Aurum Preparatory Academy

Minutes

Aurum Board of Directors

Date and Time

Wednesday December 4, 2019 at 6:00 PM

Location

1034 66th Avenue, Oakland, CA, 94621

Directors Present

A. Benedetto, J. JORDAN, M. Knutson (remote), P. James (remote), V. Toke (remote)

Directors Absent

None

Guests Present

D. Hardin

I. Opening Items

A.

Record Attendance and Guests

B.

Call the Meeting to Order

P. James called a meeting of the board of directors of Aurum Preparatory Academy to order on Wednesday Dec 4, 2019 at 6:10 PM.

C.

Approve Minutes

M. Knutson made a motion to approve minutes from the Aurum Board of Directors on 10-23-19 Aurum Board of Directors on 10-23-19.
V. Toke seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

II. Public Comment

A.

Public​​ Comments​​ on​​ Non-Agenda​​ items

There was no one here for public comment. 

III. Governance

A.

Governance Committee Report

The committee has not been able to meet in person since our last meeting. There are 3 prospects who are interested in joining the board:
  • Vincent Hayes - president of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity chapter who meets at the school. His onboarding process will start at end of month with goal of him attending January or February board meeting.
  • Creighton Davis - young attorney in SF, former teacher and TFA alum.
  • Stephen Ajani - chief academic officer for  A Method public schools   knows Oakland context and is very interested. 
Needs - Human Resources, Marketing and Fundraising 
The next Board Match event is Tuesday, April 7.

Board on Track reached out to us about ways that we can optimize our use of the system. There is a possibility that we could get our sponsorship for the next year paid for us. 

Due to concerns on time, Maggie moved to "Provide David the feedback from the past school year evaluation in written form in lieu of the discussion and board members can add any additional feedback as needed"
Abby second. Passed unanimously. 

 

IV. Academic

A.

Academic Committee Report

Academic committee presented their report (see attached)
David will attend the next academic committee meeting on December 11 at 4pm to discuss more of the recommendations of the committee members. 

V. Finance

A.

Finance Committee Report

Over the last month, approximately 10-12 new students have transferred from Epic, and 2 students have moved. Our number is at ~120 enrolled, mostly 7th graders making it twice the size of the 6th grade. 

David made a salary adjustment for Mr. Diaz as he is one of the strongest teachers at the school. This was done in the form of a stipend administered throughout the year. Mr Tobler approached David that he had an offer from another school with a higher salary. He decided to stay and he is receiving stipends for coaching and a retainer stipend.  We will be careful not to set up a precedent for other members of the faculty. We should look at developing salary bands where there is transparency in salary. This will be added to the agenda for the January finance committee. 

Important upcoming due dates:

12/6/19:  First Interim Report
12/16/19: ACOE Annual Audit
 

VI. ED Report

A.

Executive Director Report

David presented the ED report (see attached)
David encouraged the board to turn its sights toward fundraising in 2020. Maggie suggested that the new board members should have some capacity to assist with fundraising eventually leading towards a development committee. 

Swati encouraged the board members to share the links to the podcast and Medium article to our social media networks. 

VII. Closing Items

A.

Final Thoughts - Board Reflections

B.

Adjourn Meeting

There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 7:29 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
M. Knutson