The Board added a section to include a vote on the new board members after the interviews.  

Brad Tapper opened up the section for Public Comments for those in attendance to make statements.  Sarah Yagnow asked if anyone had submitted a request to speak prior to the meeting.

No one asked to speak, and the pubic comment period was closed out. 

Ms. Bair, ERA Executive Director, gave an update about the transition to face-to-face learning based upon state health criteria for first semester.  The K12 administrative team will use the follow guidelines and metrics to determine the timeline to return to school:

ERA High School will remain in Plan C (distance learning) until the end of the semester. We will reevaluate for the spring semester no later than December 18th.

ERA K-8 will remain in Plan C (distance learning) through October 9th. We will re-evaluate for the second quarter no later than October 5th.

The criteria will be 2% positive test rates or below for the previous 14 days. If above, we will stay in distance until the 14 day average is 2% or below.

If in Plan B and average rates go above 5% for a two week period, we will go back to distance learning.

If in those two weeks (described above), the numbers spike to 7% positive, we will shut down immediately for the remainder of the semester.

As a reminder, students can continue in distance learning until further notice.

A question was asked in the chat about which metrics will be used.  Ms. Bair indicated that she use regional/county metric data in order to make this evaluation and determination.

Sarah Yagnow asked about waiting a week or so after fall break before bringing students back into the building since families could travel during that week in October.

Brad Tapper asked a question about the rationale for the 7% threshold for shutting down for the remainder of the semester.  Ms. Bair stated that this was following guidelines by the CDC and go back into distance learning until further notice.

Brad Tapper also mentioned how he appreciated that the K-8 students would have a separate learning plan from the high school.  Ms. Bair also indicated that this plan would also allow for the K-8 students to have more space for classroom learning if the high school remained remote.

Charles Penny asked if parents could choose remote learning despite what the school leadership team may implement with in-person learning.  Ms. Bair indicated that families may choose to stay in remote learning as long as they would need to during this pandemic timeline and still remain part of ERA.  

Charles Penny also asked if rapid testing would be available to staff in order to prevent a 14-day quarantine period for teachers and/or students who may have been exposed.  Ms. Bair indicated that this would depend on availability and cost; however, she would certainly explore all options that are available to ERA.

Ms. Bair indicated that these decisions were made in order to give students and families time to prepare and plan accordingly for optimal success in first semester.

Brad Tapper asked about the timeline for the decision to be made on October 5 for an October 9 implementation to in-person learning.  Ms. Bair indicated that with the October 5 decision date plus fall break would give families two weeks to transition to in-person learning.

The Board gave an unanimous statement of support for this transition and implementation plan as presented by Ms. Bair.  The school leadership team can make adjustments as necessary based on the ever-changing conditions of the current COVID-19 pandemic during first quarter.  

Sarah Yagnow then led the Board in an interview process for two vacant board seats.  Margaret Barr has applied for the Parent-at-Large seat on the Board.  Dianne Gonzales has applied for the Community-at-Large seat on the Board.  Both of these positions are for a one-year term and would end June 30, 2021.

There was a brief discussion about a conflict of interest for Margaret Barr since she serves as the varsity swim coach and is paid for that part-time position.  However, there is great uncertainty if a swim season will happen this year due to COVID-19.

The Board then asked each candidate a series of questions related to their skills and contributions that they would bring to the ERA Board of Directors.  

After candidates answered the questions, this portion of the meeting ended. Mike O'Malley asked each candidate if either had any reservations or hesitations before allowing the Board to take a vote later this evening.

Both candidates indicated that they did not have any qualms about moving forward in the process.

Ms. Bair shared updates and celebrations.

Welcome to our 3 new staff members…..Stephanie Stephenson EC, Nathan Jasper MS Science and Stacey Parker Vocal Music/Performing Arts.

 

Enrollment: Currently is 776 and school budget was projected based on 762

We have received our CARES Fund money which is not reflected in the July budget numbers. For FY21, we have received $44,247. That money covers Canvas (Learning Management System), devices, PPE, and other related materials.

Classes are going well. We’ve received a great deal of positive feedback with a few hiccups. Staff meetings are happening so that we can get feedback on how things are going. We will send out a survey in September for families to see how things are going for them. We will provide parent feedback in the September Board meeting.

Hotspots have been ordered but we are waiting for shipment confirmation. They should take 3-5 days to be delivered once shipped.

No updates from this committee for August 2020.

No updates from this committee for August 2020.

Kristi Anspach gave an udpate about finance.  The montly budget reports will be uploaded into Board on Track each month prior to the meeting and for reference during montly meetings.

Kristi Anspach then reviewd the budget and funds spent so far.  Currently, there have been no major expenditures so far, but more will be reported during the September meeting.  She also pointed out the technology budget using CARES Act money instead of our recurring technology budget.  The deficit reflected will be adjusted in the next month with additional CARES Act funds are released.

Mike O'Malley asked about the Rents and Debt Service column.  This will still be included but will now reflect the monthly mortgage payments instead of the previous rent payment.

Brad Tapper asked about the per pupil student rate for the upcoming school year.  Ms. Bair indicated that the rates are holding steady for now until further notice from the state legislature.  

The MOU allows ERA students and staff to use the Orange County Library services to access resources and opportunities to enhance learning.  Lisa Pope helped Ms. Bair to connect with the county library department and initiate this free service. 

This is available to all ERA students and staff even if they do not live in Orange County.

Mike O'Malley gave an update on the two meetings held by the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force held so far.  Discussions were held about what could be done with funding as well as without.

Mike O'Malley wanted to engage the Board and school leadership into what can be done in the short and long-term to promote diversity and inclusion within ERA.

Charles Penny and Sarah Yagnow discussed how ERA can focus on diversity in ways that are proactive.  Ms. Bair also talked about the long-range plan for diversity training and professional development for the staff.

Mike O'Malley share some resources and other ideas that the task force could pursue to see what would be the most beneficial and viable for ERA to have impact.

The Board need to appoint two non-board members to the Grievance committee to have per the Comprehensive Manual.  Sarah Yagnow will lead this initiative.

The Board needs to develop the Executive Director Evaluation team for this year.  The team usually is comprised of the Board Chair and Vice Chair along with other Board members.  The Evaluation Team performs the evaluation twice per year.  DPI has recommended that evaluations not be given for Spring 2020 due to COVID-19

Kristi Anspach recommended that the team conduct one for the fall with this one being a pulse check assessment.  The spring evaluation would be more in-depth.  This would allow for growth and targeted action if needed.

This is still a new process that have been created in the last few years.  Beta testing may be needed to ensure the process works appropriately.

Sarah Yagnow wanted the Board to document the goal development and setting to ensure fairness in the evaluation process.  Ms. Bair recommended that this occur in the fall in order to use data from the previous year to have continuous improvement.

This will be moved to the September meeting since the Board will be fully staffed at that point.

Sarah Yagnow advocated to create a Community Liaison to help connect families and create stronger communication.  

Future Visions is still working on developing this to share with the Board and families.  

 

The Board discussed dates for the annual fall retreat.  Mike O'Malley will confirm an October date/time and share this with the Board.

No closed session needed at this time.