Mr. James McCarthy, the Chairman, greeted all Directors and guests.

Charter School Staff: Dr. Mary Anne DeVivio, Christian Adamkiewicz, Jerry Sgambati, Nick Giorlando, and Lynsey Bailey 

Guests: Kamlesh Singh, Svetlana Gnesina, and Nicole Morrissey

Directors reviewed the proposed agenda for the November 2025 board meeting. 

Mr. McCarthy presented the minutes from the October 8, 2025, board meeting.

Dr. Mary Anne DeVivio presented the Principal’s Report. Keynotes included:

• The school is working to prepare for a potential food stamp and transportation shutdown.
  • Communication with families includes resources for access to food. 
  • Food provided by Butter Beans at the end of the school day at no cost. 
  • Prepared for donations, but no crisis yet. 
  • Transportation concerns include a 30-day stall, but the plan is to have DOE provide OMNY cards; parents can install app to locate bus if delays occur.  
• Remote learning plan has been prepared in case necessary. 
• DIBELS assessment has been administered. The assessment team is comparing the previous assessment and DIBELS to see if there is a correlation. 
• The MS charter school fair will be held in January; currently anticipating 13 schools. 
• Parent-teacher conferences will be held in November, including the review of the new report cards.
• Vision screenings, dental care, and physicals are all being provided to families.  
• Upcoming events include the Perfect Attendance luncheon, book fair, and Balloons Over Broadway float parade on November 25th.

It was suggested that a poster of accountability goals be created for easy reference. Mr. Wasbes was recently on campus to support Mr. Adamkiewicz and Mr. Sgambati.

Dr. Ursillo, Chair of the Academic Committee, presented the October 2025 Academic Committee report. 

Keynotes included:

• Ms. Zully Fernandez and Mr. Christian Adamkiewicz presented in Dr. DeVivio’s absence. 
• Committee members reviewed the structure and content of professional learning activities and teacher support. 
• New math program highlights have been added to the website, along with other new features to demonstrate both student and professional learning at CMCCS. 
• The report card has new features and is being introduced to students and families. 
• BoardOnTrack supplies various resources and articles. The committee revisited the roles of governance versus leadership. 
• The committee discussed how to support the school this year, including recertification roles and responsibilities, and support with the growth and development of the school. 
• The ideal structure is to dive deeply into the work as a committee and present recommendations to the full board to weigh in. 

Mr. McCarthy added the resource of the CSI website for structuring agenda items and ensuring compliance.

Dr. Gershen-Lowy, Chair of the Finance Committee, presented the October 2025 Finance Committee report.

Keynotes included:

• Mr. Maison Vega shared information about the structure of the new food vendor, Butter Beans, and the budget implications.
• BDO representative, Mr. Jimmy Vora, provided an overview of the audit report. Areas of significant risk are similar to prior year, including revenue recognitions and management override of control. 
  • Overall findings include:
    • No material weaknesses were found
    • No change in audit strategy
    • No violation of any laws
    • No outside consultations
    • No disagreement from staff or board
    • No significant findings or concerns
    • Unmodified opinion; independent audit team 
• The committee approved the FY25 audit report.
• Mr. Jerry Sgambati reported the current shared space allocations.

Ms. Svetlana Gnesina, CSBM, reviewed the current operating budget and September 2025 financial statements. 

Keynotes included:

• As of September 30, 2025, the cash balance was $7.57M, including the Metropolitan checking account, Money Market account, and escrow. 
  • Excellent COH status.
  • Enrollment is 458 students, which is eight overbudget.
    • With SpEd enrollment increases, there is an additional $120K in revenue.
  • The variances in projections are due to the school food program structure as self-funded.
  • Net asset projection is $24K.
  • The balance sheet highlights:
    • $7.6M in the bank, including checking, Money Market account, escrow, and additional savings account at Metropolitan.
    • Receivables at $73K due to prior year receivables for Title fundings.
    • $450K prepaid expenses for this upcoming year.
    • $948K in fixed assets.
• CSBM, in partnership with school leadership, filed the financials with the state and authorizer by the November 3rd deadline.

Directors discussed the consideration of amending the budget. Ms. Gnesina advised that the budget projections will remain as initially budgeted, and the focus should be on explanations of variances as opposed to any amendments. CSBM will meet with the school leadership team to analyze.

Mr. McCarthy, Chair of the Governance Committee, presented the October 2025 Governance Committee report. 

Keynotes included:

• Realtor nominations have been received. 
• The committee discussed the audit report and reviewing the deck of board policies.

Dr. Ursillo presented the October 2025 Partner’s Report. Keynotes included:

• CMCS CEO, Beth Finnerty, joined the October board meeting and discussed plans to submit an offer on the Aquinas Hall property pending CMCS board approval. 
• Ms. Finnerty has spoken to the Dominican Sisters regarding a lease extension and received a positive response suggesting an extension could be negotiated once an offer to purchase has been made.
• The CMCS board has approved the submission of a purchase offer. 
• The CMCS/CMCCS partner agreement is still pending. This must be addressed prior to submission of the recertification application. 

Mr. Audiffred provided an update on realtor submissions. Directors agreed that legal background and community knowledge is a priority. The pros and cons to hiring a realtor versus a real estate lawyer were discussed. A real estate attorney is decidedly the best option at this point in the process. Mr. McCarthy will contact counsel about a real estate lawyer on staff. Mr. Audiffred will follow up with realtors about pausing the process for now.