
Aye
|
| R. Santiago |
Aye
|
D.
Approve Budget for Indoor Air Quality Solutions for Da Vinci Schools Sites
J. Webber made a motion to approve the Budget for Indoor Air Quality Solutions for Da Vinci Schools Sites.
R. Ochoa seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| R. Santiago |
Aye
|
| D. Boston |
Aye
|
| J. Morgan |
Aye
|
| D. Brann |
Absent
|
| J. Webber |
Aye
|
| B. Meath |
Aye
|
| R. Ochoa |
Aye
|
VI. Closed Session
A.
Conference with Legal Counsel
Closed session entered at 7:35 p.m.
D. Brann arrived at 8:45 PM.
VII. Closing Items
A.
Reconvene for Public Session and Closed Session Reporting
Public Session reconvened at 9:11 p.m.
Ms. Morgan reported that no action was taken.
B.
Adjourn Meeting
J. Morgan made a motion to adjourn.
J. Webber seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| J. Webber |
Aye
|
| R. Santiago |
Aye
|
| D. Brann |
Absent
|
| B. Meath |
Aye
|
| J. Morgan |
Aye
|
| R. Ochoa |
Aye
|
| D. Boston |
Aye
|
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 9:12 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
A. Wohlwerth