D. Nagel read the ERA mission statement.

D. Nagel read the conflict of interest and ethics statement - no conflicts brought forward.

One public comment received via email from Sabrina Kordys 10/20/25. Ms. Kordys wrote to "thank the Board and administration for the meaningful safety improvements this school year".  She noted the new gates around the K-8 building and new ERA sign in the front of the high school in her praise for "prioritizing our kids' safety."

• Prior to presentation from Moss+Ross, T. Blackmon provided background of how she and D. Nagel became aware of Moss+Ross. Moss+Ross is a Triangle-based company that provides annual fundraising plans, campaign readiness assessments, campaign plans, case statements, development assessments, feasibility studies, messaging and communications plans, peer benchmarking, prospect research, and personnel searches for area non-profits.
• Kate Hearn, Kim Glenn and Dave Monaco of Moss+Ross then joined the meeting virtually. The Moss+Ross team provided an overview of their mission, vision, values, services and campaign readiness.
• Discussion with Board followed presentation. Will determine any additional questions to be asked and bring back to Board.

• L. Sealey reported taskforce membership complete. 
• Land update regarding 78 acres adjacent to ERA: Forestar planning/rezoning request goes to the County Commissioners November 6, 2025 for plan to build 49 homes. Financial, development and zoning scenarios discussed.     
• Expansion Update: Taskforce discussed if expanding enrollment aligns with ERA's mission and long-term sustainability strategies. Reviewed recent parent survey re: why they chose ERA, reviewed data/research identifying "sweet spot" for student enrollment numbers where both finances and culture intersect. Identifying what growth would afford us the opportunity to be able to do and how/if growth would support ERA's vision of excellence.
• Taskforce continuing to review needs/options and develop next steps to bring to the Board.

D. Nagel provided an update on ERA's charter renewal process. The Governance and Academic Committees are working with L. Sealey to prepare for a self-assessment which is due November 30, 2025. A timeline was provided for Board to review first and second drafts.

L. Sealy brought forth the proposed 2026-2027 academic calendar. Four half-days have been added to provide additional time for teacher professional development. In an effort to reduce family impact for those days, on-site student enrichment activities will be developed so that students would not necessarily have to leave campus. 

A. Haber reviewed the September 2025 Financial Summary. It was noted that for this year, ERA was allotted an ADM of 829 students, and currently ERA has an ADM of 838 students providing ERA with additional state funding which is above our current budgeted revenue.

• There was discussion re: the development of a key strategic element dashboard tied to strategic plan and mission. 
• The independent financial audit prepared by Sharpe Patel CPA, for the school year ending June 30, 2025, came back without findings.

D. Nagel urged all Board members to complete pictures and biographies in Board on Track and make sure that all committee meeting dates, agendas and minutes be publicly posted. 

Opportunities to improve board meetings:   

• Preparing and releasing agenda earlier and 
• Sending out pre-reads 7 days in advance. 

Of note: Recruitment Reinvented: Attracting Top Talent To Your School Board webinar scheduled for November 18th at 12pm.

L. Sealy - October is National Principal's Month - she presented both Dr. Brown and Mrs. Martin with a gift bag and cards.

K. Martin provided the October Administrative Update:

Celebrations:

• Students are excited about and have provided amazing project proposals for the STREAM Challenge. 
• Congratulations to our Fall Athletes!
• Homecoming week next week at the HS with a pep rally on Friday and dance on Saturday. 

Testing:

• PreACT and PSAT were completed on Wednesday, October 22 
• 4th Grade CogAT and High School WorkKeys coming up in November

Personnel Report: 

• Part-Time AIG Position Hired- Schedule to focus on 4th and 5th grade pull-outs and 3 grade push-in. 
• One resignation in the science department. Mr. Wimpey is re-retiring due to health issues. Interview scheduled  this week with a certified  high school science teacher. He will not be returning in January. 
• All staff members are doing Parents Bill of Rights Training this week.

Curriculum:

• Exact Path was implemented in 6-8.  This program provides targeted feedback for teachers and students. Exact Path creates an individualized learning path for each student that can both help fill in gaps and push advanced students. 
• Worldly Wise was implemented in 3-5, and is to be implemented in 6-8 for cohesive vocabulary instruction, focusing on vocabulary in context.
• Grammar program coming to middle school English 1 to align with high school English courses. (Daily Grammar Practice)
• Discussion around science interventions are on-going. 
• Notice and Note Reading Strategy PD is being provided by Coburn to MS teachers to provide a uniform reading strategy to be used across all content areas. 
• MTSS Interventionists met with K-5 teachers for a second time to get updates on student progress to start the second quarter strong.

General:

• 3-12 Report Cards will be sent home tomorrow.
• 3-12 Conference Day is Nov. 10.

Briefly discussed what can we do to hold to our meeting timeline.