FRONTIER CHARTER ACADEMY
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Meeting minutes of the Regular Board Meeting on February 24, 2025 @ 6:00 p.m.
A Regular Meeting of the Board was held at the FCA office at 10653 NE 71st St Brooks, Oregon and via videoconference
I. PRELIMINARY
A. Call To Order and Pledge of Allegiance
The meeting was called to order by Director Englehart at 6:04 p.m.
B. Roll Call
Directors Englehart, Hardesty, and Wolfer were present at the meeting. Director Winning was absent.
Others Present: Joanne Johnson, Beau Neal, Todd Schweitzer, and Melissa Wolfer.
C. Approval of Previous Board Minutes (Action)
Motion: Director Wolfer moved, and Director Hardesty seconded, that the Frontier Charter Academy Board of Directors approves the minutes of the November 18, 2024 meeting as presented. The motion passed unanimously, 3-0 (Director Winning 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 the comment
None
B. PRESENTATIONS:
David Bledsoe from Pauly Rogers presented the 2023/24 Audited Financial Statements and Board Letter, confirming that FCA met all state requirements with no issues The audit reviewed financials and Oregon Minimum Standards, resulting in a clean audit with no material weaknesses or deficiencies Since FCA operates on a cash basis, certain GASB reporting requirements do not apply, though some disclosures are included voluntarily. GASB 103 which deals with the Management Discussion and Analysis will not take effect until 2027. Mr. Bledsoe also discussed three best practices: ensuring adequate fidelity insurance coverage, emphasizing governing body monitoring through active questioning, and improving IT controls by distributing responsibilities more evenly. He noted that the public employees retirement system in Oregon assigns 19% liability to districts based on actuarial calculations. There were no questions from the Board.
C. BOARD CHAIR DISCUSSION AND RECOGNITION
None
CHARTERACADEMY
D. BOARD/STAFF DISCUSSION
Reports:
1. Executive Director
● Todd Schweitzer, Executive Director, provided updates on several key areas.
○ Enrollment has reached 383 students, with recent interest leading to a gradual increase in numbers.
○ The performance audit is currently underway, with artifacts submitted to Rob Hess. Parent and staff surveys are in progress, and once completed, Rob will provide a summary of the findings.
○ Work on the accreditation process will begin this summer in preparation for the December 2025 review through Cognia, which occurs every three years and is more comprehensive than the performance audit.
○ The Board was recognized for their dedication and volunteerism, with a special thank-you from Todd, who offered backpacks as a token of appreciation.
○ Board members were reminded to complete their required training by accessing the on-demand webinar through the Oregon School Board Association Instructions were provided for logging in and watching the "Public Meetings Do’s and Don’ts" webinar
2. Financial/Business - reviewed these items.
The Business Manager, Melissa Wolfer, provided a written report and shared updates on various grants FCA received a Special Education Stipend Grant from the State of Oregon in the amount of $445 86 per Special Education Teacher Additionally, information was presented on the High School Success Grant and smaller grants including Career and Technical education and Outdoor School.
Director Englehart inquired about the budget shortfall and how enrollment numbers impact the financial outlook. Melissa offered more information about how annual ADM is averaged for the year, what the budget was based on, and that the annual ADM is anticipated to be 355 or higher.
3. Principal Update
Principal Beau Neal reported that Semester 2 began on Wednesday, February 5, with teachers submitting grades on February 4. Classes are progressing well. The Prom is scheduled for May 17 from 5:00 to 7:00 PM at the Gervais Elementary School Cafeteria. Regarding the Shakespeare Festival, while it was a parent-driven initiative, there was not enough interest from other parents to move forward.
Executive Director, Todd Schweitzer, reported that state testing will take place from May 5-16 Katie, along with Tim and Beau, is organizing the process, which will be conducted entirely remotely Proctors will receive training and coordinate with GSD staff to ensure smooth administration
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.
Information:
Todd Schweitzer reviewed each item in the consent agenda providing additional information on each. 1. New Employees: 2. Resignations / Terminations: ● Williams, Khema - Teacher 3 Employment Changes:
● 2025/26 Employee Renewal and Extensions
Frontier Charter Academy Board of Directors approves the renewal of all current administrative, managers, and classified for the 2025/26 school year, extension of all non-probationary teachers and renewal of licensed probationary staff with the exception of those staff listed in resignations and terminations
● 2024/25 Administrative Stipends
Frontier Charter Academy Board of Directors approves the suspension or reduction of some Administrative Stipends for the remainder of the 24/25 school year.
Motion: Director Hardesty moved and Director Wolfer seconded that the Frontier Charter Academy Board of Directors approves the consent items en mass. Motion passed 3-0 (Director Winning absent).
Item 2025.02 - 01: Accept the 23/24 Audited Financial Statements
Motion: Director Englehart moved and Director Wolfer seconded that the Frontier Charter Academy Board of Directors accepts the 23/24 audited financial statements as presented Motion passed 3-0 (Director Winning absent)
Information: Melissa Wolfer reviewed the conservative revenue assumptions and key expenditure changes used to develop the proposed 2025/26 budget Todd provided an update on proposed legislative bills that could potentially benefit virtual charter schools.
Motion: Director Wolfer moved and Director Hardesty seconded that the Frontier Charter Academy Board of Directors approve the 2025/26 Budget as presented. Motion passed 3-0 (Director Winning absent).
Action Item 2025.02 - 03: Approve the 25/26 Salary Schedules
Information: Melissa stated that a 2% COLA was applied to the 24/25 salary schedules and that all staff advanced by one step on the scale.
Motion: Director Englehart moved and Director Wolfer seconded that the Frontier Charter Academy Board of Directors approve the 25/26 Salary Schedules for teachers, classified, admin 1, admin 2, admin 3 and substitutes/stipends as presented. Motion passed 3-0 (Director Winning absent).
Action Item 2025.02 - 04: Approve the 25/26 School Calendar
Information: The proposed calendar is very similar to the current year school calendar.
Motion: Director Hardesty moved and Director Wolfer seconded that the Frontier Charter Academy Board of Directors approve the 25/26 School Calendar as presented Motion passed 3-0 (Director Winning absent)
Action Item 2025.02 - 05: Approve using contingency for operational costs
Information: The academy is projected to end the year with approximately $200,000 The approved 2024/25 budget includes a contingency of $362,650, and Melissa outlined potential reasons why use of contingency set aside funds may be needed to finish out the school year
Directors Wolfer and Englehart discussed strategies to maintain strong student enrollment, while Todd provided an update on prospective elementary students.
Motion: Director Wolfer moved and Director Hardesty seconded that the Frontier Charter Academy Board of Directors approve the use of funds for operational expenses that were set aside for contingency purposes as needed. Motion passed 3-0 (Director Winning absent).
C. Instruction and Curriculum
None
V. ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR INFORMATION
1. The Board Members were directed to the following policies for review.
Notable Gervais policy updates that applied to FCA for review. Gervais School District Board packets and versions of the policies for consideration can be found here.
● AC - Nondiscrimination and Civil Rights and GBN / JBA - Sexual Harassment and JBA / GBNSexual Harassment and JFE - Pregnant and/or Parenting Students: US DOE changes regarding complaint procedures for discrimination on the basis of sex.
● JECA - Admission of Resident Students - wording changed from alternative certificate to certificate of attendance.
● EBBB - Injury or Illness Reports - Updated definitions of an injury or illness and other related terms. Also outlines when reports and preventative measures are needed.
● GCBDA/GDBDA - Family and Medical Leave and GCBDC / GDBDC - Domestic Violence, Harassment and GCBDD / GDBDD - Sick Time- Reflects changes in the law defining what is covered by OFLA and PFMLI and that these two leave types will not run concurrently
● IIA - Instructional Materials and - new policy version that defines different material types
● IKF - Graduation Requirements IKFB and Graduation Exercises - Alternative certificate replaced with Certificate of Attendance and a half credit of higher ed / career path skills / personal financial education added Elective credits are reduced to 1 to maintain the 24 credits
2 The Board training reminder was redundant from the information provided in the Executive Director's Report.
Board Training Reminder - More coming in February OSBA Material (not all items apply to a virtual charter Board) Training coming from OSBA and the Ethics Commission July 17, 2024 OSBA Training
VI. EXECUTIVE SESSION
None scheduled
VII. ADJOURNMENT
Motion: Director Hardesty moved and Director Wolfer seconded that the Frontier Charter Academy Board of Directors adjourn the meeting at 6:45 p.m. Motion passed 3-0 (Director Winning absent).