Jenna Sardella

As of now, PVPA has an outside company performing many of the technical theater tasks that students are generally asked to do. If students could be more involved, that would be valuable.

Brent: Increasing technical theater programming is a major administrative concern that is being adressed. 

School is canceled tomorrow due to a shortage of substitute teachers. We are fortunate that this is the first time this has had to be done. Commissioner Riley recommends that schools use their snow days when staffing shortages arise; minimum school day policies will be revisited if inclement weather results in a significant number of snow days. 

Coming back from December break, there has been an increase in COVID cases at PVPA. Overall, things are going very well and staff are making the difference with their increased efforts. The administration was able to hand out about 70 testing kits to staff members, which were helpful in preventing a positive staff member from entering the building.

Student and staff vaccination rates are 86% and 95%, respectively. Many students have received boosters.

Students have been understanding of additional COVID prevention measures.

The school received 3,000 KN95 masks from DESE, a six-week supply. The CDC tested these masks and found that they were less than 50% effective. The school has made masks available and placed an additional order to ensure that staff are wearing effective face coverings.

We are seeing a significant increase in cyberbullying behavior. The administration feels strongly that a policy would be important to implement right now.

Both the anti-bullying and social media policies were created and vetted by the Massachusetts Charter School Association. They have been revised for our needs and reviewed by our attorneys.

It is very difficult to recruit substitutes and others for minimum-wage positions.

Marcy will deliver the Finance report in Andrea's absence.

The Finance Committee met recently and reviewed a report on our financial progress during this fiscal year. Committee members asked questions about accounts that seem to be above expected rates; these are mostly due to new contracts that include beneficial financial kickbacks.

DESE releases quarterly tuition projections based on a number of factors. What we are looking at in the second-quarter projection is a large change in enrollment demographics. Overall, we are seeing a projected $300,000+ increase in contrast to what was previously expected. The one thing that was of concern is the fact that many of our sending districts have not adjusted their above-foundation rates. This information is outdated and should be updated in the near future. The final note was that both first and second quarter projections would trigger staff increases as agreed upon in the Union contract.

The last thing that was discussed was the Board's request for funding for the head-of-school search. The Finance Committee will consider expected search committee costs as they arise.

Question: When our revenue is higher than projected, where does that money go? Can it be applied to needed improvements for the school?

Response: As we continue to receive updates, the Finance Committee will work in conjunction with relevant bodies to decide where that money should be directed. If not used, it will end up in reserves, which can be used for capital projects.

The Governance Committee has been largely focused on assessing candidates for Board Membership. The Committee is prepared to present four candidates this evening.

Rick Pouliot

The Committee has developed an organizational tool to assess our needs for the next five years. These goals have been awarded priority levels and will continue to be considered.

The Executive Search Committee has been functioning with a skeletal group of people because of a need to move forward.  

Last month, the Committee agreed on a set of questions to gather meaningful feedback from the PVPA community. This survey will hopefully be sent out soon.

The Committee has agreed that the job should be posted this month at a national level. Final review of documents is the only step left in the process.

The Committee has decided to use a consulting firm to vet potential candidates and may seek out consultant assistance in advertising the position.

David will share a final list of Committee members with the community once candidates have confirmed their participation.

The Executive Evaluation Committee is plowing forward with the production of pertinent questions with regard to the goals outlined in the Strategic Action Plan.

Teachers have appreciated COVID responses and the clarity of policy recently.

Teachers have raised an issue with tardiness and wonder if there are policies in place that can be clarified when students are missing large portions of class due to tardiness in the mornings. The staff is looking for a solution to this issue.

Overall, behavior in the classroom seems to be improving. There is an issue in consideration of consequences and how those are decided upon and distributed among students.

The town hall meeting was effective and gave an opportunity for students to provide feedback.

Middle schoolers would appreciate trigger warnings on sensitive topics in schoolwide emails.

Keeping the community updated on positive COVID cases among staff and students would be helpful. Publicizing DESE's dashboard that presents these numbers could be a way to address this issue.

Students would appreciate an opportunity to be more involved in technical theater work that is being outsourced currently. Putting students in positions like these will save money and provide an opportunity for arts experience.

Question: Should we expect continuation of closures due to staffing shortages?

Response (Brent): As we increase substitute staffing, we hope to remain open as things progress.

High School students would appreciate increased opportunities for interaction with students in Middle School.

Students would appreciate an anonymous forum for questions and feedback.

Committee minutes must be shared with DESE once they are approved.

Anti-racism training is an important consideration for the Board as we move into the future; we must keep this in mind as we recruit and onboard new members. 

We talked about the collection of academic data in our strategic action plan. As we move into the future, developing a report on this data would be helpful.