Rochester Academy Charter School
Minutes
Board Meeting
Date and Time
Friday November 17, 2017 at 5:30 PM
Location
Genesee Building-Middle School
Trustees Present
D. Calder (remote), J. Santos, K. Crawford, M. Gedemenli, M. Guler, W. Middleton, Y. Bilgic
Trustees Absent
None
Guests Present
Cheryl Sampson, D. Ozcan, J. Doyle, Jorge Soto Sr., M. Demirtas, Z. Ercan
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance and Guests
The Board welcomed the family of Jorge Soto Jr. and recognized them for sharing Jorge's story of success at RACS. Jorge's father, step mother and sister attended.
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 Nov 17, 2017 at 5:50 PM.
C.
Approve Minutes
D. Calder made a motion to Approve Board Meeting on 10-20-17.
K. Crawford seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
II. Community Outreach/Development
A.
PR report
Zehra and Jean presented- October events
- Board appreciation
- Shared upcoming events
III. Academic Excellence
A.
Director's Report
Enrollment is 419- still at full enrollment for the year.
Academic Excellence Committee met on Monday with all the administration academic excellence plans were updated.
Recommendation to add steps surrounding multiple disciplinary referrals within the Code of Conduct. The step requires a letter at 10 referrals, parent meeting at 20 and 30, and hearing at 40. Joann initiated the vote, Mustafa seconded and everyone voted yes.
Media FOIL request- RACS board has always been operating transparently, ethically, and legally as well as being good stewards of public money.
Mehmet shared all information with the State Charter School Director. NYS Charter School Director confirmed that NYS Charter School Office approved both lease/purchase process of the building.
Academic Excellence Committee met on Monday with all the administration academic excellence plans were updated.
Recommendation to add steps surrounding multiple disciplinary referrals within the Code of Conduct. The step requires a letter at 10 referrals, parent meeting at 20 and 30, and hearing at 40. Joann initiated the vote, Mustafa seconded and everyone voted yes.
Media FOIL request- RACS board has always been operating transparently, ethically, and legally as well as being good stewards of public money.
Mehmet shared all information with the State Charter School Director. NYS Charter School Director confirmed that NYS Charter School Office approved both lease/purchase process of the building.
B.
Referral Action Steps Revision
J. Santos made a motion to accept.
M. Guler seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
C.
Academic Excellence Committee Report
Academic excellence committee recommends acceptance of the building level academic success plans.
Y. Bilgic made a motion to accept.
J. Santos seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
IV. Finance, Facilities & Audit
A.
Financials
Business Manager presented the financial summary- received 47% of budget, expended 26%
Vendors and expenditures were detailed. Top costs are employee benefits.
The board reviewed the balance sheets which are attached.
Vendors and expenditures were detailed. Top costs are employee benefits.
The board reviewed the balance sheets which are attached.
B.
Elementary School Building
Needs:
Purchase options- only two building to buy in 3 weeks of searching. Purchase options require significant renovation. Two rental options (2 year incubation period), and one new build option.
Request for the finance committee to meet with a lawyer and architect to get estimates on building on our land in Greece. Meeting will be scheduled.
Approval needed to begin negotiations with St. Charles for renting the school building for Elementary School.
- Elementary building
- Gym for the HS
Purchase options- only two building to buy in 3 weeks of searching. Purchase options require significant renovation. Two rental options (2 year incubation period), and one new build option.
Request for the finance committee to meet with a lawyer and architect to get estimates on building on our land in Greece. Meeting will be scheduled.
Approval needed to begin negotiations with St. Charles for renting the school building for Elementary School.
M. Guler made a motion to move forward with negotiations.
M. Gedemenli seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
C.
Form 990 Presentation
This is a form that must be reviewed and put up for a vote at the next board meeting.
V. Governance
A.
Board on Track- workshop/networking events
Board on Track rep wants Board members to participate in presentations with them. This discussion revealed that there was more for our board to learn around Board on Track.
B.
Stragtegic Planning
The search for a consultant for Strategic Planning- The candidate is Todd Butler, met with Board president and Director and they recommend him. We only have to cover 10-20% of the whole cost. Process typically costs $8-$10K.
J. Santos made a motion to allow the school to hire the consultant Todd Butler for Strategic Planning and negotiate a price up to $5K.
K. Crawford seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
C.
Administrative assistant to work exclusively with board
J. Santos made a motion to approve the job description and post the job. The job will pay $15 per hour for 10 hours per week.
Y. Bilgic seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
D.
Revisions on Policies 8 and 12 in the Employee Handbook
Few minor changes, edited and posted on Board on Track. Revised version is aligned to the full policy manual.
J. Santos made a motion to accept the changes in the leave policy for paid leave time.
D. Calder seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
VI. Other Business
A.
Staff Update
New ELA teacher- she is a returning teacher, worked for 3 years and returned.
M. Guler made a motion to Accept the hiring recommendations.
J. Santos seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
VII. Closing Items
A.
Adjourn Meeting
M. Gedemenli made a motion to adjourn the meeting.
K. Crawford seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 7:30 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
J. Doyle