There were no public comments.

Ms. Laraway presetned Stefanie Coyle as a prospective board member.  Ms. Coyle presented the background and skills that qualify her to serve on the board.  Ms Coyle has a background in a number of education-related positions, including as a teacher through Teach for America; a grant writer for on a regional team at Teach for America; an education lawyer on at Success Academy where she worked on a variety of legal issues and supported them as they opened their first high school in the Bronx.  She currently works for the Department of Education on labor relations matters.  Ms Coyle expressed an interest in joining the board so that she could help guide the school to achieving its big picture goals.

The board reviewed the terms of its membership.

Ms. Laraway provided an update on the call with all of the board leaders throughout the Lighthouse network.  LHA is scheduling an in-person meeting in August or September for board leaders to share best practices and connect. There were no updates on the LHA strategy or fundraising plans.

The board discussed on-boarding of its new members.  Ms. Haber, Ms. Lee and Ms. Laraway volunteered to serve as buddies to the new members.  Ms. Haber will provide an orientation to the history and essentials of board service prior to the July meeting.  Ms. Alston will provide new members with access to LHA email and Board on Track.

Updates discussed at the last meeting were made to the dashboard; the school will identify staff members who will operationalize the data collection.  A new data specialist starting July 1 will be the point person for this from the school in conjunction with the education committee.

Ms. Williams provided an update on the lower academy.  Final enrollment was 468, which is at the target; attendance was about 93% overall for the year (compared to 95% last year). There were only three suspensions for the school year, a decrease due to the use of the restorative approach.  There are remain a number of open positions, which Ms. Williams expects to fill before mid-August.  Hiring continues for the for leadership team: Mr. Davidson will remain in the assistant principal role; an ELA coach was hired; they're in the final stages of interviews for a K-2 coach; and they're still seeking a math coach.

Met received "cut scores" on the state tests, which is information about students who performed the lowest on the test. This is generally used to determine who qualifies for summer school or to be retained in their current grade.  The indications from that set of results is that the school moved the needle on the bottom quartile of students; a complete set of scores will be available in August.
 

Mr. .Brown presented update on the CPA:
* Staffing update: hired a social studies teacher - 10 years of experience; big day of interviews tomorrow
* Scholar applications: 34 confirmed enrollment; 16 preliminary enrollment; budget is 52, goal is 60 scholars so that we have a cushion
* Parent meeting event: will talk about goals, uniforms, summer program, and parent involvement
* Dream Yard: a partnership with this organization will allow the school to offer art/drama for first year as electives 
* Bronx Council on Arts: working with this program to provide an after school music program
* NYC Charter Athletic Association:  CPA is working with this organization to provide sports programs.  The CPA is likely to offer junior varsity basketball for boys/girls and volleyball.  The school will look for a coach.
* Summer Bridge: planning a 2 week program in July/August; 
Ms. Laraway recommended a marketing plan / brochure to be able to communicate to parents and other prospective students and to respond to concerns parents had expressed about services that would be offered at the school.

Ms. Russell updated the board that LHA and PFA have initiated design and development phase for the rooftop; this phase will last one or two months.  The plan is to have construction begin in May or June 2018 with the rooftop ready for use by December 2018.  Board members engaged in conversation about the project.  PFA will provide some sketches and schematics for feedback, including floor plans and exterior views by August. 
 

Mr. Phan provided an update on the facility purchase.  The Build NYC application and supplemental application were submitted. A public hearing scheduled on July 20 will allow members of the public to comment on the project and financing; it is expected to be non-controversial. Build NYC will submit a recommendation with a narrative about the school; it is not necessary for the school to submit any additional materials or prepare any statements.  It is expected that the board of Build NYC will approve the project on July 25.  Upon approval the NYC Mayor will need to sign a resolution for the financing application; this is expected to take 4-6 weeks.  By mid-to-late August marketing to investors will begin (approx 2-3 weeks).  The deal is expected to close by late September.  The support organization was formed and 501(c)3 status is expected within 2-3 months.

Mr. Phan provided an additional update on the bond process and credit rating process. It is anticipated that Moody's will evaluate the credit rating.  Mr. Bryant asked questions about whether there are issues if an institutional investor evaluates the deal differently from the ratings agency; Mr. Phan explained that this often occurs in deals and in that case an investor would choose to either not buy the bond or to demand a higher interest rate.   Mr. Phan reported on current bond interest rates. 

Ms. Milsap provided the RVP update.  Plans for the summer include supporting the principals on the following: working with the CPA need to unpack curriculum; 2-week summer PDI focused on curriculum, school culture, assessment; review of end of year assessments to plan for year and interventions that need to be in place.  

Ms. Milsap provided an update on the final presentation from Harvard Business School on building school culture and teacher retention. Key findings include that teachers want more opportunities for PD, coaching/feedback and involvement with arts infusion. Key recommendations included the hire of a chief talent officer for region who works on talent recruitment and retention, adding teacher/staff retention to the principal evaluation, and creating a forum for teachers to share ideas.  Ms. Williams has begun to form a teacher's council as the first step in follow-up. The consultants provided a road map for how to follow recommendations, including owners and stakeholders.

Ms. Laraway recommended that the ideas that the retention ideas that are already being funded for FY18 be shared with the staff.

Ms. Milsap and Ms. Russell are working with Sue Jamback at LHA about how to approach the charter renewal application, including the review of potential consultants.  They will provide the board with a recommendation for approaching renewal.

Ms. Russell asked board members to complete the required financial disclosure form by August 1.  

Ms. Russell presented the Personnel Handbook for review.  The major change was to combine the paid time off and sick leave policies to clear-up prior confusion, standardize the policy across regions and ensure compliance with relevant laws.  Similarly, the benefits policy was updated to comply with a new state law providing benefits to employees who work 30 hours or more.  The time frame for benefits was also updated to extend through the summer in order to encourage teachers to be more open about their future plans.  Ms. Haber asked how this would impact the budget and if this would add additional expense.  Ms. Rosseau does not believe there would be an impact since benefits for new teachers do not start until 30 days after an employee is hired. Ms. Rosseau will follow-up on the cut-off date for teachers to receive benefits through the summer, applicable budget implications, and the effective date.

Ms. Rosseau updated that as of May the school has a strong cash position and forecasts that net income will be higher than last month; should have $5M in bank - $70k that's restricted. She provided an overview of a few areas of particular note: On the statement of activities it appears that Title I and Title II revenues haven't been realized, but these should be fully accrued for summer by end of June.  A number of expenses haven't yet been reported including depreciation or billing capital lease payable; this will happen with adjusted audited financials and the adjustment will happen at end of June. The expenditures for substitutes are higher than budget, but there are savings from vacancies on full-time lines so payroll is overall expected to land under budget.  There are some additional expenses for the bond and rooftop projects that will be reimbursed from the bond proceeds.  

MaryBeth discussed updates to the FY18 budget that were made since the last meeting:
* Line 70 - added in $40,000 for substitutes
* In discussion with principals, updated staffing salaries to include necessary anticipated increases for new hires.
* Adjusted some assumptions (e.g., taxes and benefits) to create savings in a number of areas in order to cover planned expenses for new hires.
* Line 157 - the board asked about increase in telecommunications.  Mary Beth will need to investigate this line.

The principals and board discussed the need for additional expenses for the CPA, including $5000 in stipends for summer planning and $25000 for a part-time world languages teacher. 
 

The board entered into an executive session to discuss the application of the potential new board member.