1.26.22 Board Meeting Minutes -- Approved

Oregon Charter Academy (ORCA) Approved February 23, 2022 MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING Wednesday, January 26, 2022 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 12:43 p.m. when quorum was reached and all members who were present could hear each other.

II.

Roll Call Board Members present: Joseph Brown, Marsha Moyer, Bobbie Jager Board Members absent: Kim Thatcher, Becky Badger Members of the Public present: Misty Galofteanu School Staff present: Allison Galvin, Executive Director, and the following school staff; Todd Schweitzer, Lori Walter, Mary Ellen Mansfield, Laura Dillon, John Meyer, Susan Pollnow, Nicole Hamilton, 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.

There being no changes to the proposed agenda, a motion was made and seconded as follows.

RESOLVED, that the agenda for the January 26, 2022 meeting of the Board of Directors of Oregon Charter Academy is hereby approved.

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 motion passed unanimously.

V.

Executive Session The board moved into EXECUTIVE SESSION at 1:01 p.m. in order to review the real estate contract for the purchase of 0 NW Santiam Blvd, Mill City, OR 97360 - pursuant to ORS § 192.660 (1) and (2) (e) Board members present: Bobbie Jager, Joseph Brown, Marsha Moyer School staff present: Allison Galvin, Todd Schweitzer, Rachel Reid The board returned from Executive Session at 1:08 p.m.

VI.

Review and Consideration of Board Composition A. Board member candidate M. Galofteanu Ms. Galvin introduced Misty Galofteanu, a candidate for the open board position who is the parent of a current ORCA student.

Mr. Brown asked if the members of the board had any questions for Ms. Galofteanu.

Ms. Moyer welcomed Ms. Galofteanu and asked about her background and interest in serving on the board.

Ms. Galofteanu briefly introduced herself, sharing about her family and her interests. She also gave a summary of her past experience in civic engagement and a continued passion to be involved in building up the community.

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 Misty Galofteanu as new board member with term to go through the annual meeting of June, 2023.

The motion passed unanimously.

B. Interim Board Treasurer position Ms. Galvin explained the duties of the Interim Board Treasurer. This person would serve as Treasurer until a meeting of the larger board wherein a permanent officer could be chosen.

Ms. Moyer expressed willingness to take on the duties of the position.

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.

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 Marsha Moyer for Interim Board Treasurer.

The motion passed unanimously.

VII.

Oral Report A. Financial Report 1. November and December Financials Ms. Mansfield presented the financial reports from November and December. She noted a new “Working Budget” column in the income statement, which is based on current enrollment numbers and takes into account the discrepancy between expected and actual enrollment. She noted that if the current low enrollment holds there will be a small deficit for this fiscal year, however the fund balance remains healthy. The new working budget column will allow for a truer target in aiming the school’s financial allocations.

B. School Leader’s Report 1. School leader report a) District programs update Ms. Galvin recapped the work that is being done to get district programs off the ground. While there are challenges in building new relationships with some districts, there have been promising developments in the launching of these programs. The school is opening up seats in the Credit Recovery program for non-ORCA students, and the state has approved a GED options program at ORCA. There will be a pilot of the GED program this spring for those students who will not have enough credits to graduate this year. b) Budget process for 2022-23 Ms. Galvin shared that the new budgeting cycle will begin in February with a draft budget available by April. She stated that due to current low enrollment trends, the school will need to staff and set the budget according to the students that are actually enrolled. One important consideration in setting the 2022-23 budget is the reality that it will be unsustainable for the school to work in a shortfall every 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.

c) 2022-23 Intent to Return Ms. Galvin shared that the Intent to Return process for students opens on February 7th. This will allow leadership and the board to project the number of students for the coming school year. It will also be the precursor to collecting intent to return data from staff.

2. AVID Ms. Hamilton gave a presentation about the virtual AVID Program at ORCA which helps students to build academic and leadership skills and prepares them for college. Recent developments in the AVID program include the addition of college-aged tutors, moving to Canvas, and increasing the number of grades served each year, with the goal of adding K-5 in the near future. Ms. Hamilton also noted that the program advisors are working toward ORCA becoming a virtual demonstration school which would be a model for schools nationwide.

Ms. Moyer asked what steps are required to become a virtual demonstration school.

Ms. Pollnow shared that to become a virtual demonstration school, the advisors must show that they are implementing all the tools and strategies of AVID throughout the entire school with the highest fidelity possible.

Metrics used by the AVID national program include the rigor of ORCA’s coursework and the rate of college entrance among students.

Ms. PolInow also shared that in the fall, ORCA presented to the other AVID schools in Oregon to show how the program is implemented in an online environment. AVID will also be doing a virtual showcase for ORCA staff on February 18, which board members are welcome to attend.

Ms. Galofteanu asked where parents and guardians could go to find out information about AVID. Ms. Pollnow clarified that while the February presentation is for Staff only, there is hope to host a demonstration for students and families later this year. That demonstration would be available to families as a Virtual Field Trip.

[Nicole Hamilton left the meeting at 1:40] VIII.

Consent Agenda A motion was made and seconded as follows.

RESOLVED, to APPROVE the consent items as presented,

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. B. C. D. E. F. G.

Approval of Minutes from the November 17, 2021 Board Meeting Approval of Staffing Report Approval of Expenditure Summary Report - November Approval of Expenditure Summary Report - December Approval of Legal Invoices - November and December Approval of Bank Reconciliation - November Approval of Bank Reconciliation - December

The motion passed unanimously.

IX.

Action Items A. Review and approval of the 2022-2023 staff and student calendars Ms. Galvin brought forth the school calendar drafts for the 2022-23 school year.

While the calendars are modeled on past years, there will only be 179 student days as opposed to 180 due to the location of New Years and the addition of Juneteenth to the school observed Federal Holidays. Even with that change, however, the school is well above the state required in-session hours for schools.

Ms. Moyer asked for clarification around the school’s use of snow days, and Ms. Galvin noted that ORCA does not use them. In the case of inclement weather, school at ORCA remains in session.

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 school calendars as presented.

The motion passed unanimously.

B. Review and consideration of the 2022-2023 staff and student handbooks Ms. Galvin shared the handbooks for the upcoming school year. Updates include clarification on various topics that have arisen throughout the year and a name change to the Every Student Belongs policy in alignment with current law.

Handbooks must be ready to present to families as part of their Intent to Return process.

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 handbooks as presented.

The motion passed unanimously.

C. Review and consideration of land purchase at 0 NW Santiam Blvd, Mill City, OR 97360

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 summarized the discussion from Executive Session, noting that the property at 0 NW Santiam is adjacent to the Mill City Office. While the property is not yet ready for purchase, an approval at this time would allow the Board Chair and Executive Director to be ready to take action on a sales agreement should a reasonable deal be established with the sellers.

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 spending of up to $100,000 for the potential purchase of the property at 0 NW Santiam Blvd. Mill City, OR 97360.

The motion passed unanimously.

D. Approval of Board Chair and Executive Director to execute all contracts related to purchase of 0 NW Santiam Blvd, Mill City, OR 97360 Ms. Galvin noted that title brokers require a separate approval action for the parties who will execute land purchase agreements on behalf of the Board. In this case, those parties would be the Board Chair and Executive Director.

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 Board Chair, Joseph Brown, and Executive Director, Allison Galvin, to sign and execute all contracts on behalf of the Board for all items related to the purchase of 0 NW Santiam Blvd, Mill City, OR 97360.

The motion passed unanimously.

[Bobbie Jager left the meeting at 1:30 p.m.]

[Mary Ellen Mansfield left the meeting at 1:30 p.m.]

X.

Information Items A. Outreach and events update Ms. Dillon shared a report from the public relations firm that has been contracted

by SYS Education to serve the school. The report includes metrics on engagement with articles and TV spots that have been published in recent months. There were 21 articles about ORCA from last month with 100% positive sentiment in engagement by users. During that time, there were also 13 TV spots: 9 in the Portland area and 4 in the Medford area. Finally, the report includes links to all media coverage during the reporting term, including a televised interview with Executive Director Allison Galvin.

[Mary Ellen Mansfield re-entered the meeting at 1:45] 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.

B. State relations update Mr. Schweitzer shared plans for lobbying in the upcoming legislative session.

ORCA is continuing to lobby for a full removal of the 3% cap as opposed to an adjustment in the cap amount. The 3% cap continues to create a discriminatory situation in which populations of different counties in the state have unequal access to online educational opportunities. While the discrimination is unintentional, it is still the experience of many families in the state and exists in direct contradiction of the ODE mission statement.

Ms. Galofteanu shared from her experience as a parent trying to enroll with the 3% cap in place. She expressed support for efforts to remove the cap, and noted that few parents are aware of the equity issues around virtual charter school participation until they begin the enrollment process.

Mr. Schweitzer noted his role as a contractor for ORCA as opposed to an employee of the school. This allows for strategic lobbying wherein two different entities are seen to be in partnership.

Ms. Galvin reviewed information that was sent in the fall to parents who were either denied or ultimately deterred from enrolling due to the difficulties created by the 3% cap. In response to that information, a number of families wrote letters to their members of the legislature. Ms. Galvin noted that, as need arises, she will reach out for partnership in further campaigns.

C. Board relations update 1. Board member transition Ms. Galvin noted that with the approval of Ms. Galofteanu as a new board member, Rebecca Badger is hereby released from her duties on the Board in keeping with her letter of resignation submitted in August of 2021.

2. Board topics for next regularly scheduled meeting Ms. Galvin asked if there were any other programs or topics that the Board would like to learn more about at the next board meeting, however, there were none at this time.

XI.

The meeting was adjourned by Mr. Brown at 1:55 p.m.

Next regular meeting date: February 23, 2022 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.