Yuna Shin conducted a demo of the software.

There was no public participation.

Rent savings for the school as a result of office spaces vacated by Ralph and Darshan. 

Rent increase was approved but 2 office spaces are now vacated 

$24,600 will be deducted from rental FY25.

Susan Perry presented the following scenario: For the SY 2023-2024, the total labor cost (as per the DESE formula) that LFD, Inc. incurred to operate the School Lunch Program was $281,150.93. That is a debit to LFDCS. However, in January 2024 some Nutrition Department staff members of LFDCS were transferred to LFD, Inc. That resulted in a credit of $85,128.94 to LFDCS. Therefore, the total deficiency that LFD, Inc. faced for the SY2023-2024 was $196,021.99 (the difference between the above stated amounts). LFDCS had revenue but not matching expenses in the amount equal to the difference stated above. Therefore, Susan Perry, on behalf of LFD, Inc. requested that LFDCS make LFD, Inc. whole by paying the $196,021.99 amount.

C. Needham requested to hold a discussion and vote on this matter at the Finance Subcommittee meeting on August 7, 2024. It was so agreed by all.

LFDCS submitted an RFP for the School Lunch Program on COMMBUYS Marketplace. LFDCS received only one bid- that from Lawrence Prospera. This is the same vendor that has provided the Nutritional School Lunch service for many years and the LFDCS leadership feels that awarding the contract to Lawrence Prospera once again will be highly advantageous to LFDCS. The Board agreed to award the contract to Lawrence Prospera. 

On behalf of the Board of Trustees of Lawrence Family Development Charter School (LFDCS), its students, and families served, we submit for renewal of our charter for 2025-2030. Here is our letter to the Commissioner along with documented evidence of the work and achievements during our sixth charter. Note that LFDCS has substantially met the components of its Accountability Plan established for 2020-2025 and addressed the criteria of the required areas of charter renewal: a) faithfulness to the terms of its charter, b) success of the school’s academic program, and c) viability of our school district as a viable organization. Included here are the initiatives and outcomes identified in this application for this charter period.

D. Defillippo identified an error on pg. 27 on the performance chart. Item #3, for year 2022-2023, should be M (not NM). The error was corrected in the document.

The Student Opportunity Act (SOA) was enacted in 2019, injecting significant new funding into the Commonwealth’s educational system, with a focus on providing funding to districts serving students with the greatest needs. This is not a grant, but an increase in the Ch. 70 and other funding sources. The SOA plan is different from the accountability plan, which describes the full set of strategies that a district will implement to support all students. By contrast, the SOA Plan addresses a subset of a district’s overall initiatives, focusing on evidence-based programs and strategies that will improve the educational experiences and outcomes of students, including English learners, students with disabilities, and low-income students. The first 3-year plan ended with SY 2023. The next 3-year plan (for SY 2024-2027) is due on August 1 (after a super-majority approval of the Board). Here is the focus for our next 3-year plan.

Our student groups: early education students that include students of color, English learners, sub-proficient, low-income, and students with disabilities. LFDCS chose these groups because there are many families in Lawrence seeking the charter school experience for their children and that results in a waitlist with over 200 applicants, especially in the early grades. Expanded access to full-day, high-quality pre-kindergarten for 4-year-olds, including potential collaboration with other local providers, will help improve the experience of these families. Our full-day program provides extensive language development, phonemic awareness, and number sense complemented by learning and play centers, music, art, MakerSpace STEM, fitness, and Spanish that is aligned with the Massachusetts Common Core Curriculum. Students are introduced to technology and text-based curriculum to advance oral fluency and reading based on a scientifically-researched core program with extensive planning and consistent progress monitoring.

We were eagerly anticipating updated information regarding the status of the new building purchase. Recently, we were informed that the building is no longer available for sale. In light of this, we convened to develop an alternative plan. With the guidance of the LFD leadership, we have formulated a new strategy. We will repurpose significant portions of the Quintana Center and the Upper School. This repurposing and renovation plan will provide us with sufficient space to accommodate the expansion of our enrollment to 1,000 students

Put this on the agenda for August.

The Subcommittee to negotiate the terms of the Interim Superintendent contract with D. Thakkar comprising G. Rosario, J. Henriquez, D. DeFillippo, and C. Needham presented the contract to the Board with a recommendation to approve the terms.