Bedford Stuyvesant New Beginnings Charter School
Minutes
February Monthly Board Meeting
Date and Time
Wednesday February 15, 2023 at 6:00 PM
Location
82 Lewis Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11206
Trustees Present
Cecelia Russo, Cynthia Aker, Doris Givens, Joseph Sciame, Kevin Nesbitt, Shawn Carson, Victor Rivera
Trustees Absent
Josue De Paz
Ex Officio Members Present
Nicholas Tishuk
Non Voting Members Present
Nicholas Tishuk
Guests Present
Lisa-Renée Brown, Patience Brown, Patricia Bramwell
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance and Guests
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
C.
Approve January minutes
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Kevin Nesbitt |
Absent
|
| Victor Rivera |
Absent
|
| Doris Givens |
Aye
|
| Cecelia Russo |
Aye
|
| Josue De Paz |
Absent
|
| Shawn Carson |
Aye
|
| Joseph Sciame |
Aye
|
| Cynthia Aker |
Absent
|
II. Academic and Family Life Committee
A.
Committee Update
III. Governance Committee
A.
Committee Update
Doris updated the board on the work of the Governance Committee. We are ready for a reset of the governance framework, including recruitment, board assessment and related governance matters.
IV. Finance Committee
A.
Finance Committee Update
Shawn discussed the work of the Finance Committee. There were no unusual expenditures, and the committee reviewed the school's bank balances and student enrollments and the school remains in good financial health. Shawn is the new chair and described his transition into this role.
Nick described the school's master budgeting process for FY24, including an initial draft budget in March, the in-person meeting of the Finance Committee, open to the public, in April and the review and approval of the FY24 budget for May 2023.
Lisa-Renee described the school's budget, including the efforts of the school to maintain its enrollment. The school is at 99% of its full allowable enrollment and has fared comparably to other public charter and district schools in NYC for our high level of enrollment, which has seen large year-over-year decreases.
V. Public Comments
A.
Public comments
There were no public comments.
VI. Closing Items
A.
Vote to Enter Executive Session
Executive Session was not required for this meeting.
Committee Cecelia described the work of the committee, including recent events in the school. There will be a Young Men and Young Women's leadership conference that the Board is invited to attend.
Patience described the school's academic progress; we are two days away from Midwinter Recess. As is our custom, the school will provide Academic instruction and camp/enrichment activities over the school break. There will be a second Brain Camp during Spring Break as well. We are eager to welcome families back in the person for in-person conferences this year, as well.
Q2 Reviews for employees are upcoming, as we plan for staffing for 2023-24 school year and beyond, including the initial staffing of our proposed high school. We continue to prioritize leadership opportunities for staff in the building through our model. Chair Victor noted the success of the school's student journalists who participate in our 82 News Program.