Oregon Charter Academy (ORCA) Approved May 26, 2021 MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING Wednesday, April 28, 2021 at 12:30 p.m. PT Held at the following location: Via Zoom due to State Precautions regarding Public Health and Safety During COVID-19 Pandemic Zoom: https://oregoncharter.zoom.us/j/91035080370
I.
Call to Order Mr. Brown called the meeting to order at 12:37 when three board members were present and quorum was reached. The meeting was open to the public and held via video conference due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
II.
Roll Call Board Members present: Joseph Brown, Becky Badger, Marsha Moyer, Bobbie Jager (joined at 1:10 pm), Kim Thatcher (joined at 1:19 pm). Members of the Public present: School Staff present: Allison Galvin, Executive Director, and the following school staff; Todd Schweitzer, Lori Walter, Mary Ellen Mansfield, Jason Horton, Laura Howard, Matt Bergdall, Rachel Reid.
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 requested the addition of Action Item F, to review and discuss State Testing. With no further edits requested, a motion was made and seconded as follows.
The mission of Oregon Charter Academy is to prepare all students for success in a global society through an inclusive, rigorous, academic environment where students have daily live interaction with highly qualified teachers and continuous access to curriculum. Oregon Charter Academy staff partners with families in a transparent, collaborative school environment to support all students in their academic journey.
RESOLVED, that the agenda for the April 28, 2021 meeting of the Board of Directors’ of Oregon Charter Academy, as amended, is hereby approved. The motion passed unanimously. V.
Oral Report A. Financial Report 1. February and March Financials Ms. Mansfield reviewed the Income Statement, Balance Sheet and IS Projection as of March 31, 2021. She noted that with 75% of the year complete, revenues and expenses appear on target and a strong ending fund balance is expected. Additionally, she pointed out some unusually high payments in the Consent Agenda expenditure summary. Liberty Mutual and Pacific Office Automation both had catch up payments recently as contract and billing issues were sorted out. B. School Leader’s Report 1. Accreditation site visit Ms. Galvin reviewed the site visit from March. While the final report hasn’t been received yet, the exit site visit was very positive. The lead reviewer noted that it was one of the best reviews he has been a part of to date. 2. School celebration Ms. Galvin reported that an Oregon Charter student won the statewide high school poetry contest and will represent Oregon in the upcoming national competition. 3. Student use policy Ms. Galvin followed up on the public comment from last meeting, including the policy in the board packet. She reiterated that computers are for school use and stands by the security that is in place to restrict certain websites, including YouTube. This is the only way to ensure the school remains compliant with FERPA.
[1:00 pm - Marsha Moyer left the meeting] [1:09 pm - Bobbie Jager joined the meeting] VI.
Consent Agenda
The mission of Oregon Charter Academy is to prepare all students for success in a global society through an inclusive, rigorous, academic environment where students have daily live interaction with highly qualified teachers and continuous access to curriculum. Oregon Charter Academy staff partners with families in a transparent, collaborative school environment to support all students in their academic journey.
A motion was made and seconded as follows. RESOLVED, to APPROVE the Consent items, A. B. C. D. E. F. G.
Approval of Minutes from the February 24, 2021 Board Meeting Approval of Staffing Report Resumes Approval of Expenditure Summary Report-February Approval of Expenditure Summary Report-March Approval of Legal Invoice(s) - March Approval of Bank Reconciliation-February Approval of Bank Reconciliation-March
The motion passed unanimously. VII.
Action Items A. 2021-22 School Budget Ms. Mansfield introduced the 2021-22 School Budget to the full board. This document was reviewed in detail by the budget committee a few weeks prior. Since that time the detail behind the teacher salaries has been fleshed out, and the exact salaries are part of the version included in the packet. Ms. Badger asked a follow up question regarding computer availability, which Ms. Galvin addressed. Mr. Brown asked the Board if there were any further questions or discussion needed. There being none, a motion was made and seconded as follows. RESOLVED, to APPROVE the 2021-22 Oregon Charter Academy Budget including authorizing the Executive Director and/or the Board Chair to sign contracts listed within the budget. The motion passed unanimously. B. Closing of Board Mailbox Ms. Galvin reported that the Board’s mailbox in Scio has remained open since the school’s inception in 2005, but is no longer being used. She requested permission to close the box, unless the Board would like to re-establish a connection to it. Mr. Brown asked the Board if there were any questions or discussion needed. There being none, a motion was made and seconded as follows. RESOLVED, to APPROVE the closure of the board PO Box in Scio. The motion passed unanimously.
The mission of Oregon Charter Academy is to prepare all students for success in a global society through an inclusive, rigorous, academic environment where students have daily live interaction with highly qualified teachers and continuous access to curriculum. Oregon Charter Academy staff partners with families in a transparent, collaborative school environment to support all students in their academic journey.
C. Field Trip Handbook Ms. Galvin requested approval for the Field Trip Coordinator Handbook. Ms. Reid, the school’s Field Trip Coordinator, attended the meeting to answer potential questions. Mr. Brown asked the Board if there were any questions or discussion needed. There being none, a motion was made and seconded as follows. RESOLVED, to APPROVE the 2021-22 Oregon Charter Academy Field Trip Coordinator Handbook. The motion passed unanimously. D. Course Reading Selection Policy Mr. Bergdall presented the policy written to give teachers a framework for decision making related to the selection of novels, poems, etc in the curriculum. The guidelines strive to ensure all choices are thoughtfully made with attention to grade level appropriateness and standards alignment while promoting diversity of thought and critical thinking. Mr. Brown asked the Board if there were any questions or discussion needed. There being none, a motion was made and seconded as follows. RESOLVED, to APPROVE the 2021-22 Oregon Charter Academy Course Reading Selection Policy. The motion passed unanimously. E. Instructure - Updates to Canvas Ms. Galvin presented a needed update to the attendance book for which the vendor Instructure has provided a quote and scope of work. This would be in the 2020-21 budget. Mr. Brown asked the Board if there were any questions or discussion needed. There being none, a motion was made and seconded as follows. RESOLVED, to APPROVE the budget and scope of work that Instructure has proposed to update Canvas. The motion passed unanimously. F.
State Testing Ms. Galvin provided an update on state testing. Many districts around the state, inducing Portland Public and Salem-Keizer have cancelled all testing for this year
The mission of Oregon Charter Academy is to prepare all students for success in a global society through an inclusive, rigorous, academic environment where students have daily live interaction with highly qualified teachers and continuous access to curriculum. Oregon Charter Academy staff partners with families in a transparent, collaborative school environment to support all students in their academic journey.
due to the disruption of the pandemic. Oregon Charter had intended to allow families to opt IN to testing at the Wilsonville facility, but with the return to the Extreme Risk classification Wilsonville will be unable to be used for this purpose. Ms. Galvin would therefore like the board to consider following other district’s lead and cancelling testing altogether for the 2020-21 school year. Mr. Brown asked the Board if there were any questions or discussion needed. There being none, a motion was made and seconded as follows. RESOLVED, to APPROVE the cancelation of state testing for the 2020-21 school year. The motion passed unanimously. [1:19 pm - Kim Thatcher joined the meeting] VIII.
Information Items A. Outreach and events Update Mr. Horton reported on the results from the digital ad campaign social media reach. He noted that we are the most “liked” virtual school in Oregon. The demographic details from these reports will be used to guide future marketing efforts. Student Intent to Return continues to move in the right direction. As of today, April 28, 2021, the numbers are as follows. YES: 2,770 Undecided/No Responses: 506 NO: 861 B. State relations update Mr. Schweitzer updated the board on the various bills related to district enrollment caps. Oregon Charter Academy has submitted written and verbal testimony at a recent hearing, but it appears that most members intend to vote along party lines, rather than weighing the issue on its merits. While it doesn’t look like there will be the hoped for movement in the cap this session, efforts continue to expose and educate legislators on virtual education. C. School leader evaluation process Continuing Board members may remember that Ms. Galvin’s annual evaluation was previously managed by Pearson. She proposed following the Pearson model with the executive team (Mr. Schweitzer, Ms. Mansfield and Ms. Walter)
The mission of Oregon Charter Academy is to prepare all students for success in a global society through an inclusive, rigorous, academic environment where students have daily live interaction with highly qualified teachers and continuous access to curriculum. Oregon Charter Academy staff partners with families in a transparent, collaborative school environment to support all students in their academic journey.
preparing draft documents for the board’s review and edits. The final evaluation will come from the board during a designated executive session. D. School improvement plan - quarter 3 update Ms. Galvin presented the quarterly data. Many of the metrics remain poor or have fallen slightly since quarter 2, but she reminded everyone that so much of what is measured is heavily impacted by ODE’s restrictions on withdrawals due to COVID. Positive points are that 98% of staff are utilizing the best teaching practices and that post-secondary planning numbers are strong. Overall, Ms. Galvin is excited to see how the work we are doing will impact the SIP data in a post-covid world. IX.
The meeting was adjourned by Mr. Brown at 1:33 pm Next regular meeting date: May 26, 2021 at 12:30 p.m. PT in Zoom Additional Meeting for Board Training and Strategic Planning: April 30, 2021 from 8:30 a.m in Wilsonville, OR
The mission of Oregon Charter Academy is to prepare all students for success in a global society through an inclusive, rigorous, academic environment where students have daily live interaction with highly qualified teachers and continuous access to curriculum. Oregon Charter Academy staff partners with families in a transparent, collaborative school environment to support all students in their academic journey.