Oregon CharterAcademy (ORCA)
Approved - March 1, 2023
MINUTES OFTHE BOARD OF DIRECTORS’MEETING
Wednesday, January 25, 2023 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 12:34 p.m. when quorum was reached and all members who were present could hear each other.
II. Roll Call
Board Members present: Joseph Brown, KimThatcher, Misty Galofteanu, Marsha Moyer (joined at 12:37)
Board Members absent: Bobbie Jager
Members of the Public present: None
School Staff present: Allison Galvin, Executive Director, and the following school staff; Lori Walter, Mary Ellen Mansfield, John Meyer, Laura Dillon, Summer Highfill, Rachel Reid
III Public Comment
None IV
Routine Business
A Approval of theAgenda
It was suggested that item V Oral Report be moved below item VII Action Items to allow the Board to hear and approve the ConsentAgenda andAction Items while it had quorum.
Mr. Brown asked if any further changes needed to be made to the 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
There being no additional changes to the proposed agenda, a motion was made and seconded as follows
Ms Thatcher moved to approve the agenda Ms Galofteanu seconded the motion
RESOLVED, that the amended agenda for the January 25, 2023 meeting of the Board of Directors of Oregon CharterAcademy is hereby approved
The motion passed unanimously
V ConsentAgenda
Amotion was made and seconded as follows.
Ms.Thatcher moved to approve the consent agenda as presented. Ms. Galofteanu seconded the motion
RESOLVED, toAPPROVE the consent agenda items as presented,
A. Approval of Minutes from the October 19, 2022 Board Meeting
B. Approval of November through January Staffing Report
C. Approval of Expenditure Summary Report- October
D. Approval of Expenditure Summary Report- November
E. Approval of Expenditure Summary Report- December
F. Approval of Legal Invoice(s) - October October through December
G Approval of Bank Reconciliation- October
H Approval of Bank Reconciliation- November
I Approval of Bank Reconciliation- December
The motion passed unanimously
VI Action Items
A Review and consideration of the 2023-24 school calendar
Ms Galvin presented the school calendars for the 2023-24 school year When accounting for all federal holidays and school breaks, they include 180 student instructional days Upon review in the meeting, Ms Galvin noted a typo in the 10-month and 12-month facing calendars that indicates staff will be returning for the 21-22 school year She indicated that this error will be corrected before these are presented to staff
[Ms Moyer entered the meeting at 12:37 p m ]
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 journeyMr Brown asked the Board if there were any questions or discussion needed There being none, a motion was made and seconded as follows
Ms Thatcher moved to approve the 2023-24 school calendars
Ms Galofteanu seconded the motion
RESOLVED, toAPPROVE the 2023-24 school calendars as presented
The motion passed unanimously
B Review and consideration of the 2023-24 staff and student handbooks
Ms Galvin presented the student and staff handbooks for the 2023-24 school year The student handbook has been updated to cross reference against the Board policies provided by OSBAand update language to match.
Ms. Walter noted changes to the staff handbook around the new Paid Leave Oregon program.The school benefits document will expand on this section of the handbook in detail and be up for approval along with the budget in the Spring. However, in brief, the school will be replacing its maternity and short term leave policies with the Paid Leave Oregon policy.
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.Thatcher moved to approve the 2023-24 handbooks. Ms. Galofteanu seconded the motion.
RESOLVED, toAPPROVE the 2023-24 staff and student handbooks as presented
The motion passed unanimously
C Budget committee
Ms Galvin explained that two members of the Board will need to volunteer as the budget committee with support from the school’s executive team The role of the budget committee is to review and investigate the budget before it is presented for approval She noted that Mr Brown and Ms Moyer volunteered for this committee last 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
Ms Thatcher moved to approve the 2023-24 budget committee members
Ms Galofteanu seconded the motion
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 journeyRESOLVED, toAPPROVE the 2023-24 Budget Committee members as Board Chair Joseph Brown, Board Secretary Marsha Moyer, Executive DirectorAllison
Galvin, Finance Director Mary Ellen Mansfield, and Human Resources Director
Lori WalterThe motion passed unanimously
VII Oral Report
A Financial Report
1 October, November, and December Financials
a) School update
Ms. Mansfield shared the income statements and balance sheet from the last quarter. Highlighted income included payouts from the High School Success and Summer Grant funds and receipt of the school’s first fees for District Programs. Ms. Mansfield noted that at the half-way point of the school year, compensation fund balances remain on target.The working budget is expected to come in at a deficit due to lower enrollment. Meanwhile the Balance sheet is strong but showing some deferred revenue from the state school fund in liabilities.Asettlement with Santiam Canyon School District is expected at the end of the year.
Ms. Galvin noted that she anticipates the ultimate funding to be higher than the working budget due to continued outreach efforts She hopes for it to come in with little to no deficit
b) Boone building update
Ms Mansfield pointed out some issues with tenant payments during December As of January 1, all tenants are now caught up on rent She also shared that in January tenants settle up with the school for their CommonArea Maintenance (CAM) fees For the new year CAM fees will remain as estimated in 2022
Finally, Ms Mansfield shared that there were some high expenses in repairs and maintenance The building and offices were painted, and the school received its common area irrigation bill for a 6-month period from the City of Wilsonville
B School Leader’s Report
1 School Leader Report
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 journeya) School spotlight: Sparrow Club
Ms Highfill shared a presentation about Sparrow Club, an outreach of the school’s Business and Management CTE pathway Sparrow Club is a national organization that partners with schools to have a public service component to their learning Participating schools partner with businesses to raise funds to sponsor a “Sparrow,” a child who needs financial assistance for medical care Students will do voluntary community service that is sponsored by partnering businesses This allows students to practice a real-life equitable project with a community focus, and develop Oregon Employability Skills Progress toward the fundraising goal will be advertised in social media and marketing
[KimThatcher left at 12:54]
Ms. Moyer thanked Ms. Highfill for her work with the school’s business CTE students and celebrated the recognition they have received from ODE.
Ms. Galofteanu affirmed the work that Ms. Highfill and teachers like her do to create exciting opportunities for students and make them proud to be part of the school.
[Ms. Highfill left the meeting at 1:03]
b) ODE School Spotlight
Ms Galvin shared about a recent meeting with ODE wherein they asked to highlight how ORCAintegrates digital citizenship and digital literacy in both practice and curriculum Teachers Summer Highfill, Steph Imig, Elizabeth Washak and Counselor Diana Hammond shared their practices and experience These will be included in ODE’s upcoming newsletter
c) SchoolYear Cycle Events
Ms Galvin noted that there are currently 2223 students enrolled at the school, a positive shift after the school lost a number of students over the summer She went on to note that the end of January is a time of transition, marking the end of Semester 1 and the start of Semester 2 Intent to Return (ITR) and New Student Enrollment processes both open on February 6th Through ITR and prospective enrollments, the school will begin to forecast its student and teacher sizes for next 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 journeyVIII. Information Items
Ms Galvin also reminded the Board that enrollment will henceforth be handled by an internal ORCAstaff team to save money and increase efficiency The enrollment team staff started last week and are in the process of learning the system, tools, and information they need in order to be the front line of customer service to families
d) Holiday Gift Drive
Ms Galvin shared that even with a smaller staff, the school donated more gifts and more funds for the families in need this year than in past school years
Finally, Ms Galvin also noted that January is Board appreciation month. She expressed gratitude to the Board members for their time and efforts in their volunteer positions with ORCA.
A. Outreach and Onboarding Update
1. Efforts and analytics
Ms. Dillon shared an update on efforts and analytics related to school outreach. In 2022, there were 3.2 million total social media impressions with 73,000 engagements.This year the social media team is striving for more engagements to drive enrollment and will be continuing the “what learning should be” campaign through mid Feb
Ms Dillon went on to profile some upcoming outreach events First, ORCAwill be a sponsor for the OSU Women in Sports Day basketball game Free tickets have been given to a selection of families to attend the game In mid-February the school will have a booth at WinterFest at the Deschutes County Fairground On February 21st students have an opportunity to see the Globetrotters Two families were selected for these tickets by lottery through their attendance record Meanwhile, Weekly Virtual Information Sessions will continue through June Six families are signed up for tonight and 15 attended last week Onboarding sessions also continue for new families on a weekly basis, providing a dedicated Q&Atime
Finally, Ms Dillon shared the PR report from Veracity They provided links to coverage in newspapers around the state and blogs that the school has published about the 3% cap and school choice Next month’s blog will cover ReadAcrossAmerica
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 journeyMs Galvin shared that Shawn Higgins, one of ORCA’s computer science and game design teachers has been honored with the Fulbright DistinguishedTeacherAward and is currently teaching abroad in a short term partnership with that program
B Facilities Update
Mr Meyer stated that there are a couple small leaks in the warehouse roof in Mill City He is contracting with a company to fix these common leaks that occur in metal roofs Recent maintenance in Mill City includes brush clearing, and roof and gutter cleaning
Mr Meyer went on to share recent updates to the Wilsonville Building Offices and accent walls in the building were painted with positive reviews from tenants, and the gutters were recently cleaned and repaired.There is a vacancy for rent in the Wilsonville Building.The school’s real estate agent is currently looking for a business to fill this space.
C. Legislative Update
Ms. Galvin shared that the school is tracking 18 bills during this long legislative session. Ms. Galvin and Operations DirectorTodd Schweitzer will meet this week with Representative Neron and SenatorAnderson from the House and Senate Education Committees, respectively. She will be presenting them with a document that addresses some of the misinformation about virtual schooling, graduation rates, and the populations best served by schools like ORCA. Efforts will be made to point out that if the 3% cap would cause a mass exodus from bricks and mortar schools, then it reflects a problem with the districts, not the virtual schools Emphasis will be on providing equitable access to virtual education for the students who need it Ms Galvin noted that her doctoral dissertation will present research into the prior academic histories of students who enroll in virtual schools
D Board Updates
1 BoardTraining - planned for FridayApril 21, 2023
Ms Galvin shared that there will be board meetings in February,April and May during this school year As these dates align with the legislative session, she requested to move these to 12:15 so that Ms Thatcher can attend to legislative session responsibilities Feedback from Board members was positive, and meeting start times will be moved 15 minutes earlier for the spring
Ms Galvin reminded the board that training was scheduled for Friday, April 21st However with the legislative session, Ms Thatcher and Ms Jager will likely not be able to attend She requested that BoardTraining be postponed until the summer or fall Feedback was again positive from
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
the Board, and Ms Galvin will coordinate with school legal counsel to find a new date for this training
2 Any information items for the February meeting?
None
IX Adjournment
Ms Moyer moved to adjourn the meeting
Ms Galofteanu seconded the motion
The meeting was adjourned by Mr Brown at 1:25 p m
Next regular meeting date: February 22, 2023 at 12:15 p.m. PTin 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