Rochester Academy Charter School

Minutes

Board Meeting

Date and Time

Friday October 21, 2016 at 6:00 PM

Location

High School Building

Trustees Present

D. Calder, M. Gedemenli, M. Guler, W. Middleton, Y. Bilgic

Trustees Absent

J. Santos

Guests Present

D. Ozcan, M. Demirtas

I. Opening Items

A.

Record Attendance and Guests

B.

Call the Meeting to Order

M. Gedemenli called a meeting of the board of trustees of Rochester Academy Charter School to order on Friday Oct 21, 2016 at 6:15 PM.

C.

Approve Minutes

M. Guler made a motion to approve minutes from the Board Meeting on 09-16-16 Board Meeting on 09-16-16.
D. Calder seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

II. Finance, Facilities & Audit

A.

Audit report by Heveron & Heveron


Jeanne Beutner of Haveron and Company presented our annual Audit Report--see attached.
No material weaknesses, some minor suggestions for improvement to practices.
Recommendation that we review our purchasing policies for compliance with Uniform Guidance.

B.

Financials

Financials are good.
We are projecting to have $500k on hand at the end of the academic year.
We have enough cash on hand to make a down payment for the purchase of a building.

C.

School Safety Plan

Safety plan has been updated and shared with appropriate personnel, but has not been finalized yet. Will be presented at November meeting.

D.

Water Quality Testing

We will finalize water testing by December.

E.

Latta Building- Purchasing vs Leasing

Based on our contract for the Latta building, if renovation costs exceed $1000000, we are liable for any overages. We negotiated a shared overage deal. During these negotiations, the idea that we purchase the building came up.
Terra is willing to sell the building, and we have received a reasonable offer to finance the purchase.
We can also request a line of credit to help with cash flow if needed if we purchase the building.
M. Guler made a motion to Move forward on exploring our options on the purchase of the Latta building contingent upon getting the mortgage.
Y. Bilgic seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

F.

Minivan Lease Renewal

Quotes:
$347.55 per month, no cash down.
$414.00 per month, no cash down.
M. Guler made a motion to lease the $347.55 per month minivan.
Y. Bilgic seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

G.

990 preview

990 is tax return for tax exempt organization.
It was prepared by Heveron,CPAs, and it will be reviewed for approval in November meeting.

III. Academic Excellence

A.

AEC Report

Comparison of STAR and SRI as predictors of State test.
They are good predictors.
Implementation of new instructional model is underway and working well.
We should see continued improvement over the next several years.
We are moving at a faster pace, this time of the year, than we were last year.

B.

AEC Recommendations

M. Guler made a motion to approve AEC recommendations.
D. Calder seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

C.

Director's Report

Nine students have left the school, some moved, others had other reasons.
98% of students are from RCSD.
99% Economically idsadvantaged.
7% ELL.
13% Disabilities.

IV. Governance

A.

New Board Member Recruitment Process

We need a board member-board members will explore networks.

V. Other Business

A.

New Hires/Resignations

One faculty given a raise for retention.
New ELA hired to replace a resignation.
M. Guler made a motion to approve new hire and salary.
Y. Bilgic seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

VI. Closing Items

A.

Adjourn Meeting

There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 8:00 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
W. Middleton