Veritas Preparatory Charter School
Minutes
Board Meeting
Date and Time
Friday January 18, 2019 at 8:15 AM
Location
Veritas Prep Charter School 1st Floor Conference Room or Dial-In Number: 866-848-2216, Conference Code: 7783935205, Leader Code: 2356
Trustees Present
A. Mendelson, C. Alves, D. Fuller (remote), D. Janes, G. Moody, J. Crowell (remote), L. Doherty, R. Sela, T. Moran
Trustees Absent
D. Ford, M. Landon, M. Sweet, T. Gabinetti
Guests Present
R. Romano, Robbie Martin
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance and Guests
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
R. Romano called a meeting of the board of trustees of Veritas Preparatory Charter School to order on Friday Jan 18, 2019 at 8:18 AM.
C.
Approve Minutes
A. Mendelson made a motion to approve minutes from the Board Meeting on 12-21-18 Board Meeting on 12-21-18.
R. Sela seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| D. Fuller |
Aye
|
| R. Sela |
Aye
|
| G. Moody |
Aye
|
| M. Landon |
Absent
|
| C. Alves |
Aye
|
| M. Sweet |
Absent
|
| A. Mendelson |
Aye
|
| T. Gabinetti |
Absent
|
| D. Janes |
Aye
|
| D. Ford |
Absent
|
| J. Crowell |
Aye
|
| L. Doherty |
Aye
|
| T. Moran |
Aye
|
II. Finance
A.
December Financials
Due to time constraints, we are pushing this report to February.
III. Academic Achievement Committee
A.
Report
Rebecca gave a brief update from academic achievement committee. We reviewed data from most recent teacher survey, discussed progress toward accountability plan goals and heard from the principal, Amy Clark, about her plans moving forward.
IV. Governance Committee
A.
Strategic Planning update
Tom reminded the board that the governance committee is focused on the common criteria for charter schools to ensure that the school is working toward exceeding expectations in all categories. Based on the criteria and the results of our board survey, we have been focusing on strategic planning. Rachel has been working with SGP to explore our priorities and longer term opportunities. While we would like to take our time before considering future opportunities to make sure that the Holyoke school is successful, we must be mindful of timing and be thinking about the criteria we should use to determine our readiness for growth.
B.
Growth opportunities and criteria
Rachel provided an overview of the potential options to expand our impact. The board discussed the possibility of opening a high school for our scholars at VPCS and the timeline for requesting those seats. We also discussed opportunities to serve more scholars in Holyoke and the timeline. We will continue to explore and discuss these options moving forward. The board wants to see more data and hear more about Holyoke. The board asked Rachel to explore the high school expansion possibility, consider the financials.
V. Other Business
A.
DESE site visit
Board focus group is from 8-9am on 2/5
B.
Executive Director Review
For the FY20 year, we will create a separate committee - Ann and Tom - which is a best practice recommendation.
C.
Appeal for private school application support - update
VI. Closing Items
A.
Adjourn Meeting
T. Moran made a motion to adjourn the meeting.
L. Doherty seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 9:48 AM.
Respectfully Submitted,
R. Romano