East Link Academy Charter School

Minutes

ELA Board of Directors Meeting

Date and Time

Wednesday January 10, 2024 at 6:30 PM

Location

78 Global Drive 

Suite 200 

Greenville, SC 20607

ELA Board of Directors Meeting
Wednesday, January 10 · 6:30 – 8:00pm
Time zone: America/New_York

https://meet.google.com/fix-czsd-ozm
 

Directors Present

E. Ferrand, J. Pringle, M. Nickerson, M. Regier, R. Renken

Directors Absent

None

Guests Present

Barbra Bingham, C. Simmons, D. Hutto

I. Opening Items

A.

Record Attendance

B.

Call the Meeting to Order

M. Regier called a meeting of the board of directors of East Link Academy Charter School to order on Wednesday Jan 10, 2024 at 6:34 PM.

C.

Approve Minutes from 11/07/2023

J. Pringle made a motion to approve the minutes from ELA Board of Directors Meeting on 11-07-23.
M. Regier seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

II. Informational

A.

Head of School Report

90th day enrollment count was made this past Monday. Lottery numbers are down this year (by approximately half compared to previous years) so everyone on the list may be able to make enrollment. The lottery has been moved to February 2nd. We need to work on a marketing plan to get the word out and building up a waiting list. 

There was no school yesterday due to the weather. 

PTO had a large meeting in December, resulting in a new slate of volunteers. The PTO is hosting a Chinese New Year celebration on 2/8. 

Currently working on mid-year assessments. 

B.

Financial Report

The financials are trending well. This discal year-to-date shows at 39% of the budget which is right in line. On the Budget to Actual, there shows a surplus in the "Other Expenses" category, this is due to the lability insurance and BoardOnTrack expense that were not accounted for in these lines in the budget; however, the overall expenses for the year even it out. 

C.

Facility Committee Report

Julie is able to sign the letter of notice to send into Piper Sandler releasing them. Julie and Moses were able to speak to Jerry at Building Hope discussing potential properties. Current real estate inventory is down. Richard can run the numbers and update Jerry about the potential price range. 

D.

Parameters of Potential Properties

We need to decide what parameters we want to share with the public, in order to prevent unusable properties. We need to create a formal document containing simple but consistent parameters. Jerry can be involved with necessary information. Dana and Moses will create said document. Ezgi will help with maps to put on the document. Recommended parameters need to include the property being in Greenville County. The price range does not need to be included on this public document to prevent creating more issues for them public. 

III. Actions

A.

Renewal Agreement with Board OnTrack

M. Nickerson made a motion to Not renew the BoardOnTrack contract.
M. Regier seconded the motion.

We had let BoardOnTrack know that we were potentially not renewing our contract for 2024 and we were going to present to the Board in December, but there was not a quorum for the December meeting. BoardOnTrack is wanting us to automatically renew for 2024 since we were not able to let him know in December. They are wanting us to sign and pay for this year and let him know now if we will not want to renew for next year. 

The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

B.

2024-2025 Calendar Presentation for First Reading

R. Renken made a motion to To approve this as first reading of the school calendar for the 24-25 school year.
J. Pringle seconded the motion.

After this first reading, the calendar will be send out to parents for comments and suggestions. Following that, the calendar will come back to the Board for the final reading and approval. 

The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

C.

Gavin's Law Policy

M. Nickerson made a motion to Approve the compliance of the recently passed Gavin's Law.
E. Ferrand seconded the motion.

We need to create a policy based around Gavin's Law. This policy will enforce educating the students around sexual extortion and internet safety. This will follow the counseling curriculum. We need to approve this by February 28th. The State Department of Education, SLED, and State Attorney General is creating lessons and curriculum that can be used in this policy. 

The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

IV. Closing Items

A.

Adjourn Meeting

There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 8:00 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
J. Pringle