Urban Montessori Charter School
Minutes
Regular Board Meeting
Date and Time
Thursday October 28, 2021 at 6:15 PM
Location
The board will meet at school 4551 Steele Street, Oakland, CA 94611
The public may comment and participate via Zoom if they prefer. The public may also email comments to board@urbanmontessori.org to be shared by the Board's Secretary during the meeting.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5102904005?pwd=M1kxU2hXSzRSN1dCL3QwYVEzdkJ3Zz09
Meeting ID: 510 290 4005; Passcode 5102904005
Additional teleconference locations: 1623 Sunhill Ct, Martinez, CA 94553; 331 Ramona Ave, El Cerrito, CA 94530; 3385 Herrier Street, Oakland, CA 94602; 3125 School Street, Oakland, CA 94602
The public may comment and participate via Zoom if they prefer. The public may also email comments to board@urbanmontessori.org to be shared by the Board's Secretary during the meeting.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5102904005?pwd=M1kxU2hXSzRSN1dCL3QwYVEzdkJ3Zz09
Meeting ID: 510 290 4005; Passcode 5102904005
Additional teleconference locations: 1623 Sunhill Ct, Martinez, CA 94553; 331 Ramona Ave, El Cerrito, CA 94530; 3385 Herrier Street, Oakland, CA 94602; 3125 School Street, Oakland, CA 94602
This meeting will be audio recorded. The public can find documents related to this agenda either linked directly on the agenda or under "Other files" after selecting the meeting in BoardOnTrack prior to viewing the agenda. Downloading the "packet" may not include all of the "Other files" that are still otherwise available to the public.
Members: Jan Faraguna, Kara Fortuna, Christina Greenberg, Greg Klein, Davis Leung, Maru Salazar, Stacey Wang
Urban Montessori Charter School welcomes your participation at Board meetings. The purpose of a public meeting of the Board of Directors (“Board”) is to conduct the affairs of the organization in public. Your participation assures us of continuing community interest in our school and assists the Board in making the best decisions for our school. To assist you in the ease of speaking/participating in our meetings, guidelines are provided at the bottom of this agenda. All materials for all board and committee meetings, including audio recordings of Regular Board Meetings, are available on our BoardOnTrack public portal and also through the UMCS School Calendar.
Directors Present
D. Leung (remote), G. Klein, J. Faraguna (remote), K. Fortuna (remote), M. Salazar (remote), S. Wang (remote)
Directors Absent
C. Greenberg
Guests Present
D. Bissonnette, K. Feeney
I. Opening Items
A.
Call the Meeting to Order
D. Leung called a meeting of the board of directors of Urban Montessori Charter School to order on Thursday Oct 28, 2021 at 6:19 PM.
B.
Record Attendance
C.
Review of Action/Discussion Items
No changes needed.
D.
Board and Community Appreciations
Kara appreciated Anna Elbers for her help on FAC elections and to Sita for stepping into the FAC president role.
Sita appreciated the new FAC members and the opportunity to participate in the new school year.
Davis appreciated the new FAC board members and FAC officers.
Greg appreciated Teachers Ash and Freedom.
Krishna appreciated parents for their work on Campus Beautification Day, in particular Marcela for all her work organizing.
Jan appreciated Krishna and the whole school for all the anti-racist anti-bias work, particularly with Dr. Rogers-Ard.
Jan appreciated Greg for helping answer questions.
E.
Board Member Comment
None.
F.
Presentations from the Floor
None.
II. Head of School Report
A.
Head of School Report
Krishna shared her Head of School report.
Upcoming events include an online auction; free COVID-19 testing on-site -- anyone in community 3-3:30pm and may be able to stay later if there's more demand; Conference Week without aftercare (families have already been notified) and conferences will be on Zoom; and the next evening with Dr. Rogers-Ard.
Daniel shared Instructional Updates, including that Elizabeth Slade of Public Montessori in Action was on campus coaching last week and providing professional development.
NWEA assessment finished up next week.
Krishna shared the work of gearing up for the upcoming Enrollment Season for 2022-2023, with virtual and live classroom tours going up on the calendar.
Krishna shared about the work to identify additional outdoor tent solutions and that she is leading the work to apply again for a Prop 39 lease here at Steele Street.
Greg asked, regarding Elizabeth, if she was giving coaching feedback to Daniel on his coaching, or is it directly to teachers, or both? Daniel responded that feedback was for Daniel.
Greg commented that it was great to see so many tours already scheduled.
No other questions, discussion, or public comment on this item.
III. Finance Committee
A.
Discussion Item - Committee Report, including year to date financial report
Stacey shared the Committee's report.
The one-time operating deficit decreased slightly since the last month's forecast, now at $161,000.
Currently forecasting an ending fund balance of $1.2M and 28.4% of expenses. Cash is projected to be above two months' expense all year long, and three months of expenses for much of the year. Stacey shared additional ways the committee will continue to support decreasing the one-time deficit further throughout the year, including planned-for revenues that are not yet in the forecast. Fundraising this year is on track.
Stacey shared funding updates from the State of California including Expanded Learning Opportunity, Educator Effectiveness, and TK Planning grants.
Davis commented that the committee relies on the expertise and capacities of Edtec, who is doing a great job.
Krishna and Stacey encouraged folks to attend finance committee meetings. Greg offered to provide training for new members and/or the community on interpreting the financial reports.
Jan appreciated the Readathon and asked about ADA. Krishna responded that the latest financial document has the latest ADA that is up to date. Davis commented about deliberately using one-time money to keep classrooms open. Sarah M. asked further about those investments and Krishna commented about the need to keep all three Primary classrooms open now to keep kids safe and to be prepared for next school year and hiring.
Greg shared about investing in one-time years, with one-time deficits to support full reopening this year, setting us up for full operations in the future and regular structural operating incomes. David commented similarly.
No other questions, discussion, or public comment on this item.
B.
Vote on UMCS ESSER III Expenditure Plan
D. Leung made a motion to approve the ESSER III plan.
S. Wang seconded the motion.
Greg shared the ESSER III plan.
No other questions, discussion, or public comment on this item.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| C. Greenberg |
Absent
|
| D. Leung |
Aye
|
| K. Fortuna |
Aye
|
| M. Salazar |
Aye
|
| J. Faraguna |
Abstain
|
| S. Wang |
Aye
|
| G. Klein |
Aye
|
C.
Educator Effectiveness Plan review
Greg shared the Educator Effectiveness Plan. The vote will be at the December Board meeting.
Jan appreciated the credentialing support in the plan. Jan asked that Focus Area two get more specific on what kinds of training and professional development and commented on her support for anti-racist anti-bias training.
Krishna shared that training with Dr. Rogers-Ard, along with Montessori coach training, are included in that planning.
Sita commented on her support for additional summer learning opportunities. Krishna that it is difficult to staff a large summer program, and so will be planning even earlier to help recruit staff.
Maru asked who staffs the summer program. Krishna responded that it's our regular-year staff who opt-in to work on an extended contract.
Sarah asked if UMCS had partnered with third-party providers on summer learning? Krishna responded that we haven't done that in the past. Sarah asked about the possibility of spending the money over more than one year. Krishna shared that that's an option, but it does keep things simpler in terms of accounting since we already have aligned expenses.
No other questions, discussion, or public comment on this item.
IV. Academic Oversight Committee
A.
Discussion Item - Committee Report
Jan shared the committee's report. NWEA is still ongoing, doing it in small groups with great success and positive feedback on that structure from students and staff.
Students had taken DIBELS in reading assessment, but administration of the assessment was not yet complete at the time of the meeting.
YIPS/YEPS social-emotional screening was also in the midst of being conducted. Informs the work fo the School Counselor.
Initial ELPAC assessment was also underway. Daniel added that staff is looking at reclassification criteria and having conversations about existing students.
No other questions, discussion, or public comment on this item.
V. Family Advisory Council
A.
Committee Report
Kara shared the FAC report on new members and FAC president, recent events, and upcoming events.
Maru asked if Dr. Rogers-Ard gets feedback on the sessions. Krishna responded she has collected feedback from staff and families to share with Administration. Krishna and Dr. Rogers-Ard check-in and reflect on the work and make adjustments for the future.
No other questions, discussion, or public comment on this item.
VI. Executive & Governance Committee
A.
Discussion Item: Committee Updates, including candidates for board service, Form 700, and training
Greg shared the committee's report. Shared information on the latest developments on the student COVID-19 vaccine requirement from the state. This year's Head of School evaluation process is underway and on track. Held a recent listening session for staff. Additionally, created a Google form for staff to use at the January PD day as another way to give feedback. Asks for feedback come with time "on the clock" for staff to provide feedback.
The committee reviewed upcoming board membership possibilities including FAC elections and recommended a nomination for Sarah Morrill for Board membership starting January 1, 2022.
The committee reviewed the COVID-19 Safety plan. Updates are not material but further clarifications of language.
ACOE approved an extended MOU with UMCS to align with the automatic extension of charters granted by the state. UMCS approval of the same MOU is included on the consent agenda.
No other questions, discussion, or public comment on this item.
B.
Board and committee officers and members
No action taken
VII. Other Business
A.
Oakland and California Updates
Greg shared a few items. OUSD passed a student COVID-19 vaccine mandate for eligible students. OUSD performed an evaluation of their budget excluding one-time monies. They projected a $55 million ending fund balance a couple of school years from now, as well as a $10 million annual deficit at that time. SFUSD received a $116 million investment from the state because of their structural deficit.
No other questions, discussion, or public comment on this item.
B.
Approve Minutes from September 23, 2021 Regular Meeting
G. Klein made a motion to approve the minutes from Regular Board Meeting on 09-23-21.
D. Leung seconded the motion.
No questions, discussion, or public comment on the minutes.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| C. Greenberg |
Absent
|
| K. Fortuna |
Aye
|
| G. Klein |
Aye
|
| D. Leung |
Aye
|
| J. Faraguna |
Abstain
|
| S. Wang |
Aye
|
| M. Salazar |
Aye
|
C.
Action Item - Vote on General Consent Report
K. Fortuna made a motion to approve the General Consent Report.
S. Wang seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| S. Wang |
Aye
|
| K. Fortuna |
Aye
|
| D. Leung |
Aye
|
| J. Faraguna |
Abstain
|
| G. Klein |
Aye
|
| C. Greenberg |
Absent
|
| M. Salazar |
Aye
|
D.
Collect New Business items for Future Meetings
No new items collected.
VIII. Closed Session
A.
Closed Session Items
At 7:44pm Davis shared that the board would go into closed session on two topics.
- Public Employee Performance Evaluation - Head of School
- Conference with Real Property Negotiator (§ 54956.8)
- Property: 4551 Steele St, Oakland, CA 94619
- Agency Negotiator: Krishna Feeney, Head of School
- Negotiating Parties: UMCS and Oakland USD
- Under Negotiation: instruction to negotiator will concern price and terms
There was no public comment on these two items.
IX. Return to Open Session
A.
Report out of any closed session action(s)
The board returned to open session at 8:39pm.
Davis reported that no actions were taken.
X. Closing Items
A.
Adjourn Meeting
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 8:40 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
D. Leung
Documents used during the meeting
- Educator Effectiveness Plan overview.pdf
- Urban Montessori Amendment to Operational MOU Reflecting AB-SB 130.pdf