STEM School Highlands Ranch
Minutes
Board of Directors Meeting
Date and Time
Tuesday May 14, 2024 at 5:30 PM
Location
P-tech Building
8920 Barrons Blvd
Highlands Ranch, CO 80129
Webinar Link: Join from a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone or Android device: Please click this URL to join. https://zoom.us/j/97049693895?pwd=RStxcVh2ay8rSVdvWTFJRHExaFNLUT09 Passcode: 919339
Link to Meeting Presentation Slides
Directors Present
C. Gustafson, D. Lomelino (remote), E. Quigley, G. Shick (remote), K. Reyna, L. Davison, M. Horne, R. Lukez
Directors Absent
I. Kalra
Directors who arrived after the meeting opened
G. Shick
Ex Officio Members Present
M. Cartier
Non Voting Members Present
M. Cartier
Guests Present
A. Westfall, L. Kovalesky, N. Bostel
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
C.
Pledge of Allegiance
D.
Reciting of the Mission Statement
E.
Approve Minutes
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| I. Kalra |
Absent
|
| E. Quigley |
Aye
|
| M. Horne |
Abstain
|
| G. Shick |
Absent
|
| L. Davison |
Aye
|
| K. Reyna |
Aye
|
| R. Lukez |
Aye
|
| C. Gustafson |
Aye
|
| D. Lomelino |
Aye
|
F.
Approve Minutes
G.
Approve Minutes
II. Community Updates
A.
PTO Bi-Annual Update
III. Board Committee Updates
A.
Governance Committee
Tim Farmer (STEM Attorney) joined for discussion of Parent/Student and Staff Handbook. The BOD will vote on the Parent/Student Handbook in the June 4th Meeting. The Staff Handbook will be discussed at a later date.
Parent/Student Handbook has been shared with the full board to review with instructions to pay special attention to some areas in particular. (slide 1 in presentation)
T. Farmer- Encourages BOD to not get into the minutia of each point but to provide clear guidelines for school administration to utilize.
Note: In instances where we follow DCSD's policy, we will have a link to the DCSD policy.
The June 4th deadline is to ensure it is ready prior to express check in for Fall 2024. It will need to be uploaded before July 1, 2024.
B.
Finance Committee
Star Ake Presentation- Proposed Budget and Recommended Adopted Budget
Some changes to the proposed budget from last year include increasing Student Annual Fees by $50. This increase will generate approximately $80,000. There are a couple new positions that did not exist in previous years. Now that we are using the DCSD salaries, there will be a higher salary expense.
BOD Questions/Comment:
What do the student fees go toward?- Mostly toward Teacher Stipends. We also do not ask parents for school supplies like neighborhood schools do because we supply school supplies out of this income.
-There should be a communication in place that makes this really clear for parents so that the message lands the way we want it to.
-It would be good to show that our PPR is less than the rest of the district and that the district is less than the rest of the state. Educating the community about how the Charter school financials work in comparison to a neighborhood school, with part of PPR going to the District.
IV. Academic Excellence
A.
Student Government Spotlight
Student government gave a recap of all the events they did this year and introduced the new officers for the 2024-25 School Year.
2024-25 Officer Team:
Auburne Mauger- Student Body President
Kylie Pautler- Student Body Vice President
Maya Thatcher- Student Body Treasurer
Evan Choi- Student body Secretary
B.
Executive Director Report - STEM
L. Kovalesky gave Updates for Elementary and Secondary:
Important upcoming events (all can be found in the school calendar)
Hiring updates: Positions that need to be filled, positions that we recently filled.
Enrollment as of April 2024- Total 1384: ES-515, MS- 441, HS- 428,
Anticipated enrollment- Total 1392: ES- 539, MS- 442 and HS- 404.
TLCC Survey Results - Great growth in teacher/staff satisfaction, results are in comparison to other Colorado charter schools and STEM historical data. Full report on Colo Dept of Education website.
Summer activities include work on lessons plans and PBL units, facility updates, and student events.
BOD Request to make this TLCC PDF accessible in the board book
V. Board of Directors Update
A.
2024 Class A Election
Gina Wing won the parent election and has become our new Class A BOD member. On June 1st we will set up her account.
Michelle Horne's term will end May 31st.
B.
General Updates
Board On Track survey will be completed over the next month. Discussion about whether Michelle Horne or Gina Wing should be included in the survey. It was determined that the BOT survey will be sent out in June to assess the new board for next year, so Gina will be included and not Michelle.
Board Training will be June 21st.
C.
Upcoming Agenda Items
VI. Public Comment
A.
Public Comment Sign up link
No one signed up for Public Comment.
VII. Executive Session
A.
Convene to Executive Session
CRS 24-6-402(4)(e)(I) for determining positions relative to matters that may be subject to negotiations; developing strategy for negotiations; and instructing negotiators. Discussion of contract renewal terms for KOSON CIO.
Personnel matters except if the employee who is the subject of the session has requested an open meeting, or if the personnel matter involves more than one employee, all of the employees have requested an open meeting. With respect to hearings held pursuant to the “Teacher Employment, Compensation, and Dismissal Act of 1990”, article 63 of title 22, C.R.S., the provisions of section 22-63-302 (7)(a), C.R.S., shall govern in lieu of the provisions of this subsection (4). Discussion of CIO EOY Evaluation.
Executive session lasted 7:28pm-8:59pm.
Resumed Public Session at 9:00pm.
Moved to June BOD Meeting.