08.14.2023 Board Meeting Minutes

‭FRONTIER CHARTER ACADEMY‬ ‭BOARD OF DIRECTORS‬ ‭Meeting minutes from August 14, 2023‬‭@ 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 via‬‭videoconference‬

‭I.‬

‭PRELIMINARY‬ ‭A‬‭.‬ ‭Call To Order and Pledge of Allegiance‬ ‭The meeting was called to order by Director Winning at 6:01 pm with the Pledge of Allegiance.‬ ‭B‭.‬ ‬

‭ oll Call‬ R ‭Directors Englehart, Winning and Wolfer indicated that they were present. Director Gallagher was‬ ‭absent.‬ ‭●‬ ‭Travis Englehart, Secretary/Treasurer term ending June 30, 2024‬ ‭●‬ ‭Jack Gallaher, Vice-Chair term ending June 30, 2025 absent / resigned‬ ‭●‬ ‭Amy Hardesty, Board Member term ending June 30, 2026 (appointed at this meeting)‬ ‭●‬ ‭Michael Winning, Chair term ending June 30, 2026‬ ‭●‬ ‭Jason Wolfer, Board Member term ending June 30, 2026‬ ‭Others present:‬‭Amy Hardesty, Beau Neal, Katie Schweitzer,‬‭Todd Schweitzer, and Melissa Wolfer‬

‭C‭.‬ ‬

‭ pproval of Previous‬‭Board Minutes‬‭(Action)‬ A ‭Discussion: Director Englehart mentioned two typos (spelling of a name and a double punctuation).‬ ‭Melissa will correct these errors.‬ ‭ otion:‬‭Director Englehart moved and Director Wolfer‬‭seconded that the Frontier Charter Academy‬ M ‭Board of Directors approve the May 30, 2023 minutes as corrected. The motion carried 3-0 (Director‬ ‭Gallagher was absent).‬

‭II.‬

‭COMMUNICATIONS‬ ‭A‬‭.‬ ‭PUBLIC COMMENTS:‬ ‭None‬ ‭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 the comment.‬ ‭B‬‭.‬

‭ RESENTATIONS‬‭:‬ P ‭None‬

‭C‬‭.‬

‭ OARD CHAIR DISCUSSION AND RECOGNITION‬ B ‭None‬

‭FRONTIER CHARTER ACADEMY‬

‭D‭.‬ ‬

‭ OARD/STAFF DISCUSSION‬ B ‭Reports:‬ ‭1.‬ ‭Executive Director‬ ‭Todd stated that the 23/24 enrollment is currently at 328 which is considerably lower than he‬ ‭would like to see for this time of year. The administration has scheduled four information‬ ‭sessions to help find new families. There are four families signed up for the first meeting‬ ‭representing six students. FCA has had considerable success with these types of meetings in the‬ ‭past, with most resulting in enrollments for all families represented. These meetings are‬ ‭advertised on Facebook and Google. The school is working with a marketing firm, Charter‬ ‭Connect, who provides search engine optimization. We have increased our spending in this area‬ ‭during the high enrollment months.‬ T‭ odd also presented a‬‭Letter from the Secretary of‬‭State‬‭which provided a brief overview of‬ ‭board member responsibilities and required filings. The school has had very clean financial‬ ‭audits.‬ ‭2.‬

F‭ inancial/Business‬ ‭Melissa provided a‬‭Written report‬‭showing cash on‬‭hand over the last year, the amount unspent‬ ‭in the 22/23 budget, ending fund balances, and the 22/23 budget vs. actual detail.‬ ‭ elissa also explained that in addition to providing health and life insurance benefits, FCA had‬ M ‭been paying for an employee short term disability policy. Since the state has a mandatory‬ ‭program, the school will not pay for a separate policy.‬ ‭ elissa stated that due to limited State funding for summer school, FCA only ran a small credit‬ M ‭recovery program which was similar to previous summer programs.‬ L‭ astly, the Board only approves changes to the stipends given to staff if there are changes. This‬ ‭coming year, there are only minor changes and the addition of the 504 stipend which has been‬ ‭included in the consent items. In the past, 504 duties were part of a staff member’s regular day‬ ‭and they did not need a separate stipend. However, this year, a different staff member will be‬ ‭assuming those responsibilities outside her normal work day.‬

‭3.‬

‭ rincipal Update‬ P ‭Beau reported that 18 students received a total of 20 credits during summer school. There will‬ ‭be more credits achieved as some students are still enrolled in a foreign language course.‬ ‭ eau stated that there will be a meet and greet activity between staff and families this coming‬ B ‭Friday at Blue Lake park.‬ T‭ odd said that four staff members that have to travel from other parts of the State will not be‬ ‭required to attend smaller events. If enrollment increases, more money will be allocated for staff‬ ‭travel. The meet and greet events are good.‬ T‭ his year there are no new staff which means that teachers will refine their curriculum and‬ ‭classroom activities. The first day for teaching staff was today.‬

‭FRONTIER CHARTER ACADEMY‬

‭III.‬

‭ ONSENT AGENDA ITEMS‬ C ‭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.‬ ‭1.‬ ‭New Employees:‬ ‭2.‬ ‭Resignations / Terminations:‬ ‭3.‬ ‭Employment Changes:‬ ‭504 Stipend, M Nordstrom‬ ‭ otion:‬ ‭Director Wolfer moved and Director Englehart‬‭seconded that the Frontier Charter Academy Board‬ M ‭of Directors approve the consent items en masse. The motion carried 3-0 (Director Gallagher was absent).‬

‭IV.‬

S‭ CHEDULED FOR ACTION‬ ‭A‬‭.‬ ‭Personnel‬ ‭Action Item 2023.08.14 - 01: Executive Director 22/23‬‭Evaluation‬ ‭ otion:‬ ‭Director Englehart moved and Director Wolfer‬‭seconded that the Frontier Charter Academy Board of‬ M ‭Directors approves the 22/23 Executive Director Evaluation as presented. The motion carried 3-0 (Director‬ ‭Gallagher was absent).‬

‭B.‬ ‭Business‬ ‭Action Item 2023.08.14 - 02: Board Member Resignation‬ ‭Information:‬

J‭ ack Gallagher resigned - Todd spoke‬‭about Jack’s history with the academy and expressed his‬ ‭appreciation for Jack Gallagher and his willingness to serve FCA.‬

‭ otion:‬ ‭Director Englehart moved and Director Wolfer‬‭seconded that the Frontier Charter Academy Board of‬ M ‭Directors approves the resignation of Jack Gallagher effective 08/14/2023. The motion carried 3-0 (Director‬ ‭Gallagher was absent).‬ ‭Action Item 2023.08.14 - 03: Appoint new Board Member‬ I‭nformation‬‭:‬‭Amy Hardesty‬‭has expressed interest in‬‭becoming a Board Member. Todd said that Amy is an‬ ‭engaged parent. Amy stated that FCA has changed her family's life.‬ ‭ irector Winning said that when parents become Board members, it has been his experience that they have the‬ D ‭most vested interest in the school and are the most passionate.‬ ‭ otion:‬ ‭Director Wolfer moved and Director Englehart‬‭seconded that the Frontier Charter Academy Board of‬ M ‭Directors appoints Amy Hardesty for a 3-year term ending 06/30/2026. The motion carried 3-0 (Director‬ ‭Gallagher was absent).‬

‭FRONTIER CHARTER ACADEMY‬

‭Action Item 2023.08.14 - 04: Annual extension of the E-Therapy Contract‬ ‭Information‬‭:‬ ‭Melissa stated that the administration‬‭recommends that the contract with E-Therapy for special‬ ‭education services to students be renewed. The current contract was approved in the 22/23 school‬ ‭year and it allows for annual extensions. The anticipated annual expense will be $124,000. Katie‬ ‭stated that this company provides specialists like speech pathologists and therapists who are‬ ‭intertwined with families and she would hate to see them go.‬ ‭ otion:‬ ‭Director Englehart moved and Director Wolfer‬‭seconded that the Frontier Charter Academy Board of‬ M ‭Directors approves continued use of E-Therapy to provide special services for students. The motion carried 4-0‬ ‭(Director Gallagher was absent and Director Hardesty voting).‬ ‭C‬‭.‬

‭V.‬

I‭ nstruction and Curriculum‬ ‭None‬

‭ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR INFORMATION‬ ‭1.‬ ‭Todd stated that these policies were updated or adopted by Gervais School District and have‬ ‭been provided for Board review and discussion.‬ ‭Notable‬‭Gervais policy‬‭updates that applied to FCA‬‭for review‬ ‭●‬ ‭EHB‬‭- Cybersecurity: New policy outlining protection‬‭of confidential data, information‬ ‭integrity, and availability of information.‬ ‭●‬ ‭IGBHD‬‭- Program Exemptions: Revised policy which outlines‬‭when students may be excused‬ ‭from state-required programs or learning activities.‬ ‭●‬ ‭JEC‬‭- Admissions: New policy reviewing registration‬‭requirements within the district.‬ ‭●‬ ‭KL‬‭- Public Complaints: Revised policy with updates‬‭to the complaint process to clarify‬ ‭timelines and more closely align with legal requirements.‬ ‭2.‬

T‭ odd stated that FCA uses this protocol to reimburse staff and this information is provided to the‬ ‭Board annually.‬ ‭Information on per diem rates for staff (no changes from previous year practices)‬ ‭●‬ ‭Lodging limit, unless booked by the school: $96‬ ‭●‬ ‭Meals: $59 per day (guidelines are $13 for breakfast, $15 for lunch, and $26 for dinner with‬ ‭$5 allowed for incidentals) and gratuity must not exceed 20%‬ ‭●‬ ‭Allowable limits listed may change based on location of the charge and would be based on‬ ‭the‬‭IRS per diem guidance‬

‭3.‬

T‭ odd said that these handbooks are provided for Board Review and there were no big changes.‬ ‭23/24 Handbooks - Todd - for board review, no big changes‬ ‭●‬ ‭Student‬ ‭●‬ ‭Staff (draft)‬

‭There was discussion about how FCA fills a need in Oregon by providing parents with a choice.‬ ‭VI.‬

E‭ XECUTIVE SESSION‬ ‭None scheduled‬

‭FRONTIER CHARTER ACADEMY‬

‭VII.‬

‭ DJOURNMENT‬ A ‭Motion:‬ ‭Director Englehart moved and Director Wolfer‬‭seconded that the Frontier Charter Academy Board of‬ ‭Directors adjourn the meeting at 6:26 p.m. The motion carried 4-0 (Director Gallagher was absent).‬

‭FRONTIER CHARTER ACADEMY‬