The Board Meeting was held remotely via Zoom.

A. Starling read the mission statement.

M. Dixon reminded participants to mute microphones when not speaking, limit background noise, and appropriately position cameras.
Pertinent documents will be shared on screen during the meeting and the meeting will keep to the time listed on the agenda.

S. Dasu made requested an amendment to the Agenda as a vote is not required for the Diversity Committee update. The item should be changed to a discussion.

There were no members of the community who wished to make a comment.

A. Pieper gave the Directors Report.

Educational Excellence and Student Information:

Virtual and Remote Learning update: 
On Friday, Governor Cooper has announced that all North Carolina schools must remain closed for the remainder of the school year due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. E-learning platform will continue to the end of the school year. A notice went into the newsletter looking for parents, Board, and Staff to form a committee to make a plan for continued Virtual Learning and a contingency plan in case students cannot safely return to school in the Fall.
While this is not an ideal scenario, the school is taking into consideration the diverse needs of our community and the social-emotional well being of students. In order to do this, the guidelines for school hours per day on the online platform will remain two hours per day for students in grades K-2, three hours for students in grades 3-6, and up to 4 hours for grades 7 and 8. Additional resources are available by request from teachers. Parents who are having difficulty administering remote learning should reach out to teachers to find a solution that will work for their family so that students can continue to learn during this e-learning period.

Grading - NC SBE requirements for final grades
The State Requirements will change the grading procedure for students taking High School Credit Classes. These students will have the option to take a PC19 (pass) or WC19 (withdraw) or a number grade.

New Student enrollment for 2020-2021
All available spots for next year have been filled by students on the waiting list. All new students for the new school year have been pre-enrolled and a plan is in the works for welcoming them to Scholars Academy.

Student Course Selection
Current Students in grades 5-8 will be choosing their classes for next year in the coming weeks remotely. Grades 1-8 will receive digital re-enrollment forms in the next two weeks.

Teachers and Staff:

Teacher observations/licensure - state guidance for this year
Requirements have been waived this year, so there will be no formal end of year teacher observations. Teachers will finish their own personal development goals in the system.

2020-2021 staff slate to be discussed in closed session

Staff end of year close out process
Staff received close-out procedures today. Class lists and material requests and other items will be completed over the next several weeks. 

Admin - LBL Empowered Executives Circle
Three members of the Administration will be working this week and next week in an online workshop with other Charter School leaders.

Special Events:

Computer Turn In will happen the first week of June. Procedures will be in the newsletter.
8th Grade Graduation Committee is working on who to hold Graduation virtually
Awards Ceremony/End of Year Wrapup will happen the first week of June virtually
New Scholars Day - Will happen virtually at the end of May and then in person in August (tentative).
School Musical  - TBD.

Board Committee Updates:

Committee work to be discussed in detail in the committee reports:
Expansion, Finance, Governance, Development, Diversity, Policy.

S. Liner gave the Governance Committee update.

Leaders Building Leaders has been very instrumental in preparing Governance Committee members for Charter School Governance in a virtual platform. A. Gozycki and M. Dixon attended a webinar where there was a Zoom meeting how-to as well as a primer in how to stay compliant with open meeting laws during virtual meetings. Board Members were directed to online resources to assist in committee governance during this time.

A. Pieper has asked that the Board be a part of the annual review of the school's liability insurance policy in June.

There are links in the newsletter and in the website to fill out applications for Board openings this Fall. Parents are encouraged to consider nominations for Board Positions. Questions can be directed to Board@Scholarsacademy.edu.

 

A. Gozycki reported on the Strategic Plan.
The Committees have submitted the subgoals to the existing goals they would like to take on over the next five years. This information was compiled into a Strategic Plan by A. Gozycki and A. Pieper. The Board will vote to approve this Strategic Plan. It will be amended with actionable tasks at a later date.

The Leaders Building Leaders/Board on Track Contract will be discussed voted on in Closed Session.

Executive Director Evaluation to be discussed in closed session.

A. Farooqi presented the Teleworking Policy to the Board. Due to the fact that Staff are already teleworking, the Board must vote on a teleworking policy in this meeting.

In order for a check to be signed, the previous policy required the Executive Director and the Assistant Director's signatures. The policy change will require signatures from the Executive Committee and a member of the Administration as designated by the Executive Director.

S. Dasu gave the Diversity Committee update. 
The Diversity Committee is targeting the Fall for further outreach at various events in target communities. In the mean time, the Committee is continuing to explore marketing opportunities to the best of the Committee's ability.

A. Farooqi gave the Development Committee update.
As of today, $320,000 of the $451,000 pledged in donations have been received to the Annual Community Giving Campaign. Members of the Development Committee are sending emails to those who have pledged but have not yet fulfilled their pledge. The current family participation rate is at 85%.

Scholars Academy Family Support Fund has received over $1,000.

Sealed Air Community Partners are coordinating with Ms. Torres to create a remote learning opportunity regarding sustainability and food loss/waste.

M. Ramasamy gave the Foundation Application Status Update.
The application has been completed. The initial application filed with the Secretary of State was missing a "purpose" for the Foundation, so an amendment with a foundation purpose is being filed. There will first be one more review done by the attorney before it is submitted. 

S. Korrapati gave the expansion update. The school building was listed with a Broker and  is on the market. The Expansion Committee did not meet last month. They are monitoring market conditions and interest rates.

M. Mittal presented the quarterly dashboard as prepared by the Finance Committee with the Board.

M. Mittal presented next year's budget priorities to the Board. Documents presented detail expected changes to revenue and expected changes to the budget for the next school year. The Finance Committee has created a budget that expects a 5% reduction in state funding and a $24,000 budget surplus overall for the year to adjust for unexpected changes to either revenue or expenses. The Board is required to approve a Budget in June, which is prior to being notified by the State what funds will be made available to the School for the new school year.

M. Mittal presented a detailed list of proposed budget amendments.

M. Mittal presented the auditor contract to the Board. It will be discussed in closed session. Following that discussion, the Board will vote.

The Finance Committee has been cooperating with the IRS regarding the notice that was received. The IRS has not responded yet to any communication from the Finance Committee.

There was a discussion regarding the movement of funds from CDs to Savings to Checking accounts in order to best take advantage of interest income while keeping funds available.

Catherine Lewis (member of the parent community) made a comment. She expressed thanks to the Board and to the Staff for the work they have done to make virtual learning a smooth and enriching experience.