Urban Montessori Charter School
Minutes
Finance Committee Regular Meeting
Date and Time
Thursday October 19, 2023 at 3:30 PM
Location
4551 Steele Street, Oakland, CA 94619. Ring the front bell or call/text 510-290-4005 for entry. Signage on campus will direct you to the correct room, generally the Head of School's Office.
The public may comment and participate via Zoom if they prefer. The public may also email comments to greg@urbanmontessori.org to be shared by the during the meeting. Please make that intention clear in your email.
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Meeting ID: 825 9285 5160; Passcode 510 842 1181
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Meeting ID: 825 9285 5160
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Members: Greg Klein (Chair), Ann Rhodes
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.
Committee Members Present
A. Rhodes (remote), G. Klein
Committee Members Absent
None
Guests Present
J. Kemp (remote), K. Feeney
I. Opening Items
A.
Call the Meeting to Order
B.
Record Attendance
C.
Vote on Minutes from prior Finance Committee Meeting
No questions and no public comments on this item.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| G. Klein |
Aye
|
| A. Rhodes |
Aye
|
D.
Review of Action/Discussion Items
E.
Presentations from the Floor
No public comment on items not on the agenda.
II. Finance
A.
Discussion Item: Monthly Fiscal Report
Eboni shared the monthly report, through the end of September 2023. The forecast was updated for additional expenses in repairs, maintenance, electrical work, and non-instructional consultants, along with marketing and recruiting. There were savings in compensation and benefits related to removing a position that was to be removed earlier when the forecast was updated with this year's enrollment numbers. After all the updates, the operating income forecast remained at ~$110,000.
Ending fund balance is now forecasted at $1.7M and 30.3% of expenses. Cash flow remains strong through the end of the year and above 3 months of expenses.
The committee gave guidance to administration to prepare a donation of at least 1% and no more than 10% of last school year's annual fundraising from families, and to work with the faculty and Family Advisory Council to finalize the donations in line with the UMCS Land Acknowledgement, which is here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ow-XJ07v74nGz22re87ZKx1UtOvNgZhk-AcWqQRaBx8/edit.
No other questions or public comments on this item.
B.
New Business
No new items at this time.
C.
Multiyear Fiscal Outlook
The committee reviewed a draft multiyear budget that keeps all of this year's assumptions and looks out three more years. It doesn't (and cannot) be informed yet even by the Governor's January 2024 budget proposal, because that does not exist. The committee discussed how the school's finances are in a strong position. Financial considerations are not driving any need for change in the immediate future. Instead, the committee discussed that other dynamics, such as teacher and leader sustainability, the school's ability to support teachers and training at a high level, and facilities are factors that may inform how the school may need to change over the next three to five years. The committee discussed different constellations of Primary, Lower, and Upper Elementary classrooms -- or first through six grade elementary classrooms -- that could be the right mix given the facility, family demand, enrollment limits, and desired class sizes. No major changes are planned for this year.
No public comments on this item.
III. Closed Session
A.
Closed Session Items
At 4:27pm, the committee announced going into closed session on Public Employee Performance Evaluation - Head of School. No public comments on this item.
B.
Report out of Closed Session
At 4:51pm, the committee returned to open session. No actions were taken.
No changes needed.