Dr. Bobby White:

• I have a very definitive story on today. Ms. Perry sent me our valedictorian's speech for tomorrow and at first sight, it was a bit long, and she was very disrespectful in some ways. In her message, she voiced her emotions about some things that she has felt over the last four years and may have felt like she wasn't being supported. A couple of hours later, I wanted to talk to her because I started to think that this is exactly the kind of student we want to lead in Frayser Community Schools. A student with the type of competence and the spirit to say "I have a voice, and I want it to be heard." 
• Was there a better way for her to articulate it with a better sense of decorum and understanding? Yeah. But the reality of it is, that no one ever lets the valedictorian walk up there without them knowing what they've written. And so with revisions from Ms. Perry and Mrs. Gibson, I do not doubt that the modification will be a masterpiece. 
• I chose this as the remember vision story because it genuinely embodies the spirit of kids and Frayser. And for me to know that our valedictorian has confidence, energy, and competence and is not afraid of authority, but can also be reflective at the moment to understand the position and the space that she's in, allowed her to adjust the spirit of her speech and still have an impact. She and I spoke for an extended period today. Kristen Tolbert, our valedictorian, and I was impressed by who she is. And so, again, this weekend, when I read it, I was like - oh, she said that, and now all of a sudden it's like, man, she said that, right? So I can't wait until tomorrow to hear her address her class, and I undoubtedly see her as a leader for our senior class of  2022.

Mr. Brett Lawson:

• So I want to give you guys some updates about the Westide Middle School charter application to MSCS. When we submitted the first application, the charter office reviewed it, and they recommended that the school board deny the application as they do all applications. You may not know and I want to be clear about what we submitted were sections of an entire charter application we were directed to submit. So we were a type four school on the charter application. We even checked with the person who was the director of charter schools at the time with the Tennessee Department of Education back in September to be sure that we only needed to complete these designated sections because we didn't have an actual charter. And the response, although I don't have it in writing, was a phone call to me that we should move forward with those sections indicated in the application. So that's what we submitted.
• When the charter office got that, they were confused and thought we would have an original charter application to submit. They asked us about it; we said no, we don't. We checked on this, and this was what we were told to submit. That's what we submitted. So they asked the State Department about it, and the State Department said, "you need to score what was presented because that's exactly what the application told them to do, and that's what we told them to do'." But if you want them to submit some other things, you can ask them to submit that. If the charter is denied, and you're going to have them resubmit, you can ask them to submit those other sections. 
• So half of the application is what they then asked us to submit with the recent request. When we looked at that, we thought, how will we get that done? And do as good a job as we did on the other sections. Because every two weeks, we took one section and completed working with our partner, School Works, to do that. So we made some phone calls. I talked to the new director of charter schools at the State Department they said, "send me a letter requesting some additional time. I will need to put this in front of Commissioner and see what she says." So we sent that on Friday. And we were holding out in hopes that Shelby County Schools would say you don't have to do that. Because, honestly, the state said to them, you can ask for other sections, they didn't say you must or you shall. They do not understand it that way. They don't want to back off on these sections. When you see it from their point of view, you can understand how this might set a dangerous precedent for them if they don't have all sections of an application complete before approving a charter operator to run a school. So as I said, we submitted a letter to the State Department on Friday requesting additional time. They responded today verbally and through a phone call and in writing and said they would not approve that. They have to fall back on their statute and say that there's nowhere in the statute where they can legitimately extend the time that an LEA is giving you that 30-day time period. It's pretty well the process, and they could not tell the LEA to give somebody more time. So they're not giving us an extension. Memphis Shelby County Schools are not giving us any extension. We have ten sections to write, and we need to get those done by the 23rd to get the formatting, the printing, and everything done in time to submit on the 27th. 
• Sarah and her team will not be able to help us much. Most of their folks are out writing for other people's appeals. They can write the part that they wrote. It will be up to us to write those ten sections if we're going to resubmit by the deadline of the 27th. So that's where we are. 
• Today, we intend to pull from our past MLK applications and another application that Dr. White wrote—pulling that and adjusting it to the current prompts, the current questions, and sections they require and getting that prepared and submitted. And we know moving forward in this that our submission is not going to be of the quality that we would generally expect it to be. Because we didn't have the whole year working on all these sections crafted in the format that we wanted them to be, we also know from the first board meeting that the commissioners do want to approve this. They will have to approve it over the recommendation for denial of the charter office, which they've done in the past. They don't mind doing that. But we have to give them something to move through the process.
• We are in the process of looking at applicants for the Director of Curriculum and Instruction. We're adding that new position to the network level for next year and that person's role primarily is to supervise our multi-classroom leaders. This person will evaluate and direct the work, observe them and assist in crafting professional development they'll deliver to teachers around curriculum instruction precisely. This is an area where we needed some assistance as Dr. Hervey has been doing some PD with the MCLs throughout the year, every other Friday. We certainly appreciate her for her hard work. 
• We're at a different place than we were a few years ago. A few years ago, the principals would not have wanted this to occur. I think we've grown in terms of having principals who are much more instructionally aware and understand that they need that assistance in curriculum instruction. It's not about your turf or anything else. We did not start moving toward this position until I talked to our principals, who all said we needed this help. So having somebody backup that curriculum instruction area allows Dr. Hervey to spend more time coaching the principals on the leadership aspects of their work and think more about climate, culture, and collaboration and how we can reach out to more community partners. Also, they deal with the essential things around student discipline and work with their staff to do a better job crafting disciplinary policies and procedures within their building that lift kids and don't put them down. So there's a lot of work to be done. And we needed one more hand on the curriculum instruction piece to help us out. So I'm looking forward to having that person on board. 

Mr. Greg Thompson:

Financial Update:

Cash Balance:

• On 3-31-2022: ~$2M (~ 39 days of cash) 
• Cash at 5-9-2022: $2.96M (~ 71 days of cash)

Due to the PPP Loan Forgiveness and one-time income recognition of $1.5M, FCS will have a positive net income for FY22. On a cash basis, the organization may also have a surplus due to the recent increase in BEP funding. Enrollment: Projecting lower enrollment - 1,079 vs. 1,155 original budget. BEP has been increased to $10,587 per student (from $10,029.)

BEP funding:

• Currently calculated at $10,587 (less 2.5% fee from ASD). This is higher than the previous number used this fiscal year through March ($10,029) and significantly higher than the number used for the board-approved budget ($9,700).
• 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 has received approximately $800K in grant reimbursements (of the $1.4M requested through February and of the $4M expected to be submitted for reimbursement in FY22).

Mrs. Arlinda Cathey:

• I want to start with recruitment as we are prepared to take a vote this evening on two board candidates that have completed the vetting process. But before I touch on those two candidates, I want to give some brief updates regarding a few things on this list. We've made contact with most individuals on this list as we are either scheduling meetings with them or if, by chance, there are meetings that are already on the books. 
• I did receive an email in reference to Ms. Jackson with the Frayser CDC. So I have sent an email to her because we got information that she may want to serve with us, so that's exciting. I'm planning on having an opportunity to meet with her first, and then everyone knows the process - I meet with candidates one-on-one, then the board, whoever is available can join for a group interview, and then Dr. White has a one-on-one with each of the board candidates, which is really the final stages of the process. So we're moving people through the process. We have about six folks we're trying to finish out during May and by the beginning of June. In a perfect world, I want to move forward with a vote on all of our remaining candidates by the June board meeting so then, everyone who is slated to join us can do so at the start of the new fiscal year in July and participate in the retreat that will take place during the summer. And the only person I am more than likely ready to move on to, explicitly having a one-on-one with you, Dr. White, just because she was a previous board member, is Ms. Andrea Jacobo.
• I would like to move forward with calling for a vote for board membership for Ms. Sandra Gibson and Miss Candace Reddick. The first vote is Sandra Gibson, who's a member of the Frayser PTSA. All those that are in favor of Ms. Gibson being voted on as an FCS board member, please say aye. All of those opposed, please say nay. The ayes have it. 
• The next vote is for Candace Reddick. All those in favor of Ms. Reddick being voted in as an FCS board member, please say aye. All those opposed please say nay. The ayes have it. 
• Thank you so much for your support during this recruitment process. We're excited about these two board candidates. I
• I want to make a few comments before we transition to the next piece of business because these two board candidates were recommended by Mrs. Dowell. And I know there's a strong possibility that Mrs. Dowell may be rolling off the board. So if that time does come, I'm not saying it has to - still, if that time does come, we want to thank you for your ongoing commitment to serving not only with Frayser Community Schools, but all of the work you do with the Frayser PTSA and throughout the entire Frayser community. You are an inspiration to work with. You have helped me figure out how to ask the hard questions relentlessly.
• Let's transition over to providing recognition to another board member who is rolling off; as this will be her last board meeting. She has given us not only two current board members based on her recommendations from the previous cycle, but we have received several board candidates from the existing pipeline due to Ms. Thornton's ongoing support of the work for Frayser Community Schools. She moved to Atlanta for a great job opportunity and where that would have naturally ended the service of other board members, it did not stop her service at all. This girl was driving to and from Memphis and I would be remiss if I didn't say how impressed I have been with her ongoing support in person and remotely. I want to give a round of applause to Ms. Joia Thornton for all her hard work over the past two years.