Governance Board Newsletter
May 2024
Congratulations to our graduating seniors! They celebrated their last day of school on May 9th and will celebrate at their graduation ceremony May 21st. Please see the school’s Facebook page where graduating seniors are showcased.
Our spring election is currently underway until May 20th. Please look for an email from SimplyVoting to cast your ballot. Candidate profiles and the recording from our Candidate Forum are featured on our election page.
Proposed amendments to our school’s Bylaws are currently on the ballot. The Board engaged a charter school attorney - who has 20 years of experience working with Colorado charter schools on founding documents and policies - to ensure that changes align with legal and best practice. The proposed amendments have been shared with the community beginning in February, and an open work session was held to discuss these changes in March. These proposed amendments were also shared at the State of the School. Ultimately, the Board is accountable to the community for the work that has been done, and we want to promote understanding. Please review this document for further explanation on some changes. Other documents related to the proposed amendments can be found on our governance site.
We recently conducted a survey about potential changes to our mission and vision statements. Please review the report on this process and survey results. As the survey results did not present a definitive option, we will be resuming discussions on potential adjustments with staff in August.
The Board has received three applications for the Independent Director positions. Two candidates, Samantha Howorko and Bibi Paul, were interviewed at the May 8th meeting, and an additional candidate, Michele Chambers, will be interviewed at the June meeting. The Board will decide on appointments at that meeting. Their application information is available here.
We invite everyone who has volunteered for the school in any capacity this year to please join us for Volunteer Appreciation on Tuesday, May 21st at 8:30am in the Secondary Commons!
Please join us for our next business meeting on June 12th at 7:00 pm in the Secondary Future Center. We will receive updates from our Executive Directors; interview and appoint Independent Director candidates; review policies; conduct second readings of the Admissions Policy and Instructional Materials Policy; and discuss our organizational chart and Communication Pathways.
Recognitions:
- Please see the full report for recognitions.
Committee Reports
Thanks to the Election Committee for all their work preparing for and managing the spring election. Election results will be announced once the election has closed and results are certified by the committee.
The Recruiting Committee provided an update on processes completed for the spring election cycle, along with efforts to seek out Independent Director candidates.
The School Accountability Committee provided the March 31, 2024 KPIs, available on the data dashboard.
Policy Updates
The Board conducted a first reading of proposed changes to Policy 1.19 Instructional Materials and the Admissions Policy.
Board Approvals
- Second reading of proposed amendments to the Articles of Incorporation
- Second reading of proposed amendments to the Amended and Restated Bylaws
- 2024-2025 Budget
- 2022 Stargate Foundation 990
- 2022 Stargate School 990
- Math curriculum
- History/Geography textbook
- Resolution on Board Terms to address potential changes to start/end dates if proposed amendments to the Bylaws pass
Board Discussions
- Proposed Bylaws Amendments Clarification
- Mission and Vision revisions
- Reimagine progress toward goals
- Results of the annual Board self-evaluation
- Update on charter contract negotiations
- Volunteerism and engagement
- Changes to the Board Complaint Form
- Legislative Update
- Training updates