Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School
Minutes
Board of Trustee Meeting
Date and Time
Tuesday December 9, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Location
15 Mulligan Drive South Hadley, MA 01075
or via zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84358817954?pwd=EiFSIFmITX6fy3blNHvC5ouCvMegBB.1
Trustees Present
Ann Dargie Gladd, Esq (remote), Emily Whitebear, LATRINA DENSON, Thomas Roy
Trustees Absent
Azizah Yasin, Matthew Schmidt, Esq, Neil Hede
Ex Officio Members Present
Brent Nielsen, Marcy Conner
Non Voting Members Present
Brent Nielsen, Marcy Conner
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
C.
Read the Mission Statement
D.
Approve Minutes
Minutes will be updated to reflect discussions centered around the case studies reviewed during the retreat
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Matthew Schmidt, Esq |
Absent
|
| Neil Hede |
Absent
|
| Emily Whitebear |
Aye
|
| Azizah Yasin |
Absent
|
| LATRINA DENSON |
Aye
|
| Ann Dargie Gladd, Esq |
Aye
|
| Thomas Roy |
Aye
|
II. Public Comment
A.
Brief comments and/or questions welcomed.
III. Head of School Report
A.
Brent's Report
Brent provided report:
Supplemental lottery - 10th grade - historically this class has had turnover.
Lottery to build wait lists for next year.
Dec 5 & 6 - Children's Hour - HS Play.
Open house - Dec 13th 10:00am - for prospective families.
Dec 19 & 20 Beetlejuice Jr - MS Play
Holiday break
Draft Summary Review - Charter Renewal cite visit. 2 weeks to make factual correction - renewal will be communicated without conditions and formal BESE vote. BESE meeting is in February.
Work will then begin on next 5 year cycle - strategic action plan and accountability plan.
B.
2026-2027 Academic Calendar Approval
Basically a mirror of 2025-2026:
180 school days
3 PD days for staff
Holidays remain
Changes:
Grades will close earlier for 1st quarter in order to meet early submission for college references and grades.
No half day the day before Thanksgiving.
Juneteenth may impact the last day if there are snow days.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Neil Hede |
Absent
|
| Thomas Roy |
Aye
|
| Matthew Schmidt, Esq |
Absent
|
| Ann Dargie Gladd, Esq |
Aye
|
| Azizah Yasin |
Absent
|
| LATRINA DENSON |
Aye
|
| Emily Whitebear |
Aye
|
IV. Board Committee Reports
A.
Finance Committee
B.
Governance Committee
VP - Azizah is absent - Ann & Tom will present.
December 2nd meeting:
Previous minutes adopted
Board member recruitment - bylaws allow for more members.
Board attendance at events - sign up sheet to track. Hope to build community.
Recording meetings & minutes - no official clerk/secretary. Issue - new members need to serve for 6 months before being able to serve as officer. Can it be waived? Recording minutes and use AI then members take turns to transcribe. Hire outside service? Consensus is to record the minutes.
C.
Note-taking proposal process
Using AI transcription to take minutes with members taking turns correcting errors and the process. Will take training to use Zoom and Board on Track.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| LATRINA DENSON |
Aye
|
| Ann Dargie Gladd, Esq |
Aye
|
| Matthew Schmidt, Esq |
Absent
|
| Thomas Roy |
Aye
|
| Azizah Yasin |
Absent
|
| Emily Whitebear |
Aye
|
| Neil Hede |
Absent
|
D.
Friends of PVPA Update
FOPVPA - Emily Whitebear is Board liaison - has not been able to attend a meeting. Would like to have FOPVPA have a liaison at Board meeting. Next meeting is December 18th 8:30am.
Brent & Marcy attended meeting on December 8th - they are organizing around incentives to do upgrades to building; insulation, HVAC and lighting fixtures. Lighting upgrade for all fixtures in building to LED - need and electrician - ROI approx 6 years. Still working on HVAC.
V. President's Business
A.
Board Retreat Review
Encourage Board to continue to do their own professional development through Board on Track. Will be conducting an Open Meeting Law training. Once staff representatives are on board will do an additional training with Julia.
Additional thoughts about retreat?
Did you get what you needed to start your Board membership journey?
Yes - presenter was good at providing the information in a personable way that was effective.
We will continue to grow!
B.
PVPA Board presence:
Opportunities for Board to show their appreciation.
December 15th 3:00pm @ Boathouse - gathering for staff - come visit.
PTO Cookie Drive - December 16th - staff goodie boxes.
C.
Follow up on Committee Assignments
Thom - Finance Committee, Neil is Chair (Keith Balck, James Montimore & Mindi)
Emily - FOPVPA
Latrina, Azizah & Matt - HOS Evaluation
Latrina & Azizah - Bargaining Committee
Infrastructure Committee? Mindi & Emily - need new Chair (member of Board)
Azizah, Anne & Thom - Governance (EJ)
No public comment.