Susan Geisenheimer made a motion to approve an additional two-year term for the following Board members serving as Officers, with terms ending between January 2025 and December 2025.
 

Lori Biancamano seconded the motion.

Approval for a two-year term renewal for the following board members:

• Barbara Scott (Chair)
• David Barnard (Co-Vice Chair)
• Charles Whites (Co-Vice Chair)
• Arlene Bascom (Treasurer)

The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

Ms. Kathy Ortiz provided an update on current end of year activities for the school, noting dates for the moving up and graduation ceremonies, first ever Middle School Sports Banquet, prom, and Read with Pride Book Fair. As part of the marketing and recruitment plan, there will also be a scheduled media visit in June from local news station PIX11.

Updated student attendance rates have improved, although the lowest rates were recorded in January, February, and May, which were largley due to illnesses.

Continued efforts are made towards meeting student enrollment targets and hiring for open positions for the next school year. Final planning to move this year's Summer Boost program from the elementary to middle school is underway, with focus on reorganizing classrooms to accommodate the transition.

Summer priorities will include completion of required state end of year reports, financial audit, and internal school academic reviews.

Mr. David Barnard shared that on May 28th, Ps Wrx met with the Facilities and Real Estate committee. During this meeting, Ps Wrx presented the initial 5 year budget proposal and timeline that prioritized the building improvements for the elementary school year based on their initial walkthrough and review of the school's 2021 building condition assessment report. 

Based on further review, the committee provided Ms. Kathy Ortiz the approval to move forward with securing 2Ki Architects firm for architect and engineering services for the project.

Ms. Melanie Hok provided an overall cost breakdown of the 5 year budget proposal and timeline from Ps Wrx. The total cost (which include 20% contingency) is estimated to be approximately 3.7M. All costs related to construction and improvements to the building will be capitalized. The main urgent priorities are full roof and HVAC system replacements, which are scheduled to be done during the upcoming summer months and later in the 2025 calendar year. Additional scope of project also include lighting, and minor plumbing & electrical work which is planned for the later years. Once all work is done, Ps Wrx will conduct an additional building audit to determine any additional building needs. This audit will be free of charge.

Both the Finance and Executive committees met in early June to review the budget proposal and timeline for the project. Given the urgency and to ensure the work is done before the start of the new school year, members of both committees approved and empowered Kathy Ortiz to move forward with the work. More updates will be shared with the board as the project commences and is underway.

Lastly, the school is engaged with NCheng LLP to begin financial audit for the 2024-25 fiscal year.

Mr. Joseph Chiofalo shared that the school met its' fundraising goal for FY25.

Additionally, the school is expected to receive the first disbursement of the Summer Boost grant by end of June. Enrollment for the program remains stable at approximately 175 students. 

The school's instagram account has increased by 186 followers in the last three months, with over 2k followers overall; and the Blue Sky social media account is set to launch next school year.

The Cohen Foundation grant has facilitated transformative STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, math) programming, particularly in robotics and woodshop. Next steps involve grant reporting, accompanied by testimonials to promote renewal and expansion. 

 • Summer Boost programming starts June 30th

 • Board meetings for next year will continue to be scheduled for the second Tuesday of each month