Dr. Bobby White:

• Welcome, Ms.  Sandra Gibson and Ms. Candice Reddick.
• I've had the privilege of speaking with the 18% of students that we talked about in our March meeting. We're coming up on the testing season and our state standardized assessments. The competence and the spirit from the students in the candor made me remember why I left the district 10 years ago to start FCS. 
• I spoke with the students at MLK, and one of the young ladies said to Ms. Perry was that theu never had a teacher in her class. We finally have a teacher in the classroom now. So, it's one of those moments where you recognize that the want, effort, and the enthusiasm is there; if we do our part and things are not in a place where our babies get what they need. But we've been challenged and haven't been able to provide. And so we may be asking more of them than what they're capable of, given we haven't been able to provide them with everything they need. Given some of the challenges we've faced, we are now in a much better place. And I'm encouraged. 
• But that moment struck me, remembering why I left the district so that we would be different. I left the district so that we would be markedly better. I left the district because I did not want the very democracy and the red tape that kept me from the folks I was serving alongside when I was a principal. It kept us from doing the work that we felt was needed for the families and the community we serve. I wanted to be better. And I want us all to reflect on if whether or not we are doing it any better. And we'll know that we can continue to do it and have the confidence that we can do it better, then we need to reflect and challenge ourselves about why we're doing this work. 
• That young lady made me think about, hey, where are we right now? And are we in a position to be who we said we would be to reach all those goals, those lofty goals that you all have for us? Are we that organization? So there are similar stories at the other schools. But it was encouraging but all at the same time, just forced me to reflect. But they were all excited and ready as I challenged them all to shake everybody in the city up. Shake the people in Memphis, TN and help them understand just how talented and gifted they are. Doing well on one thing that everybody judges them on is our standard.

Mr. Brett Lawson:

• I want to thank our guests who are here tonight and are considering board membership. So thrilled to see you guys my name is Brett Lawson. I'm the Executive Director and I am so happy that you're here. 
• So yesterday, we got an interesting email. It was about the charter application process. And it gave us - well actually it didn't give us anything  - except for some things and told us that the process was moving forward and that was all. So I went to the website, got in their doc's system, similar to our BoardonTrack, and found the actual presentation they would give today. And along with that presentation, it showed six things that they had concerns with our application. Let me preface this by saying that they denied every single application, which we said that's what they do because that's what they always do. They reject every application on the first read and provides explanation why they deny it. And they expect that you're going to revise it and resubmit it.
• The timeline was today, the 12th, at two o'clock, they held their Board Academic Excellence Committee meeting. They had many items on the agenda at that meeting, one of which was the ASD schools returning to Shelby County Schools next year. And otherwise, all of the charter applications and the rationales around that were a third emergency measure for KIPP schools. And those were the three that kind of involved charters and that we were paying attention to. 
• So on the Westside application, I'll read the six items to you for reflection on why they said they denied us. 
  • First refers to the enrollment of the school being zoned; however, on transition, the school is open enrollment. There is no clear enrollment plan that abides by TCA. 
  • Number two, the academic model is unclear, and supporting academic data is limited. The school network's history of success is local. 
  • Number three, certain portions of the proposed school's education program could be in violation of Tennessee Code Annotated. I'm not editorializing, everyone, but I want to say that we can only take that in regards to the fact that we are an anti-racist organization. And they're saying that might be in violation of TCA. 
  • Number four, no evidence of details or timeline for transition from state to MSCS. 
  • Number five, the applicant has assumed that the facility will stay within their ownership. Therefore no contingency plan has been included. 
  • And number six, the application lacks focus on academics. 
• So I will tell you Dr. White has done his job. So you guys know it's evaluation time. Let me tell you; he has done his job. No sooner did they finish reading off all of the denial reasons for all the school, board commissioners began jumping almost immediately to Westside and asking some real probing questions. They asked questions like, are these subjective, or are there actually things in Tennessee Code Annotated that say that these organizations can or cannot do this? They also said now, we have a school that is open here, but you're denying the application. I want to make sure that everybody in the public understands that this is not the end of the process, that there's more to the process, and that I have another opportunity to come back and revisit this. 
• They spent quite a bit of time talking about facilities and zoning because that is something that was central to our us. And that is built into our understanding of how we want to do the work. And so they spent a good bit of time talking about that. The next point of contact will be on April 19th at 5:30 pm, it will be a board work session, and it will be in the board auditorium. The next point of contact after that is April 26th. And that is the night that they will vote on whether or not they will deny all the applications. So that's a decision point for them.
• Typically, they go along with the recommendations of the charter office, especially on the first read. So it wouldn't be typical for them to deny the applicants which would mean we would have 30 days from that point to resubmit an application. They will not give us feedback until after that vote is taken. So I anticipate April the 26th before midnight or early on the 27th they're going to send us an email. It will have a lot more detailed information and much more feedback around various points, and we'll have 30 days to redo, revise the application, and resubmit it. Just as we did the first time, we have to print everything that we get it there. The same kind of deal that we did the first time, then they will have 60 days after that. Read the application and then make a determination again as to whether or not they will approve or deny us. 

Mrs. Arlinda Cathey:

• Board recruitment is in full swing, as we're meeting with different candidates. I've been keeping this part of the agenda so that everyone is aware of our recruitment strategy for this year. Our goal is to make sure that we have proper representation from the Frayser community and make sure that we move individuals into specific seats that have affiliations with several different organizations. That being said, of course, the local faith-based community, Frayser CDC, and the Frayser PTSA. 
• And so that everyone knows, I will be presenting at the FCS Parent Advisory Council meeting and giving a brief presentation about the board work and our progress. I asked Mr. King if that was something that I could do because parents have questions what serving on the board would entail, I want to be present to discuss this with them. I haven't been able to make all of their meetings because I have work commitments on third Wednesdays at six o'clock, which is precisely when their meeting is. But I have carved out some time in May to be able to visit their next meeting to present, I think it would be awesome if we could provide some training and development to make sure that a parent could join us for next year. So that's something that's one of our goals. 
• To give you guys some updates on our current leads. Later this week, I will be meeting with Mr. Williams from the Frayser CDC to have a one-on-one. Thanks to Ms. Candace Reddick, I will meet with a newer candidate, Mr. Tony Robinson, a Frayser resident pharmacist, and philanthropist. 
• So that everyone generally knows the process that flows is there's a one-on-one with the board chair. Then, of course, there's an interview with the rest of the board members and then a one-on-one that will follow up with Dr. White. So some people are at the beginning of the process. Some people are mid-process. 
• I've met with Ms. Gibson and Ms. Reddick; we're currently getting some dates over to them so that they can let us know their availability. And then there are individuals added to our list, which I mentioned last month— Ms. Charlene Thornton, a former Shelby County School employee and the mother of Ms. Joia Thornton. So I'll be talking to her and Amber Sherman, who's with the Shelby County Young Democrats, and Kevin Armstrong. So as there are other recommendations, please feel free to send them my way. But we've got a full docket of folks that we're talking to. I'll ask everyone to see if you have time to join us for some of these conversations with all of our candidates.
• I want to spend a few moments discussing some of the deliberations that we had in our governance committee meeting regarding the CEO and Executive Director evaluation. Two things to keep in mind. We have decided that the board and the network staff will continue to evaluate Dr. White on BoardonTrack for this upcoming evaluation season. And some of the conversations I had with BoardonTrack last year are finally being realized because they have made their evaluation system customizable now where you can include or remove information based on the specific roles and tasks of your CEO. So that's a newer feature that they just rolled out at the end of March, which is good for us because it allows us to customize our evaluation. So I've been playing around with it, but I have it ready for you all to work with later this week as I will be sending you guys the evaluation for Dr. White. 
• We will not be evaluating Mr. Lawson. That is a process that we stepped into last year, but the Governance Committee decided that we would not move forward with an evaluation for Mr. Lawson. There is a new evaluation system and new procedures at the network level where we will allow that process to be in place for Mr. Lawson. And as a board, we will just be evaluating Dr. White. I want you guys to know that and be prepared and please, as you get your emails from me, move on with completing your evaluation as soon as possible, and we most appreciate it. So then, you won't get the annoying text messages and emails from me following up. 
• The next thing I wanted to bring to everyone's attention is that back in 2019, the board discussed developing a CEO succession plan that we did not have at that point in time. And we came up with a draft of a CEO succession plan, which was adopted as of December 2019. And then we entered into 2020, and everything in our lives changed. So this is an excellent time for us to revisit that plan and we really would like to to review it holistically and figure out what works for us and what doesn't work for us. Also, keep in mind a lot of the changes in staff at the network level and changes in roles and positions and some of the expectations tied to specific positions. Those weren't in place as we built out our last succession plan. So it's time for us to update it, and it's probably going to be a good process to revisit at least every three to five years as a board. So we will be devoting our next governance meeting, which is scheduled for Monday, May 2nd, from five to six to working through that succession plan. So while that's the Governance Committee meeting, everyone is encouraged to join, and I'll make sure everyone has the credentials to join that meeting. If you would like to participate in that discussion, give your feedback and participate in that planning process. Just so you guys know, that is something that the Governance Committee is leading, but we want more participation, if at all possible.
   

Mr. Greg Thompson:

Financial Report:

Cash Balance:

At 1-31-2022: $1.6M ~40 days of cash (trending toward a higher cash deficit for FY22 due to lower enrollment). 

Due to the PPP Loan Forgiveness and one-time income recognition of $1.5M, FCS will likely have a positive net income amount for FY22. However, the organization will likely have a deficit on a cash basis of about $1M. The organization will still be in a health cash position at the end of FY22 (over 60 days of cash) 

Enrollment: 

Projecting lower enrollment- 1,078 vs. 1,155 original budget. FCS being funded at $10,029 per student currently.

BEP funding (Trend same as January 2022 board meeting) 

• Currently calculated at $10,029 (less 2.5% fee from ASD) or $9,778.28 per student. This is slightly higher than the number used for the board approved budget ($9,457.50).

• True-up calculations happen throughout the year (based on actual enrollment) 

• Enrollment is trending lower than numbers in the board approved budget.

FY2021-2022 Grants 

FCS will continue to receive a significant amount of funding in federal grants this year and over next several fiscal years (for ESSER 2.0 and ESSER 3.0). 

Additional funding may be pulled down this year for these grants, but it will mean additional expenses for FCS (thus, would not have an impact on the net income level for the year).