Pharos Academy Charter School
Minutes
Pharos Academy Charter School Board Meeting
Date and Time
Thursday April 10, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Location
All meetings of the Board of Trustees of the Pharos Academy Charter School are held in compliance with New York State Open Meeting Law.
Date: April 10, 2025
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: 1005 Intervale Avenue, Bronx, NY 10459 11215
Other Location(s): https://bronxlighthouse.zoom.us/j/5239033349
ALL ARE INVITED TO ATTEND!
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PHAROS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL
DE LA JUNTA ADMINISTRATIVA
Realizamos todas las reuniones de la Junta Administrativa de la escuela Pharos Academy Charter School conforme a la Ley de Reuniones Abiertas del Estado de Nueva York.
Día: 10 de abril 2025
Hora: 6:30 p.m.
Lugar: 1005 Intervale Avenue, Bronx, NY 10459
Otros Lugares: https://bronxlighthouse.zoom.us/j/5239033349
Trustees Present
G. Garcia (remote), J. Lopez-Molina (remote), J. Sowell (remote), K. Shah, P. Wesonga, T. Perez (remote), T. South, V. Angeles
Trustees Absent
J. Rivera, S. Sutherland
Guests Present
C. Russell, M. Dorsey, T. Brown
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance and Guests
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
II. Board Governance
A.
Approve Minutes
B.
Board Bios and Resumes
C.
Executive Director Evaluation
Board on Track component will be sent out and a second component with goals and data that will need to be gathered.
III. Finance Committee Review
A.
Finance Committee Report
Finance committee met on Monday and discussed enrollment and investment activities.
Insurance renewal was discussed with the anticipation of a 12% increase in cost.
Cafeteria table quote was reviewed with Board as they requested a response from other vendors to confirm we have reached out to receive other bids.
Board would like to confirm warranty on the product and services that Young Equipment provides along with the ADA version, which is listed as available on the website.
B.
Investment Account Update
401K Benefit Plan discussed with the Board to be presented to the employees.
School has received funds that can allow the school to support this additional benefit plan.
401K is currently in place with a 5% match. The additional benefit will place additional funds to the employee based on the number of years of employment.
Vesting component, timing of the benefit plan and the structure of the plan was discussed in detail in response to the questions presented by the Board.
Minimum and Maximum investments were discussed.
Board is in agreement to move forward with the benefit plan through investigation, confirmation of sustainability and percentage values.
School planned to roll out FY25. Finance committee offered to work with school planning and preparing the criteria related to this plan.
C.
Items Over 50K
D.
401K - New Employee Benefit
401K Benefit Plan discussed with the Board to be presented to the employees.
School has received funds that can allow the school to support this additional benefit plan.
401K is currently in place with a 5% match. The additional benefit will place additional funds to the employee based on the number of years of employment.
Vesting component, timing of the benefit plan and the structure of the plan was discussed in detail in response to the questions presented by the Board.
Minimum and Maximum investments were discussed.
Board is in agreement to move forward with the benefit plan through investigation, confirmation of sustainability and percentage values.
School planned to roll out FY25. Finance committee offered to work with school planning and preparing the criteria related to this plan.
E.
FY26 Insurance Update
F.
2025 Pharos Scholarship
Document shared with the Board regarding the Scholarship Award details.
Next month this will be shared with the scholars based on what was decided during this meeting.
Board to review and provide the criteria and process for the scholarship awarding process.
Scholarship committee confirmed :
1. Vanessa Angeles
2. Tamara South
3. Jarrod Sowell
4. Patrick Wesonga
IV. Facilities
A.
Facilities Update
Cleaning company services in review and services are not up to expected level of services.
60 Day termination clause in the agreement. We have a full time cleaning staff that can handle the summer and allow cleaning company to remain until end of may.
RFP will be presented for new cleaning company with an expected start date in the month of August 2025.
Currently working with Charter Renewal and this is just a reminder to submit Bio and Resumes for all Board Members