M. Sweet discussed we are on track.  There are two tracks the we are working toward; determining purchase price and financing. The purchase of the facility is in the process of determining the purchase price.  Appraisers by owner and buyer have been decided.  The third appraiser who will do the appraisal should be decided within the week. Discussion around the appraisal process. Another update will be provided at the next meeting.

M. Sweet discussed the facility improvements that will need to be made such as the HVAC and roof which is tied to the financing. While nothing is immediate, receiving financing now when rates are good are preferential.  Discussion around the need for facility improvements and what the plan will be for those improvements.

He mentioned the process soliciting banks for potential loans for purchasing building and financing facility improvements. . He mentioned they have narrowed down the search to one bank based on terms provided. He also provided updated information on the bond financier.

M. Sweet also mentioned the request for approval letter to DESE to purchase will be submitted within the next few weeks. A 5-year budget needs to be submitted and is in the process of being completed. 

M. Sweet mentioned that Friends of Veritas Preparatory Charter school should be the purchaser of the building and lease the building to the school. Discussion around the decision. D. Janes asked for information on Friends of Veritas Prep Charter School. M.Sweet provided the history of Friends and the reason for the creation. M. Sweet discussed the potential changes to the Friends organizational structure. L. Abbate mentioned the need for Governance Committee to review the relationship. R. Romano suggested this need to be added to Governance Committee goals. L. Abbate agreed.

R. Romano commented that we are on track toward budget.  She commented that private fundraising by board members is needed. R. Romano is soliciting foundations for the capital and is not able to solicit for operating costs. Discussion around program funding, unrestricted and restricted fundraising. D. Janes commented on what programs the school needs funds. Discussion around the type of the program fundraising. R. Romano will develop a list of programs we could fund.  D. Fuller mentioned special education program funding. L. Doherty asked the board to look at funding sources and send to R. Romano.

L. Doherty highlighted tuition on the statement of net position specifically the tuition reimbursement amount and the refund to the State based on student enrollment projections vs.actual. 

M. Sweet asked for clarification on fixed charges.  R. Romano commented that those cost are front loaded.

R. Sela commented that one of  the goals of the academic achievement committee to decide what information will be presented and when to the board. She will be discussing the standards based grading system teachers use, tracking student performance and conversion to grades today. She displayed a sample grade book and walked through each part explaining its significance. She mentioned the leadership team has thoughtfully not only devised this system to track student performance toward standards mastery that is monitored on an almost daily basis but also created a conversion to letter grades based on feedback from parents. Teachers use lesson exit tickets and based on performance will tutor and reteach for mastery and skills/knowledge retention.  Students will receive a grade based on the average of these exit tickets. Student performance can also be compared to other students.  D. Janes asked to see the exit ticket and understand the process at a future meeting.

New students will see a drop in their grades when they first come to Veritas and this is a communication issue for teachers with parents. R. Romano commented the need to educate new teachers on the grading system and how to communicate to parents. 
J. Crowell commented on her own experiences at Veritas Prep. R. Romano mentioned educating parents is very important.

L. Abbate mentioned its positive impact on the special education especially as it relates to least restrictive environment.  He mentioned this system could be message to donors to solicit support. L. Doherty mentioned this system is an item for dissemination.

R. Romano provided background on each goal and progress to date. She mentioned coaching and taking responsibility for each teacher.  She and the leadership team have gone to professional development on coaching.  They have created a coaching model that is going well with the team and teachers. Identifying teacher leaders is challenging. R. Romano is working on developing a system of identifying what a teacher leaders is and what their role is - coaching others, developing curriculum, etc.
She walked through her building fundraising goal. L. Abbate commented on capacity for doing the work. R. Romano mentioned revisiting this goal based on current needs.
R. Romano commented on status of institutional systems and procedures discussing the Big 13 and Laser 5.
R. Romano discussed her work towards the expansion.  
 

This item was not discussed.

R. Romano discussed the status of the expansion application based on a conversation with DESE.  She provided highlights to the conversation. Final decision will be communicated in February. 

This item was not discussed. L. Abbate will send an email to the board explaining the process.

A. Mendelson opened the meeting discussing the fundraising and communicated a fundraising goal of $5,000 for the Board to raise towards the annual fund by June 30, 2017.