No public comments were submitted or presented.

Lisa Bair gave a PPT update - prefaced with current asks to reopen by the Governor and possible legislature mandate.

CDC has new recommendations - based on new recommendations, we are still in the High transmission category, and based on those numbers, we fall under the CDC recommendation to stay virtual.

Also presented the Harvard GHI #'s - Risk is still elevated. 

Based on data and current asks by state gov.'t -

K-2 Hybrid-A/B Cohort beginning 3/1  and rotating weeks until 4/29, and virtual remainder of year. 

3-5 Hybrid A/B Cohort beginning 3/1  and rotating weeks until 4/29 and virtual remainder of year.

Middle School Hybrid A/B/C Cohort beginning 3/15 and rotating weeks until 4/29 then virtual

9-12 Hybrid A/B/C/D Cohort beginning 3/15 and rotating weeks until 4/29, virtual after

**School calendar remains the same, classroom dismisses at 1PM Mon-Thur, Fri remains the same

Ms. Bair stresses the plan is not perfect, and can change immediately based on Covid risks present. Students CANNOT come to school ill or with any symptoms (even if allergy related). Positive cases will cause school building to close for 14 days. 

Final recommendation - Hybrid plan and virtual classes will still be present. Ms. Bair will be hosting a town hall on 2/17/2021 to discuss. Survey will be sent, response by Friday @ 3PM, whether student will be hybrid or virtual. 

Other schools? Only school district going back non-hybrid for K-1 is OC. Rest are going hybrid. 

Question from Margaret Barr - Why end at 1PM? Teachers need planning time, and they need a certain amount required legally. Also, removing lunch. Will have snack.

Question from Margaret Barr - Substitute teachers were a challenge, has that been resolved? Have to be careful about who is let into the building. The hope is that there is enough admin staff and teachers to cover, without bringing in outside folks in order to stay safe. Can change.

Question from Sarah Yagnow - Are we concerned about too many families coming back, where we cannot do a hybrid? Most of our surveys indicate that 50%+ families want to stay virtual, and those survey numbers were used in planning.

Question from Sabrina Kordys - In previous meetings, we covered teacher opinions. Are there any requests for extra protection, cleaning supplies, shielding from teachers? We have received many supplies from the state, including PPE. We have extra sanitation stations ordered. No one has asked for plexi glass type shielding, but Lisa feels good about equipment.

Question from Mike O'Malley - What does it look like for parents with children in different grades and schedules? While the team tried to keep students from the same family together, the planning did not allow it. However, this is a student decision, not family decision. So each student can have a different schedule. 

Question from Margaret Barr - Will there be entrance testing (questions asked, temperature taking, etc.)? Yes, there will be questions that need to be answered virtually and presented on phone, temperatures taken, etc. Mitigation strategies are being worked on actively, working with Duke, and following best practices from CDC wrt to masks and social distancing. Mask breaks will only be outside.

Moving on to a Hybrid plan. 

Margaret Barr has no PATH updates at this time. 

There is a sponsor a senior part that would be important, if parents listening would like to take that up.

Charles is absent, however, next meeting is 2/22/2021.

Kristi has uploaded budget report.

Review of Budget report:

1- Local revenue is ~57% and continuing to catch up. We are where we need to be.

2- Federal dollars are dispersed differently, Dec. headcount increase resulted in ~$48K to fund our EC programs.

3- Expenses are on track for the school year. 

4- Also on track for a surplus this year, that will go into our rainy day fund.

D&I Committee decided on two candidates - Dr. Sheldon Lanier and Jen Cort - as presenting excellent proposals for the future D&I development at ERA.

Each candidate has a different approach and style, and the committee decided it would be best if administration and staff were free to choose the appropriate candidate they felt they could work with effectively. 

1- The committee could not make a recommendation based on cost, though there is acknowledgement that cost matters to the school. However, the committee did not have understanding of budgeted dollars available for consultant hire, and could not recommend candidate based on cost. Both candidates, during initial interviews and also follow up with Lisa Bair indicated they are open to negotiation.

2- The committee did not want to wait until the next calendar year to hire a consultant. Instead, wanted consultant hired before end of semester.

3- Also, the committee would like to hear from references for both candidates (if available, may not be due to confidentiality).

Lisa Bair will form a small group to handle reference checks and costs finalization, to present admin recommendation of candidate and costs for Board approval on next board meeting, March 9th, 2021.

Next board meeting set for 3/9/2021.

No final discussions.