Administrative Notes: 
As per the new open meeting law with CoronaVIrus, this meeting will be:

1. Recorded and Posted on the BLCS Website 
2. Written transcription of the meeting 

 

No public comments 

No staff presentation

Principal Brown will provide update with the Principal's Report
 

Culture Committee currently waiting fo a response from PTA President. 
 

Courtney Russell provided an update related to the progress of the consultant project. 
Call scheduled this Monday to discuss the various components of the RFP. 
Jennifer Clayton is in the process of reviewing google report provided to her from Courtney Russell. 
Call will be set up with Principal Brown and Jennifer Clayton in the near future to discuss academic components of the RFP. 
 

Culture Committee report tabled until May 2020 meeting. 

Robb Granado provided financial updated related to current conditions and financial status of school for current school year and FY21 projections. 

1. March Financial Report 
2. Investment Report 
3. FY21 Budget 
4. Benefits Package/Little Bird Project Analysis

Statement of financial condition is basically unchanged month to month, meeting all requirements and no major variances in terms of the bottom line to be on track for the end of the year. 

Mary Beth Rousseau provided confirmation of business as usual, nothing different for the financials for the Month of March.

Mary Beth Rousseau provided update on the purpose and reason for the filing of 990 Forms. 
Several legal entities governed by this board and related boards. 990's are informational returns. 

Board to review the list of active Board Members 

Finance would like to get the 990 documents filed in accordance with the due dates of May 2020 and/ or extension submission dates. 
The Board Finance committee should review the completed forms prior to submission. 

Board has directed finance committee to review and execute the 990 tax documents presented  by the May 15, 2020 deadline. 

 

Robb Granado provided summary of investment activity related to the initiative to earn a return on funds: 

Strong balance sheet and outcome of cash placed in interest earning investments have been growing successfully, with a zero risk. 
 

There are funds raised last year that can be earmarked for Scholarships.  This can roll forward to the FY21 School Year. 
 

Robert Granado provide a summary of the budget narrative to describe the words and strategy of the budget. 
FY21 Budget approval expected to take place during the May 2020 Meeting
5% per pupil funding that has come down from the state due to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Prepare a second budget in case there are further changes due to the COVID-19 finance adjustments from the State. 

No committee call/ No report 

Principal Brown provided update regarding the school transition to Online Learning. 
Phase In Approach was used to manage the process from Chromebook Distribution to Online Learning and Scholar attendance and participation management. 

Phase 1 - March 20 - April 3, 2020 
Approximately  500 Chromebook Laptops  were distributed to scholars for Online Learning
Assist families with WiFi accessibility.
Tech support for Chromebook concerns and performance.  

Phase 2 - Current/Ongoing
Students getting a similar in classroom experience 
Live Teaching and Online Courses are currently active and increasing. 
Tech issues have decreased over the past weeks

Instagram Live Sessions at 3:00 PM 
Block Party & Fun Online Session are currently available to keep the school community active.

Board has expressed their availability in any area that the school needs support during this transition. 

Attendance and absences are reviewed and parents and scholars are contacted.  Reasons are related to technical and COVID19 related issues.  The School staff members have been affected by the issues cause by this current pandemic. 

School is progressively moving well.  All state testing has been cancelled. Promotion decisions and graduation will be based on course completion.
Scores are not currently available at this time.  Still working with Charter Center to figure out the implications of these changes and what that will mean with future testing activities. 

Focus on remediation plan when the scholars return to school for those scholars that may have fallen behind, especially the at-risk scholars with existing IEP and  ENL Scholars. 

BLCS planning for schools to open in September 2020. Education will never be the same, we will have this hybrid model of online learning active within the school learning process.  As the school  moves forward the online learning will really need to be embedded into the current and future curriculum. 

Principal Brown has confirmed that there will not be any issues with offer letter distributions and therefore, no challenges anticipated for the FY21 Budget approval scheduled for May 2020. 

Courtney Russell provided details related to the Middle Of The Year Evaluation.

There will be potential setbacks due to the current situation. FY21 remediation plans will focus on the areas that were setback due to the current challenges. 
Seniors are now able to take additional courses online. All Seniors have access to all the courses that they need to graduate. 
Regents courses are not needed due to the cancellation of the regents exams.  Additional flexibility has also benefited due to the Regents cancellation as they can focus on their online course performance.  The courses we offer are needed to graduate and walk.  

Active AP Online Courses:
AP US Government
AP Language 
AP Calculus - May 2020 Exams are still scheduled.
Students are preparing for the AP Calculus exams and are on track. 

SAT Scores;
12 Juniors taking weekend courses preparing for the SAT and the scores came back very high.  Possibly the 2nd highest scores recorded for Bronx Lighthouse Charter School. 

No updates 

Courtney Russell provided an update related to the Benefits offered by Little Bird. 
Vote is not needed tonight.  

Goal is to provide an update on current status of planning and presenting the  Benefit Enrollment Program for FY21: 

1. BLCS -Teachers Benefit Program was discussed and reviewed in detail. 
2. BLCS FY21 Benefit Cost Analysis discussed and reviewed in detail.
3. BLCS Benefit Analysis Deck discussed and reviewed in detail.  

Principal Brown envisions presenting a competitive and effective benefit package to meet the needs of the current and future employee population.  

Courtney provided additional details related to highlights and competitive studies based on the benefit program that will be presented to the school employees of the FY21 School Year. Mercer National Survey data used to review the benefit programs. 

College Tuition Reimbursement benefit will be discussed further as it relates to the recent CARES Acts, which changes the taxable portion of this benefit.

Courtney has a call scheduled with Little Bird every Tuesday, and at the next meeting, can request any resources and testimonials from other clients that have used the various medical plans discussed this evening. 
 

Yesterday 1st Virtual Lottery held - large success.  The Charter Amendment was carried out.  The lottery was opened to the public . Previous just preference to siblings of current and District 12. Due to new lottery there will be a greater populations of IEP and ELL.  

School was well prepared and the lottery was successful.

Highlighted Facts: 
Kindergarten larger shift of approximately 50 scholars to enroll
8th Grade smaller cohort 
9th Grade turnover - 40 Potential 9th Grade Scholars 
9th Grade - Higher number of IEP. 

 

RFP's for school cleaning companies were presented and tours were scheduled. Due to the COVID 19 school closure, these meetings were cancelled. This will be addressed at a later date, once things open and progress. 
 

Enter into Executive Session at 8:20 PM 
Principal Brown invited into the Executive Session 
Exit out of Executive Session at 9:10PM