11.15.2021 Approved Board Meeting Minutes

FRONTIER CHARTER ACADEMY Board of Directors Meeting Minutes from November 15, 2021 at 6:00 p.m.

A 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 Executive Director Todd Schweitzer at 6:00 p.m.

B.

Roll Call Directors Englehart, Gallagher, and Winning indicated they were present. Director Memory was absent.

Board Members: ● Jordan Burch, Board Chair - 3-year term ending June 30, 2024 - resigned 11/05/21 ● Jelani Memory, Board Vice-Chair - 3-year term ending June 30, 2023 ● Michael Winning, Secretary/Treasurer - 2-year term ending June 30, 2023 ● Jack Gallagher, Board Member - 2-year term ending June 30, 2022 ● Travis Englehart, Board Member appointed November 18, 2019, term ending June 30, 2024 Others present included: Joanne Lehman, Katie Schweitzer, Todd Schweitzer, and Melissa Wolfer.

C.

Approval of Changes to the Agenda Director Winning moved and Director Gallagher seconded that the Frontier Charter Academy Board of Directors approve the changes to the November 15, 2021 consent agenda as noted in red font. The motion passed 3-0. (Director Memory was absent) Approval of Previous Board Minutes Discussion: Director Englehart noted a typo in action item, section B. He suggested that the word “section” be changed to “selection”.

Director Englehart moved and Director Gallagher seconded that the Frontier Charter Academy Board of Directors approve the Board Meeting Minutes of the regular session on August 16, 2021 as presented with the one revision as noted. The motion carried 3-0. (Director Memory was absent)

II.

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: Jeff Voreis and Tracy Jones from the auditing firm of Pauly Rogers and Company presented an overview of the preparation of the school’s 2020/21 audited financial statements including their responsibilities, the issuance of an unmodified letter (clean report), upcoming compliance regulations, and recommended best practices. Mr. Voreis commented that the audit went really well.

Director Englehart asked if the school management had discussed the recommended best practices.

Todd stated the rationale for those recommendations and how those risks are monitored and mitigated as an organization. Director Winning stated that he has not seen an audit without those comments.

C.

BOARD CHAIR DISCUSSION AND RECOGNITION None

D.

BOARD/STAFF DISCUSSION Reports: 1.

School Update Todd stated that enrollment as of the first of November was 477, which is less than expected.

However, the school is doing fine financially. There have been some staff resignations, but courses formerly provided by those resigning were assigned to other current staff to minimize disruptions to students. Todd also reported that school management met with Dandy Stevens, Superintendent of Gervais School District, for the quarterly meeting. The district is very happy with the charter and there is good communication between the two entities.

2.

Financial Melissa presented a brief summary of the written information on the request to change the special fund budget, the regular financial report, and a forecast summary. Director Englehart asked about the changes in the forecast. Melissa stated that due to reduced enrollment statewide, the Oregon Department of Education had increased the per pupil amount. She will update the forecast document to reflect these changes.

3.

Principal Update Katie Schweitzer reviewed the Frontier Days activities and attendance, the upcoming virtual staff professional development, positive ways teachers are improving their lesson plans, the partnership with the Right Brain Initiative and Young Audiences to incorporate art into courses and provide workshops for students, and the National Honor Society (NHS) induction. The NHS membership grew from 7 to 14 students in one year.

Todd added that FCA will be presenting the 20/21 annual report to the Gervais School District Board this week and will also provide this information to the FCA Board at a future meeting.

Additionally, the school just finished the annual performance audit. The results of this audit will be made available at the February meeting.

Director Englehart asked if the reduction in staff and the additional courses assumed by existing staff will be ongoing.

Todd responded that at this point, no new staff will be hired. There is a current vacancy posting for a Science teacher, but no applicants that meet FCA criteria. He does anticipate hiring next school year as needed with enrollment levels.

III.

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 Englehart moved and Director Gallagher seconded to approve the consent items listed en masse. Motion passed 3-0. (Director Memory was absent) 1.

New Employees: White, Robert - Teaching Stipend

2.

Resignations: DeBenedetti, Michael - Teacher (Effective 11/08/2021) Jones, Katrina - Teacher (Effective 11/26/2021)

3.

IV.

Employment Changes: Dinsmoor, Jamie - Teaching Stipend Erlinger, Pepper - Teaching Stipend Gelfand, Shelley - Teaching Stipend Wilson, Jessica - Teaching Stipend

SCHEDULED FOR ACTION A. Personnel B. Business IV-BDRPT-01_111521: Appropriation Increase - Special Funds Discussion: Melissa asked that the Board approve a change in the 21/22 budget for special funds to reflect the additional grant money received for summer school and the high school success grant.

Motion: Director Winning moved and Director Gallagher seconded that the Frontier Charter Academy Board of Directors approve an appropriation increase of $173,000 ($153,000 toward instruction and $20,000 for support services) in special funds to accommodate the summer school grant and the remaining 20/21 high school success grant spent in July and August. Motion passed 3-0. (Director Memory was absent) IV-BDRPT-02_111521: Declare Board Position Vacant Discussion: Todd stated that Director Burch has resigned and that the Board needed to declare the position as vacant.

Motion: Director Winning moved and Director Gallagher seconded that the Frontier Charter Academy Board of Directors declare a Board position vacant. Motion carried 3-0. (Director Memory was absent).

Additional Discussion: Todd stated that the organizational bylaws allow for between 3 and 7 Board Members but that the school has typically maintained 5. The school could post this vacancy publicly, include a form for interested persons to complete, and then the Board Members could interview or vote to appoint.

Director Englehart would like to post and likes the idea of recruiting a parent.

Director Winning stated that we should be mindful of how many parent voices would be allowed on the Board.

Director Gallagher agreed that it would be good to post the vacancy and would like to read the resumes and then decide if there should be interviews.

Todd said that the next meeting should include a motion to appoint a new Board Chair/President.

C.

V.

Instruction and Curriculum None

ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR INFORMATION 1.

Handbook and Manual Updates Melissa stated that the School Board had initially approved the Process and Procedures Manual and the version at the link shows these minor changes. Director Englehart would like to see the changes. Melissa will forward those to the School Board. The 21/22 Parent Notification Handbook reflects the annual notifications as required by Gervais School District policies. This parent notification handbook is posted to the FCA website. a.

21/22 Process and Procedures Manual with 21/22 changes shown (Internal Controls) b.

21/22 Parent Notification Handbook (based on policies adopted by Gervais School District)

VI.

EXECUTIVE SESSION None scheduled

VII.

ADJOURNMENT Director Winning moved and Director Gallagher seconded to adjourn the meeting at 6:55 pm. (There wasn’t a motion to approve.)

Approved 02/28/22 M Wolfer