FRONTIER CHARTER ACADEMY Board of Directors Meeting Minutes from February 22, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. The Regular Meeting of the Board was held at the FCA office at 10653 NE 71st St., Brooks, Oregon 97305 and via videoconference I.
PRELIMINARY A. Call To Order and Pledge of Allegiance The meeting was called to order by Todd Schweitzer at 6:03 P.M. B.
Roll Call Todd Schweitzer called for a response from those in attendance. Directors Burch, Englehart,Gallagher, and Winning answered affirmatively. Director Memory arrived at 6:11 p.m. Board Members: ● Jordan Burch, Board Chair - 3-year term ending June 30, 2021 ● Jelani Memory, Board Vice-Chair - 3-year term ending June 30, 2021 ● Michael Winning, Secretary/Treasurer - 2-year term ending June 30, 2023 ● Jack Gallagher, Board Member - 2-year term ending June 30, 2019, extended by bylaws to June 30, 2022 ● Travis Englehart, Board Member appointed November 18, 2019, term ending June 30, 2021
C.
II.
Approval of Previous Board Minutes Director Burch moved and Director Winning seconded that the Frontier Charter Academy Board of Directors approve the Board Meeting Minutes of the regular session on November 16, 2020 as presented. The motion passed 4-0. (Director Memory absent)
COMMUNICATIONS A. PUBLIC COMMENTS: No individual comment shall be for more than three (3) minutes and the total time for this purpose shall not exceed fifteen (15) minutes. Board members may respond to comments however no action can be taken. The Board may give direction to staff following comments. B.
PRESENTATIONS: None
C.
BOARD CHAIR DISCUSSION AND RECOGNITION None
D.
BOARD/STAFF DISCUSSION Reports: 1. School Update Todd Schweitzer reported that the current enrollment is 578 and although enrollment is lower for second semester than expected, the Oregon Department of Education uses the cumulative (average) enrollment to determine payments. Mr. Schweitzer feels that enrollment could be down due to school districts restricting non-resident virtual enrollment to 3% of their overall enrollment. There are a number of possible bills that will go to the legislature impacting charter schools. There are several that deal with the 3% restriction. The bills are being followed closely by charter lobbyists that work for schools throughout the state. Katie Schweitzer said that the academy had added more clubs due to high demand. The first elementary club of PE was added and just about all grade school students are participating. She also spoke about the High School Success grant from the Oregon Department of Education and the positive review from that agency. Funding from that grant goes toward counseling position
expenses, drop out prevention activities, and on track graduation monitoring. Lastly, it was reported that the Intent to Return form had been sent to staff so that the administrative team can plan for next year. Parents will receive their intent to return notice for student enrollment and instructions in April. 2.
III.
Financial (written report) Melissa Wolfer had presented a written report in the agenda packet that included the cash balances by account, the budget vs actuals, information on the proposed 21/22 budget, and state school funding. She discussed that all the financial items presented for action in the February packet were included in the 21/22 proposed budget and that the Oregon Department of Education will be making funding and enrollment estimate adjustments to the state school fund distributed to all schools in March.
CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS All matters listed under the consent agenda are considered by the Board to be routine and will be approved/enacted by the Board in one motion in the form listed below. Unless specifically requested by a Board member for further discussion or removed from the agenda, there will be no discussion of these items prior to the Board voting on them. The Executive Director recommends approval of all consent agenda items. Motion: Director Burch moved and Director Winning seconded to approve the consent items listed en masse. Motion passed 5-0. 1. 2. 3.
IV.
New Employees: Griffin, Jordan - PE Club Advisor (Temporary/Extra Duty position) Resignations: None Employment Changes: Renew all current administrative, managers, and classified staff for the 2021/22 school year, extend non-probationary licensed staff by two years, and renew licensed probationary staff for one year.
SCHEDULED FOR ACTION A. Personnel IV-BDRPT-01_022221: Teacher Residency Discussion: Todd Schweitzer explained that the academy had a current teacher move to Washington and that the Administration is only recommending that Oregon and Washington residents be hired at FCA. There was general discussion regarding employee costs including retirement and the impact this decision will have on the candidate pool for open positions. Director Englehart commented that the candidate pool will likely improve if the school was able to contribute to a retirement plan since Washington employees are not eligible for the Oregon Public Retirement Program. Mr. Schweitzer stated that the administration will be looking into that option. Motion: Director Burch moved and Director Memory seconded that the Frontier Charter Academy Board of Directors approve the hire of staff that are residents of Washington State as long as they have an Oregon license as required by the position and acknowledges that the administration, at its discretion, may grandfather existing staff if they become residents of other states. The motion passed 5-0. IV-BDRPT-02_022221: 403b Retirement Program Discussion: Todd Schweitzer stated that most schools in Oregon do not encourage employees to save for retirement, but only contribute to the Oregon Public Employees Retirement program. He recommends that FCA develop a 3% employer matching program into a 403b plan. The academy has included funding for this type of incentive program in the 21/22 budget.
Motion: Director Winning moved and Director Gallagher seconded that the Frontier Charter Academy Board of Directors authorize the administration to develop a 403b employer matching program up to 3% of the employee’s salary. The motion passed 5-0. IV-BDRPT-03_022221: 21/22 Salary Schedule Discussion: Melissa Wolfer provided some background information on how the academy ranks for employee salary and benefits. After a review of comparable schools, the administration is recommending a 3% COLA increase, plus step movement and a 5% increase in the insurance benefit for all employees. Motion: Director Burch moved and Director Winning seconded that the Frontier Charter Academy Board of Directors approve the 2021/22 salary schedules as presented. The motion passed 5-0. B. Business IV-BDRPT-04_022221: 2021/22 Enrollment CAP Discussion: Todd Schweitzer said that a memorandum of agreement is needed to limit student enrollment because the current contract with the sponsoring district lists a higher enrollment figure. He is recommending that the academy increase the maximum students allowed at grades 9-12 from the 20/21 school year to allow for the larger 8th grade class and so that more teachers could be hired as well as an increase in the electives offered for the 2021/22 school year. Motion: Director Burch moved and Director Winning seconded that the Frontier Charter Academy Board of Directors approve the 21/22 student enrollment CAP as presented. The motion passed 5-0. IV-BDRPT-05_022221: 2021/22 Proposed Budget Discussion: Melissa Wolfer reported that the proposed budget is based on slightly lower enrollment than the approved CAP and includes a carryover and the high school success grant. The budget was built to reflect all the items discussed tonight, increased student enrollment and a couple of staff positions, a refresh of equipment, and an ending fund balance of $630,000 (June 2022). Director Englehart inquired as to how the special funds were budgeted in the current year, the reduction in special funds from prior years, and the increase in the contingency amount from the current year. Melissa Wolfer stated that an implementation grant ended last year reducing the amount of special funds expected, that she did not include special funds in the 20/21 budget but the board will see the actual amounts in next year's budget presentation, and that when the budget was prepared last year, the academy was expecting less students and more staffing costs resulting in a lower contingency amount. Motion: Director Burch moved and Director Winning seconded that the Frontier Charter Academy Board of Directors approve the 21/22 proposed budget as presented. The motion passed 5-0. C.
Instruction and Curriculum None
V.
ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR INFORMATION None
VI.
EXECUTIVE SESSION None scheduled
VII.
ADJOURNMENT Director Burch moved and Director Winning seconded to adjourn the meeting at 6:48 p.m.