Oregon Charter Academy (ORCA) Approved April 28 2021 MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Wednesday, February 24, 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 12:35 pm when two board members, Mr. Brown and Ms. Thatcher were successfully logged in. Because quorum was not reached, Roll Call was followed by Oral Reports and circled back to Public Comment and Approval of the Agenda when a third board member, Becky Badger, joined the meeting.
II.
Roll Call – J. Brown Board Members Present: Joseph Brown, Kim Thatcher, Becky Badger, Marsha Moyer, Bobbie Jager. Board Members Absent: Members of the Public Present: Heather Adovnik , Leslie Smith, Anika Miller, Caitlin Joseph, Barbara Neal, Mark Cralen School Staff Present: Allison Galvin, Executive Director, and the following School Staff: Todd Schweitzer, Mary Ellen Mansfield, Lori Walter, Jason Horton
III.
Public Comment No requests for public comment forms were received.
IV.
Routine Business A. Approval of the Agenda It was suggested that Items IV and V in the agenda from the board packet be switched in order as the Audit Committee topic was meant to follow the Agenda Approval.
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 to approve an edited agenda which included switching Items IV and V from the presented agenda. RESOLVED that the Agenda for the February 24, 2021 meeting of the Board of Directors of Oregon Charter Academy, as amended, is hereby approved. The motion passed unanimously. V.
Audit Committee, Committee of the Entire Board A. Approval of Audit Firm Engagement for the 2020-21 School Year Financial Audit Ms. Mansfield summarized the main points of the engagement letter received from Pauly, Rogers and Co, P.C., recommending approval of the firm as the school has a good historical relationship. The proposed cost is $14,900 which is a $300 increase over this year’s price. There being no further discussion, a motion was made and seconded as follows: RESOLVED, that the engagement of Pauly, Rogers and Co, P.C. for the 2020-21 school year financial audit, as presented, is hereby approved. The motion passed unanimously. Ms. Mansfield subsequently asked if the board would approve having Ms. Galvin sign the engagement letter on the board’s behalf. As such, an amended motion was made and seconded as follows: RESOLVED, that the engagement of Pauly, Rogers and Co, P.C. for the 2020-21 school year financial audit, as presented, is hereby approved and the engagement letter may be signed by Executive Director Allison Galvin on behalf of the Board. The amended motion passed unanimously.
VI.
Oral Report A. Financial Report 1. January Financials January was business as usual with no unusual transactions that swung the income statement or balance sheet either way. Expenses were consistent with recent run rates and the January SSF revenue reflects the increased ADM that the districted changed with the state. New vendors in the expenditure summary include the Charitable Activities Section” at the Oregon Department of Justice which is who receives the
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.
payment that accompanies the school’s tax filing. Additionally, the school purchased Title IX materials from Franczek PC. Finally, a new report was sent subsequent to the Board Packet that illustrates revenues and expenditures month by month, both YTD and projected. The projected revenues listed reflect the fact that we are losing ADM now that brick and mortar schools are returning to in-person instruction. Expenditures reflect current run rate and any known big ticket items coming this spring. If these projections are accurate, ending fund balance will be +$16.0M; which is almost twice what it was at the end of FY2020. [Becky Badger joined at 12:44pm] B. School Leader’s Report 1. Intent to Return Ms. Galvin reported that our current intent to return “yes” responses are 1,422 which is well beyond what we’ve historically seen by this point in the ITR process. 2. State Testing Oregon did apply for a waiver of testing, but the Federal Government has insisted that SBAC must move forward. ODE is scrambling to figure out what that looks like, potentially moving to online testing. Ms. Galvin noted that Oregon Charter Academy has been struggling with booking testing sites under the varying COVID restrictions around the state. More direction is expected from ODE. 3. Accreditation The Five Year Accreditation site visit will be held virtually next week. The calendar is still in draft form, but currently the Zoom meeting for the governing body is planned for Monday March 1 at 8:30 am. Mr. Brown and Ms. Badger agreed to participate. 4. Preparing for 2021-22 Ms. Galvin noted the hope that the school’s attorney could conduct a board training (virtually) next year and the board welcomed the idea. The Strategic Plan developed in 2017 has expired. Ms. Galvin will be looking at student and staff surveys and polling administrators and board members to draft the next strategic plan. The expired plan was included
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.
in the Board Packet to demonstrate how far the school has come in the last three years. As the fund balance is expected to be robust at year end, the school will begin actively looking for a building to purchase in the Wilsonville area. The expectations for the new site include expanded classroom potential and space for a robust CTE program. This procurement has been the plan for a while, but the school intends to engage a real estate agent to move the process forward. VII.
Consent Agenda A motion was made and seconded as follows: RESOLVED, to APPROVE the Consent Items, A. B. C. D. E.
Approval of Minutes from the January 27, 2021 Board Meeting Approval of Staffing Report Approval of Expenditure Summary Report-January Approval of Legal Invoice(s) Approval of Bank Reconciliation-January
The motion passed unanimously. VIII.
Action Items A. Budget committee Ms. Galvin requested two board members volunteer for the budget committee that will work with school leadership on the draft 2021-22 budget. Communication will all be virtual and respectful of the committee's time. Kim Thatcher and Becky Badger volunteered to serve. This budget, once drafted, will be presented to the full board at the April meeting. A motion was made and seconded as follows: RESOLVED, to approve Kim Thatcher and Becky Badger to be the 2021-22 Oregon Charter Academy Budget Committee. The motion passed unanimously.
[Bobbi Jaeger joined the meeting] B. 2021-22 salary schedules Ms. Mansfield reviewed the process for developing the schedules proposed in the board packet. The focus was on Teachers and Hourly Staff, with across the board increases going to these two large groups. The Administrator schedules
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.
were not updated, although a handful of administrators were promoted to new schedules as it was felt that they were placed incorrectly last year. There being no questions, a motion was made and seconded as follows: RESOLVED, to approve the 2021-22 salary schedules. The motion passed unanimously. C. Student Handbook - Weapons Policy Mr. Schweitzer presented a potential update to the student handbook that would address weapons and dangerous devices. The base policy came from the Santiam Canyon School District and was OSBA recommended. The bottom line is that any items that would disrupt or interfere with learning are not allowed. A question was raised about legally permitted weapons and it was clarified that this policy is for the student handbook and applies to students only. There being no further questions, a motion was made and seconded as follows; RESOLVED, to approve the addition of the presented Weapons Policy to the 2021-22 Oregon Charter Academy Student Handbook. The motion passed unanimously. IX.
Information Items A. Staff Survey Ms. Walter summarized the staff survey results from last month, highlighting strengths and opportunities school-wide. Participation was very high, 92%, which UPBEAT (the survey producer) noted was particularly high especially for an inaugural survey. A question was posed related to the opportunities posed in professional development and work life balance. Ms. Walter responded to the professional development opportunity, noting that administration will be asking teachers what they need and want for professional development and acting on those responses that receive the most mentions. Ms. Galvin rescinded to the work life balance opportunity, pointing out that this has been a particularly challenging year for work life balance everywhere. Between wildfires, COVID, and a new academic platform she was surprised this category wasn’t scored lower. This metric should rebound as everyone becomes more adept at the new interface, and as the pressures of COVID subside.
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.
Ms. Galvin also called out the lower score in staff diversity and that the executive team recently reviewed recruiting practices to ensure we were doing all we can to reach diverse candidates. Next steps include taking advantage of the UPBEAT team to work with grade level leadership to develop action plans in each opportunity area. There will also be a follow up survey in May. [Marsha Moyer joined the meeting at 1:26 pm] B. Outreach and events update Mr. Horton shared that the upcoming marketing campaigns will focus on directing potential families to the spring information sessions. Messaging from now through August will be all about driving enrollment. C. State relations update Mr. Schweitzer reviewed the following bills which are currently in front of state legislators. Oregon Charter lobbyist Kristine Phillips Evertz has been doing an excellent job scheduling meetings with legislators where Ms. Galvin and Mr. Schweitzer can educate and advocate for virtual education. The following bills are where Ms. Evertz has been focusing her attention. ● HB2023, HB2716, SB240, SB518, SB657 - Five bills that would either grow or eliminate the district cap on enrollment in virtual charter schools. Oregon Charter SUPPORTS this bill as it would increase the student population to draw from. ● HB 2195 (Wilde) Prohibits student from enrolling in virtual public charter school located in school district in which student is not resident if student's resident school district or education service district offers appropriate online instruction. Oregon Charter OPPOSES this bill as it would limit potential student population to those residing in the Santiam Canyon school district. ● SB743 - (Committee on Education) Allows sponsor to use extended ADMw formula (greater of two years of enrollment) even if virtual charter is growing. Caps virtual charter extended ADM for 21/22 at 10%. Oregon Charter is NEUTRAL as the school’s steady growth means the extended option is not normally needed.
D. Review of school quarterly metrics Ms. Galvin reviewed the Progress check 2 results for Academic Achievement, Student Experience and Preparing Students for a Successful Future. Ms. Galvin pointed out that the pause on withdrawls has impacted our data, but numbers overall made slight gains or held steady. While real growth is always 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.
preferred, progress is being made. Ms. Galvin looks forward to Year 3 of Oregon Charter Academy when she expects to see significant strides toward goal achievement after the sustained effort of continuous improvement post-Pearson. As a final note, Ms. Galvin mentioned that grade level administrators continually review their numbers with teaching staff to keep goals front of mind and efforts focused. Progress check 3 results will be included in the April or May board meetings depending on timing and availability. There was a question about statewide graduation rates, which have been reported as improving overall. Ms. Galvin explained that this is potentially because of ODE’s pass/fail mandate last spring (versus graded courses). Ms. Galvin stated that our graduation rates were trending up even before the COVID shut down, but that the 5% experienced was also probably influenced by the favorable ODE ruling. X.
Public Comment A parent, Ms. Neal, requested permission to address the board. Although she hadn’t submitted the required form, there was available time remaining and the parent was granted the right to speak. Ms. Neal’s daughter has been frustrated by lack of access from her ORCA Chromebook to some of the non-ORCA hosted websites. The New York Times, YouTube, NASA, and various Post Secondary Institutions were cited as examples. She requested that the digital citizenship policy on campus be reviewed and updated, at least in the 9-12 grade brands. Ms. Galvin thanked Ms. Neal for her feedback and offered to put technology usage policies in front of the board at the April meeting. It’s a good time to look at what’s in place and see if it's still relevant and appropriate. She did note, however, that YouTube is restricted not by ORCA, but by Google Education so that particular restriction will not be reviewed as it is beyond ORCA’s control. Secondly, Ms. Neal would like leadership to consider the computers that are provided to students, as the screen and keyboard seem a little small for the work expected of older students (9-12 grade bands).
XI.
The meeting was adjourned at 2:05 pm by Mr. Brown. Next Regular Meeting Date – April 28, 2021 at 12:30 p.m. PT in Zoom
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.