Brevard Academy
Minutes
Monthly Board Meeting
Date and Time
Wednesday January 21, 2026 at 5:30 PM
Mission:
The Mission of Brevard Academy is to prepare its students to achieve academic excellence through the Core Knowledge Sequence. Through a partnership involving students, teachers, and parents the school strives to create citizens with strong moral character and active intellectual inquiry.
Vision:
Brevard Academy: A Challenge Foundation Academy (BA-CFA) a K-8 public charter school develops and encourages motivated, intellectually curious students who are skilled in critical thinking, individual expression, and problem-solving. From their diverse backgrounds, students accept our challenge to pursue personal and academic excellence. Through this pursuit, they become confident members of their community who lead by serving others.
Strategic Goals:
- Ensure Academic Success for Every Student
- Actively Engage Stakeholders to Strengthen and Enrich Our Communities
- Recruit, Hire and Retain Highly Effective Personnel
- Use Resources Effectively and Be Fiscally Responsible
- Provide Effective and Innovative Learning Environments
Directors Present
Abe Pallas, Brandon Smith, Jamie Atkinson, Mark Franklin, Paul Cooper
Directors Absent
Jennifer Silva, Tyree Griffin
Ex Officio Members Present
Ted Duncan
Non Voting Members Present
Ted Duncan
Guests Present
Ali Liubenov
I. Work Session/Closed Session
A.
Work Session/Closed Session
II. Opening Items
A.
Call the Meeting to Order
B.
Record Attendance
C.
Pledge of Allegiance
Students from Amazing Shake Competition led the Pledge
D.
Approve Meeting Agenda
E.
Approve Minutes
III. Regular Meeting Business
A.
Good News
Student Accomplishments
- 12 of our students traveled to The Seaside School in FL to compete in the Amazing Shake
- Our SGA/Impact Club won the Festival of Lights Cabin Competition at Deerwoode Reserve
Staff Accomplishments
- Ali Liubenov won the Golden Leaf
School News
- Enrollment is open!
- We had a great Winter Concert at Biltmore Church Brevard
- Our Middle School Winter Dance was a success
Community Relations/Professional Presentations
- Megan Monk presented to the Pisgah Forest Rotary Club about our mentoring program
- Jen Iden will present to the Rosman National Honor Society Students about AI
- Our Bread of Life Food Drive is underway. We brought in 350 pounds of donations in the first week
- School Choice Week kicks off next week
B.
Student Highlight
Amazing Shake Recap - we took 12 students to FL to participate in the Amazing Shake. It was a 2 day event with 220 students and 80 volunteers. The event is focused on discussion with peers and other adults, good strong handshake and eye contact, different interview style questions on the spot, and stations to see how quickly and confidently students can answer/offer opinions/be respectful/act/be interviewed/etc.
3 of our students made it into the top 30, and were interviewed individually. (Hadley George, Lillie Oliver, and Leo Koppel)
2 of our students made top 15 and participated in a debate and brunch interviews (Hadley George & Leo Koppel)
Hadley and Leo made the top 6! Had to participate in a 3 minute interview.
We are going to host an Amazing Shake Brevard Academy in the Spring for our Middle School students. We need 67 volunteers!
C.
Staff Highlight
PTO Presentation - Heidi Philyaw (President)
- Back to School Breakfast - trying to get parents involved and connected
- Meet and Greet in the Fall
- Staff/Teacher Appreciation once a month/every month starting in September
- Fundraisers - Pisgah Coffee Roasters, VIP Parking Raffle, Read A Thon with Scholastic Book Fair
- Gingerbread House Competition
- Middle School Dances - Winter/Spring
- Glow Dance for (K-5 students) introducing this year
- PTO Golden Leaf - Staff to Staff peer recognition award
- PTO Newsletter
- Volunteers are amazing and continuing the goal of keeping parents connected and involved
D.
Opportunity for Public Comment
Cara Varney - has applied to be on the Board. Professional Fundraiser - being a part of a group like this community. She has worked at Eagles Nest Outdoor Academy for 10 years. Has signed her child up for the Kindergarten lottery. Also, on the Board for the Pisgah Collective, and other community boards. Would love to be involved in the board that so many of the community are in and where she wants her children in school.
IV. Committee Reports
A.
Facilities
FEMA Projects
- Parking Lot
- Outdoor Education Class is working to move rocks etc in the front of the school to make it look more presentable
Misc. Projects
Building Repairs
- Plumbing
- HVAC - making sure the pressure in the building making doors unable to close - now fixed
Action Item
- Planting one shrub and tree in the front of the building
B.
Finance
- Monthly Budget
- Cash Board
- Encumbered Funds - in the process of developing a policy about this being information and how it is accessed
Tentative Closing Date of February 19 for the Arts/STEM Building - money has been allocated/ projected time to complete (9mo)/ 6 bids and a lot of interest/RYSE Construction was the lowest bid
Action Items
- We need to make a journal entry from our Unencumbered Funds into our budget - increase Fund Balance Allocation by $55,348.25 to cover Arts/STEM building costs and FEMA project overages
- Add a full-time Speech Teacher - as we have grown so have our EC needs, make Sara Smith full-time instead of part-time
We are waiting for NC to release information/budget
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Mark Franklin |
Aye
|
| Jennifer Silva |
Absent
|
| Abe Pallas |
Aye
|
| Tyree Griffin |
Absent
|
| Paul Cooper |
Aye
|
| Brandon Smith |
Abstain
|
| Jamie Atkinson |
Aye
|
C.
Governance and Policy
Amendment to Policy 7390--Personal Time Off
- Remove: However, the state of North Carolina does not allow such leave to count toward an employee's years of service at retirement.
- Replace with: Accumulated leave is reported to the state at retirement.
D.
Long-Range Planning
- Board and CEO Action Calendar - please look forward to end of January and February
- New Board Member Applications
- New Development Plan - ways individuals on the board have been contributing to new development
- Board Training
- CEO Support
Action Items
- Motion to approve the applicants : Trish Andrews and Hannah Camenzind
E.
CEO Support and Evaluation
V. Director Report
A.
Director Report
- Director Report
- Discipline Report
- Enrollment Report - 97 applicants so far in just a week! We did not meet this until February last year
- Staff and Student Attendance - goal of 95%
- Staff Intent to Return - no one is leaving disgruntled, both will return as subs when available
- TCS School Lunch Program on Fridays in February - offering a lower cost than our current provider - we could be reimbursed for our students that are free/reduced lunch with a grant
VI. Other Business
A.
Announcement of Next Meeting
next meeting is February 18
VII. Closing Items
A.
Adjourn Meeting
- Amazing Shake - Seaside .pptx
- December Budget.pdf
- Brevard Academy Feasability Study 8.25.2025.pdf
- December Cash Brevard.pdf
- December 2025 Referrals.pdf
- In School Suspensions December 2025.pdf
- Positive Merits December 2025.pdf
- Director Report January 2026.pdf
- Brevard Academy Staff Professional Developement 25-26.pdf
There was board discussion on the effectiveness of committees and what should we be focused on.