BELIEVE STL Academy
Minutes
Board Meeting 5PM CST
5PM CST
Date and Time
Tuesday October 29, 2024 at 5:00 PM
Location
Directors Present
D. Thomas (remote), J. Boone (remote), L. Voellinger (remote), M. Hantak (remote), M. Johnson (remote), P. Woods (remote), S. Williams (remote), T. Jordan (remote), T. Wells (remote)
Directors Absent
K. Martin-Johnson, S. Harmon
Guests Present
T. Vonderheit (remote)
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
T. Jordan called a meeting of the board of directors of BELIEVE STL Academy to order on Tuesday Oct 29, 2024 at 5:05 PM.
II. Approval of Board Meeting Minutes
A.
September Meeting Minutes
T. Jordan made a motion to approve the minutes from Board Meeting on 09-24-24.
M. Johnson seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
III. Principal Report (Academic, Culture, Data, etc)
A.
Academic
IV. Committee Updates
A.
Finance Committee
On track with budgets
As we get closer to closing on Gateway Huber building, will have more money flowing out ~half million
Unplanned expenses: bus maintenance
B.
Academic Committee
Academic committee has not met yet.
C.
Development Committee
Development committee has not met yet.
D.
Governance Committee
Governance committee has not met yet.
E.
General
- Draft "job descriptions" for committees being brought to November Board Meeting
- Set committee goals by January
- Working on recruiting committee members
V. Closing Items
A.
Board Chair
S. Williams made a motion to make Dr. Paris Woods as interim Board Chair for BELIEVE STL Academy Board until June 2025.
M. Johnson seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
B.
Meeting Time/Date for November and December
November Board Meeting
- Currently scheduled for the week of Thanksgiving
- Rescheduling to Monday, November 18 at 5pm CT
December Board Meeting: not one currently scheduled, may keep off for holidays
C.
Adjourn Meeting
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 5:42 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
M. Hantak
VI. Closed Session: Executive Director/Network Team Update
A.
Gateway Huber
- On track with purchasing the building, working with the state and getting applicable permits to be on schedule with the building.
- Closing in the next week on a pre-development loan to cover initial costs of the building.
- Working towards full funding.
- On schedule to take partial occupancy for FAll 2025 school year.
B.
Staffing
- Significant turnover in staffing.
- Talent gap in St. Louis region
- Teacher shortage across the Nation
- Across the state there are a lot of subs in high stake positions due to not being able to get certified folks in buildings.
- Gap in special education- issue across the city
- bringing in outside sources
Suggestions on dealing with turnover:
- Referral bonuses
- Assisting teachers in getting certifications
- Assemble a promo to target teachers looking to leave the field
- Teach Plus- no mid-year placement
Enrollment Update
Goldfarb School of Nursing Stimulation Visit coming up in November
100% of students tested for PreACT and Capti Assess
Four 10th graders taking classes at STLCC.
Currently looking for special education teachers.
At 95% YTD attendance
Partnerships/Programming