Rochester Academy Charter School
Minutes
Board Meeting
Date and Time
Friday April 17, 2020 at 5:30 PM
Location
Online Zoom Meeting
Trustees Present
C. Sampson (remote), D. Calder (remote), K. Crawford (remote), M. Guler (remote), W. Middleton (remote), Y. Bilgic (remote)
Trustees Absent
J. Santos
Guests Present
D. Ozcan (remote), D. Wilkinson (remote), J. Doyle (remote), Jennifer Jovcevski, M. Demirtas (remote), M. Stevens (remote), T. Manchester (remote), Z. Ercan (remote)
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance and Guests
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
W. Middleton called a meeting of the board of trustees of Rochester Academy Charter School to order on Friday Apr 17, 2020 at 5:36 PM.
C.
Approve Minutes
K. Crawford made a motion to approve the minutes from Board Meeting on 03-20-20.
C. Sampson seconded the motion.
One correction that needs to be made, Jean Caulder did not arrive late. She was present but was having some technical issues with the zoom meeting connection.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
II. Academic Excellence and Equity
A.
Updates re: COVID-19 School Closure and Distance Learning
Middle school and high school will be changing from a letter grading system to a new system that evaluates by exceeds standards, meets standards, resubmit, and not submitted. If students pass the Regents class, they will get the Regents credit since the Regents exams have been canceled. The elementary school will continue to use its usual grading policy.
B.
Committee Meeting Minutes
C.
Student Performance Reports
D.
School Calendar 2020-21
C. Sampson made a motion to approve the 2020-2021 calendar.
K. Crawford seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
III. Community Outreach & Development
A.
Committee Meeting Minutes
B.
Report
D. Calder gave a review of what was discussed at the meeting. RACS is still planning to do something to celebrate graduating seniors.
IV. Finance, Facilities & Audit
A.
Enrollment
Enrollment is 612. 1 student moved out of the country. 1 student would have joined RACS if the school was in session.
Over 250 offers were made for next year as a result of the lottery that was held on April 15. We have around 540 students in the waiting list.
Over 250 offers were made for next year as a result of the lottery that was held on April 15. We have around 540 students in the waiting list.
B.
Financials
C.
Committee Meeting Minutes
D.
2020-2021 Finance Committee Budget Preparation
The draft budget was presented. It will be available for review on BoardOnTrack for 1 month and will be voted on at the May board meeting. There will be a 5.5% cut in the amount of per-pupil aid due to the pandemic. We are anticipating a surplus this year. We may be able to start the gym construction and purchase an elementary school building.
E.
Paycheck Protection Program - SBA Loan Application
C. Sampson made a motion to approve the PPP loan.
K. Crawford seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
V. Governance
A.
Committee Meeting Minutes
M. Demirtas shared the CEO and Board succession plans for the board's review.
B.
CEO Goals
M. Guler made a motion to pursue negotiations to purchase St.Helen's School building.
D. Calder seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
W. Middleton made a motion to approve CEO goals.
D. Calder seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
VI. Other Business
A.
Employee Contract Decisions
There are no new hires and no layoffs.
VII. Closing Items
A.
Board Meeting Evaluation
Plus: Everything went well
Delta: NA
Delta: NA
B.
Adjourn Meeting
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 7:17 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
M. Stevens