Oregon Charter Academy (ORCA) Approved - September 25, 2024
MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING
Wednesday, August 28, 2024 at 12:00 p.m. PT
Held at the following location: Via Zoom Zoom: https://oregoncharter.zoom.us/j/91035080370
I Call to Order
Ms Thatcher called the meeting to order at 12:06 p m when quorum was reached and all members who were present could hear each other
II. Roll Call
Board Members present: Joseph Brown, Kim Thatcher, Misty Galofteanu, Jennifer Brady
Board Members absent: Marsha Moyer
Members of the Public present: None
School Staff present: Allison Galvin, Executive Director, and the following school staff; Todd Schweitzer, Lori Walter, Steve Nielsen, John Meyer, Rachel Reid, Dan Vasen.
III Public Comment
None
IV Routine Business
A Approval of the Agenda
Mr Brown asked if any changes needed to be made to the agenda
Ms Galvin recommended moving item V School Spotlight below item VII Action Items
There being no other changes to the proposed agenda, a motion was made and seconded as follows
Ms Galofteanu moved to approve the agenda as amended Ms Brady seconded the motion
RESOLVED, that the agenda for the August 28, 2024 meeting of the Board of Directors of Oregon Charter Academy is hereby approved as amended
The motion passed unanimously
V Consent Agenda
Ms Galvin shared that the staffing report includes the announcement of Lori Walter’s retirement While she will continue to serve ORCA in a term-of-project on-call capacity, her official retirement date will be September 20th Her duties will be absorbed by Mr Nielsen, Ms. Reid, and Ms. Galvin.
Mr. Brown thanked Ms. Walter for her service to the school and congratulated her on approaching retirement.
A motion was made and seconded as follows.
Ms. Galofteanu moved to approve the consent items.
Ms. Brady seconded the motion.
RESOLVED, to APPROVE the Consent items,
A. Approval of Minutes from the June 26, 2026 Annual Board Meeting
B. Approval of Minutes from the Special Meeting, August 6, 2024
C Approval of August Staffing report
D. Approval of Expenditure Summary Report - June
E Approval of Expenditure Summary Report - July
F Approval of Legal Invoice(s) - August
G Approval of Bank Reconciliation - June
H. Approval of Bank Reconciliation - July
The motion passed unanimously
VI Action Items
A Review and consideration of adding a 457 option for staff as an optional benefit
Ms. Galvin shared that in addition to PERS and the 403(b) plan, the school would like to add a 457 retirement plan for staff provided by the Oregon Savings Growth Plan (OSGP). This voluntary plan would be available as another retirement savings option for staff who choose it. The plan would not include an employer match.
Mr Brown asked the Board if there were any questions or discussion needed There being none, a motion was made and seconded as follows
Ms Galofteanu moved to approve the addition of a 457 plan
Ms Brady seconded the motion
RESOLVED, to APPROVE the addition of the 457 plan from OSGP as an optional benefit for staff as presented
The motion passed unanimously
B Review and consideration of Virtual Charter Services RFP
Ms. Galvin shared that the school is nearing the end of its contract with SYS Education, its virtual charter services provider. Because the previous contract did not include a renewal clause, the contract must undergo a request for proposal process. The proposed RFP has undergone legal counsel review, and counsel have provided a draft contract for use with whichever company is chosen via RFP.
Mr. Brown asked the Board if there were any questions or discussion needed. There being none, a motion was made and seconded as follows.
Ms. Galofteanu moved to approve the Virtual Charter Services RFP.
Ms. Brady seconded the motion.
RESOLVED, to APPROVE the Virtual Charter Services RFP as presented with the additional legal counsel edits
The motion passed unanimously
C Review and consideration of a Board RFP committee to review and score proposals associated with the Virtual Charter Services RFP
Ms Galvin shared that there is a need for an RFP committee to review contracts related to virtual charter services The committee will require two board members as well as several staff School staff to be included are the Executive Director, the Finance Director, and the Grade-Level Principals
Mr Brown noted that he is required to join the committee as president and asked Ms Brady if she would volunteer as its other board member Ms Brady accepted the nomination to the committee
Mr Brown asked the Board if there were any questions or discussion needed There being none, a motion was made and seconded as follows
Ms Galofteanu moved to approve the formation and composition of a Board RFP committee
Ms Brady seconded the motion
RESOLVED, to APPROVE the formation of a Board RFP committee as presented with the following membership: Board Members Joseph Brown and Jeniffer Brady, School Leaders Allison Galvin and Steve Nielsen, and Principals Joseph Mogford, Susan Pollnow, and Todd Shaffer
The motion passed unanimously
D Review and consideration of Executive Director’s compensation package
Dr Schweitzer reminded the Board that during the evaluation of the Executive Director it was requested that he explore ways to holistically increase the compensation for the Executive Director’s position. He noted that the increase would not only provide recognition of Ms. Galvin’s contributions in the role, but also make the position more attractive to potential candidates were the school to hire for it in the future.
Dr. Schweitzer recommended that the school negotiate annually for the Executive Director’s compensation package. In addition to the established salary schedule, the potential for increases in compensation could come in the form of a school-provided, maximum-IRS-allowable contribution into a retirement account of the director’s choice.
Ms. Galvin noted that two approvals are needed: one to approve a process for annual negotiation of the director’s compensation, and the second to approve a specific compensation structure and amount for 2024-25
Mr Brown noted the importance of providing Ms Galvin a compensation structure that matches the market He noted that the school is beginning to lag in this area as competitors change Adjusting her compensation would also reflect the work that she does for the school
Mr Brown asked the Board if there were any questions or discussion needed There being none, a motion was made and seconded as follows
Ms Galofteanu moved to approve the annual negotiation of the Executive Director’s compensation package
Ms Brady seconded the motion
RESOLVED, to APPROVE the annual negotiation of the Executive Director’s compensation package with potential for compensation increases toward ORCA retirement accounts
The motion passed unanimously
E Review and consideration of a 2024-25 Executive Director compensation increase
Dr Schweitzer noted that under IRS rules for 2024 the maximum contribution amount toward retirement for Ms Galvin would be $23,000 He stated that according to Curtis Mason of Mason Financial, this plan falls into compliance with IRS regulations around staff compensation Dr Schweitzer also shared a comparison of this proposal versus other virtual charter schools’ compensation agreements
Mr Brown asked the Board if there were any questions or discussion needed There being none, a motion was made and seconded as follows
Ms Galofteanu moved to approve a school-provided contribution of $23,000 toward a deferred compensation account of Ms. Galvin’s choosing.
Ms. Brady seconded the motion.
RESOLVED, to APPROVE a 2024-25 Executive Director compensation increase of $23,000 toward a deferred compensation account of her choosing.
The motion passed unanimously.
[Ms. Brady left the meeting at 12:37 p.m]
VII. School Spotlight - NASA Club
Mr. Vasen shared a preview of NASA Club activities for the 2024-25 school year. In addition to continuing monthly live streams from Space Center Houston, several new activities are lined up NQuest will provide new virtual workshops, including a career day on Sept 26 with NASA employees providing info about the path to their career Mr Vasen and students in the club will partner with Teach NW to provide mentoring as Teach NW prepares for an ARISS contact with the International Space Station ORCA students will also be invited to watch their event as it occurs in real time from the Evergreen Space Museum Also new to ORCA this year is Youth AstroNet, a program by the Smithsonian Center for AstroPhysics at Harvard that allows students virtual access to remote operated telescopes Finally, students have access this year to NASA’s library of Astrobiology graphic novels, geared at elementary and middle school students
Ms Thatcher and Ms Galofteanu thanked Mr Vasen for his presentation and noted what a great opportunity this is for ORCA students
VIII Oral Report A Financial Report
1 June and July Financials - Draft 2023-24 Fiscal Year
Mr Nielsen shared an update on school finances, including the June unaudited year-end statements and July financial report The 2023-24 fiscal year ended well with an increase of approximately $4 million into the ending fund balance due to the settlement with the state school fund
The final field work for the 2023-24 audit will begin Tuesday, September 3rd Document gathering is underway in the business department Auditors should begin producing financial statements in late September for presentation in October or November
B School Leader’s Report
1 Enrollment
Ms. Galvin shared that the enrollment pipeline is larger than in previous years. Enrollment for 2024-25 continues to grow.
2.
School Year Kick-Off
a) Welcome back staff
b) Open House
c) Summer school recap
Ms. Galvin shared that staff are back. Welcome calls are happening, back to school assemblies are underway this week, and students start classes on Tuesday, September 3rd. On Friday, September 13th Open House will be held at Santiam Elementary with a book fair, school pictures and opportunities for students to meet teachers and classmates.
Summer school wrapped up in July Forty-one students participated in Summer Bridge, preparing for high school There were 245 high school students who participated in credit recovery, with 238 successfully passed courses and 19 additional graduates over the summer The school expects that the graduation rate coming out in January will be up by 5-10%
3 Best of the Mid-Valley
Ms Galvin shared that, for the fourth year in a row, the school was named best charter school in the Mid Valley It was also named the best place to work out of all businesses in the area
4 Conflict of interest statements
Ms Galvin shared that Ms Reid will be sending annual conflict of interest statements for the Board to complete before the next meeting