These will be signed by the school board treasurer, Joanna Lopez-Inman. 

B. King began with some school updates, that are occurring at both TIS and NWIS to help our food insecure students over break. Progressive donated $4000 worth of food to IGS and NW orchestrated efforts of fundraising as well on their own. IGS is still currently receiving donations for this student fund, and we have receive over $5040 in monetary donations thus far. That number is including gift cards donated from Progressive. 

B. King explained to the board that TIS is one of the top 4 schools in the Stay In the Game program. TIS was recognized for their attendance improvement since beginning the program. Due to this, TIS had Chomps in for their community meeting in November, and 10 teachers were invited to the game the following Sunday after. The teachers represented TIS during the national anthem on the field and the TIS logo was on the jumbotron screens during portions of the game. 

B. King informed the board that the conferences have had great turn outs so far and that IGS is aiming for 100% participation. So far NWIS is at 97% and TIS is at 83%, but both schools will still have the option available for families after conference days pass. B. King also let the board know that IGS has been doing family pulse touches through Possip. For NWIS they received a score of 2.91 out of 3, and TIS had a score of 2.76 out of 3. 

Alumni Visit: Oscar Fraunfelder and Jayla Alvarado, recent alumni of NWIS. Oscar is at Hawken School of Mastery in University Circle and Jayla is at Cleveland School of the Arts selective CMSD high school. They both explained how NWIS helped prepare them for their high school experiences. Jayla is trying out for the All City Musical a partnership with Playhouse Square. Oscar explained to the board that a project he is working on with his school has put him in contact with a local nonprofit called Project Hope that works with seniors in Glenville and after he told them about our intergenerational programming, they are looking into partnering with a local school. 

S. Wasserman, a first year Teach for America teacher, and Student Council Advisor introduced herself. The student council is interested in coming to every board meeting going forward.

A. Ahmad showed the Board one of the positive reward carts the Curriculum Specialist had created to help acknowledge students who are working hard on their academics. 

S. Miller opened the floor for public comments, there were none to be made at this time. 

ESCLEW: A. Lentz for J. Lewis reminded the board of upcoming professional development opportunities through ESCLEW. She went over what the positive student interviews conducted in November. She informed the board about the December site visit which will look at student files and monitoring plans, results will be emailed afterwards. She stated that members should inform J. Lewis of any events and/or trainings that any board members attend to fulfill their annual compliance goals. She let the board know that ESCLEW plans to have another online sunshine law training in the spring. As of right now TIS is meeting their attendance goal at 80-90%. 

Matt Rado was not in attendance for a CMSD sponsor report.

NWIS: NEW-LearnWell--To provide direct instruction and continuous administrative support for a hospitalized student.  LearnWell will work with the school to obtain the student's individual coursework and will complete the assignments with the student in a classroom setting.  The cost of this service is $53.50 per hour for five hours of educational services per week and will not exceed $2000 to be paid out of general funds.  This is an unbudgeted expense.

Approved in Consent Agenda

TIS:

• Section 1.5, Section 3.2, Section 7.2–Community schools are no longer required to submit a Comprehensive Plan, this will be incorporated into the description of the management & administration of the school.
• Section 4.1–Updates include statutory changes to the language of R.C. 3314.03
• Section 4.3–Schools are required to incorporate training on sexual abuse into in-service training. 
• Section 6.3–Legislation requires community schools contracts to specify the educational philosophy of the school. 
• Section 6.13–Recent legislation has changed the attendance and truancy standards applicable to community schools.
• Section 9.7–ESCLEW voluntarily voted to exclude the Quality Community School Support grant funds, transportation funds, Student Wellness and Success grant funds, and facilities funds from its collected Sponsorship fee.
• Section 9.1-Community School must establish policies regarding internal financial controls, which must be included in Attachment 9.10. 
• Attachment 11.6–The Performance Accountability Framework has been updated to reflect changes to report card data.

All contract modifications were approved in the Consent Agenda

TIS:

• A field trip to Detroit, Michigan, will provide the Applying Stage students with a rich, hands-on learning experience that will enhance their understanding of African American history, culture, art, and music. Students will visit three of Detroit’s most iconic cultural institutions: The Motown Museum, The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, and The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA).  The cost of this field trip will not exceed $7,900 and will be paid for with general funds and fundraising efforts conducted by the students.  This is a budgeted expense. 

Out of State Field Trip approved in Consent Agenda

TIS:

• TIS Staff Substitute Pay for Trimester 1 pursuant to Board approved Policy and are budgeted expenses to be paid from general funds or other monies obtained. 

Name                                      Amount 

• Jeremy Allen                                 $80.00 
• Rachel Genco                               $30.00 
• Marielle Grad                                $58.33 
• Eva Milhelich                                $20.00 
• Deaundra Myers               $40.00 
• Yvonne Rodriguez            $31.67 
• Abigail Serrino                 $20.00 
• Sophie Wasserman                      $ 20.00 
• Noree Wright                               $185.00 
• TOTAL                              $485.00 

• TIS Supplemental Contracts for After School Programming through February 27, 2025 at an hourly rate of $30.00 per hour not to exceed the total amounts specified below. These stipends are budgeted and to be paid from general funds or other monies obtained. 

Name                                      Amount                       Description 

• Eva Mihelich                                 1670.40                After School Club Coordinator 
• Arden Berg                                   1670.40                After School Club Coordinator 
• Patrick Hill                                    1670.40                After School Club Coordinator 
• Amonte Littlejohn              678.60                 After School Club Coordinator 

• TIS Supplemental Contract for Cluster Director (Special Education): Kiana Clark, retroactive to August 1, 2025, for the 2025-2026 School Year not to exceed $2500. This is a budgeted expense, payable from General Funds or other monies obtained.

Shared Staff 

• Supplemental Contract for Lead Building Coordinator of the Model: Jacob Rinaldi, retroactive to July 1, 2025, for the 2025-2026 School Year not to exceed $5,000. This is a non-budgeted expense, payable from General Funds or other monies obtained and to be shared between the schools. 
• Culture Boost: Chance DeWerth for consistently going above and beyond in securing major grants that strengthen our school facilities and safety processes. Over the past two years, his efforts have brought in significant funding, including over $80,000 in competitive grants last year and this year. He is also awaiting the results of a $125,000 grant that would further enhance safety and improvement initiatives. Chance’s dedication, initiative, and commitment to supporting our schools make him highly deserving of a one-time Culture Boost of $1,500 ($750=TIS, $750=NWIS.) This is not a budgeted expense.

TIS Personnel Actions approved in TIS Consent Agenda

NWIS: 

• NWIS Staff Substitute Pay for Trimester 1 pursuant to Board approved Policy and are budgeted expenses to be paid from general funds or other monies obtained. 

Name                                      Amount 

• McKenna Brown               $ 15.00 
  • Theresa Fucile                $  70.00 
  • Ameilia Howard               $120.00 
  • Lori Jubell                         $ 40.00 
  • Megan Millard                  $225.00 
  • Molly Mizisin                     $185.00 
  • Jordan North                     $215.00 
  • Emmet O’Melia                 $270.00 
  • Nancy Szilagyi                  $ 80.00 
  • Zoe Welch                        $ 15.00 
  • TOTAL                              $1235.00 

• New Hire
  • Temporary Building Sub - Dominique Kizer, Temporary Building Substitute Teacher, effective December 8, 2025, and ending March 20, 2026, at a salary of $14,077.98. This is a budgeted expense payable from general funds or other monies obtained.

Near West Personnel Actions approved in Near West Consent Agenda

TIS Reading Achievement Plan (as presented in Board packet) was approved in the consent agenda. 

M. Higbee updated the board on year to date fundraising including in-kind donations. She informed the board that the schools will be distributing food bags next week before winter break. M. Higbee also told the board that all the board members should have their appeal letter packets and thank you cards/envelopes to send to their contacts. Donations had been received from contacts of  S. Lake, B. Roy, and B. Norton so far. She urged members to follow up to their contacts before the end of the calendar year.

B. King let the board know that B. Roy had a birthday party this past weekend, and asked his guests to donate to the schools in lieu of birthday gifts. She attended the event and met with a former state legislator who expressed interest in starting a scholarship fund for IG students. 

S. Alonso explained to the board that the taskforce has looked at multiple examples of networks of charter schools in Ohio for examples of structure. The group decided to table the CMO discussion and instead focus on current efforts to streamline technical and operational functions of the two schools and supporting organization in order to simplify the bill backs and multiple cross-entity transactions. S. Alonso informed the board that our legal counsel is offering recommendations regarding revision of the agreement and some criteria on allocation of fundraising. She explained that our counsel is helping to ensure the school boards retain their supervisory power of all staff even if they are employed at the supporting organization level. S. Alonso stated that we hope to have a revised agreement for the School Boards in the spring to take effect in July for the new fiscal year.  

S. Alonso explained the RFP process and time frames. B. King informed the Board of our lawyer's interpretation of the current Mangen contract requiring a formal termination notice which starts a clock allowing for a cure period. She explained that our Treasurer, Celeste, did not interpret the agreement that way, but she understood our lawyer's perspective. Therefore, B. King let the Board know that following legal advice, the schools were going to provide written notice of termination in December, of the current Mangen contract as it is written, and this would keep the RFP process on track. The Mangen team intends to submit a proposal. There will be more updates with regard to the process before the Boards are expected to vote on either a revised Mange contract or a new contract with a different provider, potentially in March.  

B. King went over the enrollment dashboard for December (please see Board packet). B. King explained to the board that Early Enrollment and Re-Enrollment will be starting right after winter break. Staff plan to reach out to CMSD families affected by the Building Brighter Futures mergers that are affecting nearby schools, and that will increase all K-9 CMSD enrollment to 500 students per building. She showed a video ad that Brand Pivot created emphasizing our small school culture, that will run for the next six weeks. 

R. Bunton we went over the findings of the students surveys and highlighted the positive changes to culture at TIS. 

B. King explained the new plan instead of immediately filling the vacant Assistant Director of Intergenerational Programming position to provide stipends to teacher leaders that would like to lead the designing of intergenerational activities for their clusters. She explained the role each teacher leader would have, their responsibilities, and the stipend for the position. B. King said the goal was to create a bank of learning stage appropriate lessons that can directly correlate with learning in the classrooms. S. O'Hara will oversee the positions, and handle all of the admin work of the programming. He will also see that activities will address state learning standards. 

S. Miller went over the main topics that will be discussed at the next board meeting. She informed the board that the Advisory Councils and Task Force will be reporting out on their priorities. S. Miller also reminded the board that by January they will have mid-year CEO feedback to discuss. Together, the board also scheduled time for an upcoming vision session on Monday, February 23rd at 5:00 pm at Near West.  

A roll call vote was completed to end the school board meeting. All were in favor. None were opposed. It was a unanimous yes.