The Chairman greeted all Directors and guests. Roll call was conducted by Dr. Bill Ursillo. A quorum was established. 

Carolyn Telesmanich was remote with a medical waiver to vote.

Directors reviewed the proposed agenda for the April 2026 board meeting. 

Mr. McCarthy presented the minutes from the March 4, 2026, board meeting. 

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

• The student lottery was held on April 2, 2026. The school has received 137 applications for SY2627, and 97 of those are for kindergarten. Most families have accepted their seat, and school tours are being conducted for interested families. 
• Over spring break, grades 3-5 participated in a Spring Academy program, hosting 50-60 students each day for additional support. 
• State testing will be conducted on April 20 (science), April 27-28 (ELA), and May 4-5 (math). 
• A production of “Peter Pan” will be performed on May 6th. Board invitation to come. 
• The Summer Boost grant was secured, and the program will run July 6-July 31. 
• There are two updates to the SUNY renewal application this year. 
  • Section 12: updates to certification and fingerprint clearance. Staff is up to date.
  • Section15: narrative component regarding partnerships with schools in the district; engagement with local district schools has been recorded.
• The administrative team will continue to discuss a grades 6-8 middle school expansion and model. The proposed program at OLR will align with the existing culture, including a model Discovery program with AI components, project-based learning, and other curriculum pieces. 
  • A survey went home with current fourth-grade families about attending a MS at a different location; 99% said they would enroll. 
• Attendance: 90% as of April 14. 
• NYC school survey has been distributed and is due April 17. Currently, 249 surveys have been completed.
• CSBM has reviewed the draft FPP, and it will be sent to the Finance Committee for review. It will be presented at the next board meeting for approval. 
• Staff and family handbooks are being reviewed and will be presented at the May board meeting for approval. 
• The NYS per pupil funding for special education has increased by approximately $1000 for the 20-60% rate. The change will be reflected in May 2026. 

Dr. Ursillo, Chair of the Academic Committee, presented the March 2026 Academic Committee report. Keynotes included:

• Dr. DeVivio and Mr. Jesse Ronda shared testing data from Discovery class MAP testing. The data is very compelling and is trending very positively. 
• The committee discussed expansion ideas and how the committee could best support the school leadership team during the renewal application preparation phase. 
• The next committee meeting scheduled for April has been canceled. 

Dr. Gershen-Lowy, Chair of the Finance Committee, presented the March 2026 Finance Committee report. 

Ms. Gnesina reviewed the financial statements for February 2026. As of February 28, 2026, the school has a $8.4M cash on hand balance, an excellent cash standing of more than six months. Additional keynotes included:

• There have been no changes in enrollment. There are currently 451 students. The SpEd population revenues overbudget providing additional revenue.
• This is a healthy balance sheet with healthy ratios.
• The budget vs. actuals report highlighted a projected surplus of approximately $107K. There have been no major changes. 
  • Revenues are higher than budgeted amount due to increased student enrollment, food program revenue, interest earnings, and IDEA funds $20K higher than budgeted.
  • Expenses include salary projections overbudget due to salary increases midyear, savings on medical insurance, ASP increases, and offset food service costs.
• The school has transferred the full amount from the Money Market account to the Metropolitan savings account and thus the Money Market account balance as of January 31, 2026, is $0. The escrow account has also been moved to Metropolitan Bank.
• The Metropolitan Bank savings account statement shows a balance of $2.245M having earned $17K in interest income for the month of February. 

Mr. Sgambati discussed the audit procurement process. The RFP has been sent to three auditors. Proposals have been received and are currently being reviewed. The finance team will share the rankings with the Finance Committee at a special meeting next week, and a recommendation will be brought to the board at the May meeting.

The FPP draft will be presented at the April Finance Committee meeting for review. The draft 990 report has been reviewed by the committee.

 Ms. Gnesina will confirm board approval with BDO, and they will file by the May 15 deadline.

Mr. McCarthy, Chair of the Governance Committee, presented the March 2026 Governance Committee report. Keynotes included:

• The policy deck is being reviewed and will be presented at the annual meeting.
• The committee discussed potentially updating the bylaws at a later date after thoroughly reviewing them and aligning on the verbiage. 
• The annual meeting agenda items were reviewed for the May 6th meeting.
• Committee members discussed updates on the Our Lady of Refuge (OLR) lease and proposed term sheet. OLR would be used as the middle school campus pending expansion, and the current building would house grades K-5. 

Dr. Ursillo presented the Partner’s Report for March 2026. Cardinal McCloskey Community Services and the Dominican Sisters have signed the lease extension document. The CMCCS board should be receiving follow-up information this week.

The committee discussed the timeline for the charter renewal application and scheduling regular touchpoints. A meeting will be held in two weeks to schedule the check-in meetings. The renewal committee consists of the principal, the Chair of the Academic Committee, and the consultant. The committee will focus on Sections 12 and 15 of the application since they are new this year, as well as supporting data for the renewal and expansion proposal.

The board discussed the proposed timeline for the lease terms on the OLR building. Dr. DeVivio plans to use the facility for tutoring and test prep, ASP, and other marketing programs. 

Ms. Gnesina shared budget information, including the potential for lease assistance from the DOE once students are present in the building. This would be 30% of the general revenue or the lease, whichever is less. She suggested contacting the DOE to inquire about assistance if using the building for afterschool programming as proposed. She confirmed that excess reserve funds for the facility could be used innocuously, and leasing the facility could be considered an investment for the school’s expansion. 

School leadership shared concerns about the potential for enrollment to drop as students matriculate into other K-8 middle schools and take their siblings with them. 

Mr. Audiffred and Dr. Ursillo posed the question about the expenses to make the transition. Citing non-profit overspending as a concern, board members discussed ways to replenish the funds potentially spent on the second lease. Concerns were also raised about potentially not getting approval from CSI for the expansion, and needing more time for a stronger analysis of the budget for the cost of the new building. 

The motion passed with a majority.