Rochester Academy Charter School

Minutes

Board Meeting

Date and Time

Friday June 16, 2017 at 6:00 PM

Location

Latta Rd-Greece

Trustees Present

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

Trustees Absent

J. Santos

Trustees who arrived after the meeting opened

D. Calder

Guests Present

D. Ozcan, J. Doyle, 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 Jun 16, 2017 at 6:09 PM.

C.

Approve Minutes

M. Guler made a motion to approve minutes from the Board Meeting on 05-19-17 Board Meeting on 05-19-17.
K. Crawford seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
D. Calder arrived.

II. Public Comments

A.

Comments by High School Faculty

Faculty expressed concerns over the negative publicity from negative media. They are concerned that the publicity is having a negative impact on recruiting and their reputation.

They would like to meet with the board to come up with solutions.

There is concern that the restructuring involved with addition of K-6 will disrupt ongoing, successful programs.

III. Finance, Facilities & Audit

A.

School Building Purchasing-Closing

Purchase of Latta Road has been finalized.
Building appraisal 2.5 Million.
Rent was 30,000.
Mortgage payment is 16,000.
2.5 million savings over 15 years.
Mortgage will be payed in 15 years.
Reviewed closing documents from ESL.

B.

Financials

We have received 93% of our budgeted revenues.
85% if our budgeted expenses.

C.

2017-2018 Budget

Budget is essentially the same as the one presented at the last meeting, some revisions to cover more professional development and to cover faculty salaries.
M. Guler made a motion to to approve the budget as presented.
K. Crawford seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

IV. Academic Excellence

A.

Director's Report

Enrollment has been stable.
We have full enrollment in all grades and over 100 on the waiting list.

B.

Charter Leadership Forum

Several board members will be attending.

C.

Proposed Organizational Chart

With the addition of K-6 we will have to reorganize the administrative structure.
This will have impacts on current faculty.
Recommendation:
Middle School: Change the Dean of School to Middle School Principal and hire an assistant principal.
High School: Continue with the Instructional Coach and Open a position for Assistant Principal for which only internal candidates will be considered (we will pay their Tuition-SUNY Rate (2years) and require an additional 2 years of service after completion or tuition will have to be payed back, prorated).

This will require a policy update to the tuition reimbursement policy-when the School pays the full tuition-SUNY Rate (2years) we require an additional 2 years of service after completion or tuition will have to be payed back, prorated.

Mehmet will have to run this by the school attorney to make sure this is ok with employment laws.
D. Calder made a motion to approve the recommendation to amend the organizational chart and the changes to the tuition reimbursement policy.
M. Guler seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

V. Governance

A.

Board of Director's Membership Term Renewal

Mahmut, Jean, Joann's terms are ending in July.
Recommendation:
All three be renewed for another three years.
M. Guler made a motion to extend the terms of Mahmut, Jean, and Joann for another three years (2020).
Y. Bilgic seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

B.

Annual Board Retreat

August 12th Saturday 9:00-2:30, Location TBD.
Consider for the Retreat-rotate board duties.

C.

RACS 2022 Strategic Planning

Board Needs to Review the documents on the Strategic Plan.

D.

Evaluating the effectiveness of the Board meeting

Very effective Board Meeting Today.

VI. Other Business

A.

New Hires/Resignations

New Positions:
Admissions Officer/Community Outreach Coordinator (Expanding enrolling more students for Kindergarten, First and Sixth grades in 2018-19).
High School Secretary.
6th grade ELA Teacher.
6th grade Math Teacher.
6th grade Social Studies Teacher.
6th grade Science Teacher.
High School Literacy Specialist.
High School Student Management Assistant (2 positions).
Positions closed:
Business Administrative Assistant.
Social Worker.
Building Substitute Teacher.

VII. 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