Oregon Charter Academy (ORCA) APPROVED June 23, 2021 MINUTES FOR THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING Wednesday, May 26, 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 – J. Brown Mr. Brown called the meeting to order at 12:30 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: Joe Brown, Kim Thatcher, Marsha Moyer. Board members absent: Becky Badger, Bobbie Jager. 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, Rachel Reid, Phil Miscovich.
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. Hearing none, a motion was made and seconded as follows. RESOLVED, that the agenda for the May 26, 2021 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.
V.
Oral Report A. Financial Report 1. April Financials Ms. Mansfield reviewed the Income Statement, Balance Sheet and IS Projection as of April 30, 2021. As stated in previous months, a strong ending fund balance is expected. B. School Leader’s Report 1. Enrollment The 3% cap has had a significant impact on our enrollment. Districts are able to use any date in the last 12 months to calculate the 3% which is restricting new enrollment that would usually occur in the spring. While this will affect next year’s operating budget, the positive ending fund balance expected this year should cover the gap. 2. End of school year events Ms. Galvin explained that ORCA will continue planning on virtual events for the rest of this school year. Next year will see the return live/in-person once again. 3. Summer Program Ms. Galvin is really excited about the summer learning money designated for schools this year. K-8 students who are ITR “yes” will have many programs open for use this summer including Rosetta Stone, Sora and others. A new summer bridge program will also be in place to assist 8th graders in their transition to high school. Finally, as in previous years, ORCA will host a robust summer credit recovery program for grades 9-12. 4. Strategic planning Ms. Galvin provided an update on the planning process. Along with the discussion at the April Board meeting and training, staff and families have been surveyed for their thoughts and suggestions. This information and others will be reviewed and compiled. The strategic plan progress will ultimately be presented on our website. 5. Accreditation Ms. Galvin shared the final report from the accreditation site visit. ORCA’s overall score is 377, up from 310 at our last visit. The average score for all Cognia reviewed schools is 278 - 283. The focus for next year will be “Community Counts” to utilize the suggestions/direction in the 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 journey.
VI.
Consent Agenda 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 April 28, 2021 Board Meeting Approval of Minutes from the April 30, 2021 Board Training and Work Session Approval of Staffing Report Resumes Approval of Expenditure Summary Report-April Approval of Legal Invoice(s) - April Approval of Bank Reconciliation-April 2021-22 Staff Compensation Plan
The motion passed unanimously. VII.
Action Items A. 2021-22 Employee Handbook Ms. Walter highlighted a few areas where language had been clarified (salary tables, leave accruals) and pointed out that the policies from the board training last month are included. Ms. Moyer praised the handbook as being very comprehensive. Ms. Galvin reminded the board that last year’s handbook went through extensive review, including review by the school’s legal counsel. Mr. Brown asked the Board if there were any questions regarding the Handbook. There being none, a motion was made and seconded as follows. RESOLVED, to APPROVE the 2021-22 Employee Handbook as presented. The motion passed unanimously. B. OSBA Board Policy work Ms. Galvin has reached out to OSBA and presented some options to update the Board Policy Manual, including having OSBA host the policies for us. Ms. Galvin recommends the “desk rewrite” option which will cost approximately $10,000. While expensive, there is a significant fund balance expected at year end. Ms. Moyer and Mr. Brown commented that the effort it takes to produce policy makes the $10,000 very reasonable, particularly when you consider the cost of legal review by an attorney. Mr. Brown asked the Board if there were any questions regarding the Policy work. There being none, 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, to APPROVE the Executive Director to work with the Santiam Canyon School District and OSBA on Board Policy reviews and updates utilizing the desk rewrite plan, including the web hosting and policy plus package. The motion passed unanimously. C. Board building team Ms. Galvin reminded the board that this had been discussed during board training last month, but action was not taken to form the committee. While the school will not make any decisions or approve any purchases without full board approval, it would be helpful to have a team in place should properties come available that the school wishes to visit. Mr. Brown asked the Board if there were any questions regarding the building team. There being none, a motion was made and seconded as follows. RESOLVED, to APPROVE Joseph Brown and Kim Thatcher to work with school leadership to explore and identify possible property to purchase or lease in order to continue to grow school CTE and hybrid learning opportunities. The motion passed unanimously. D. 2021-22 outreach spend Ms. Galvin noted that there is $350,000 approved for marketing in the 2021-22 budget. The action requested below provides some detail to that spend. Mr. Horton outlined a plan to spend about $325,000 with iHeartRadio, Portland Monthly and OSU next year. Shopper’s Suite is a new feature with iHeart Radio that is particularly exciting. Portland Monthly will add new articles focusing on the Special Education program, the ASCEND program, and school clubs and activities. The OSU spend will cover marketing over three sports seasons and the Junior Beaver Club and will highlight the CTE and ASCEND programs (which line up nicely with OSU’s fanbase). Ms. Thatcher asked how we review which programs/campaigns are most successful. Ms. Galvin recapped what the metrics showed from this year and explained why the school chose these particular mediums and focuses going forward. Mr. Brown asked the Board if there were any questions regarding the outreach spend. There being none, a motion was made and seconded as follows. RESOLVED, to APPROVE the Executive Director to execute outreach contracts with iHeartMedia, PDX Monthly and Oregon State University as presented. 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.
VIII.
Information Items A. Outreach and events Update Mr. Horton noted that we are in the process of planning the school’s first in person events in over a year. Sites are being secured to provide help to families for onboarding students for next fall’s school year. Additionally, press releases are being written to highlight the amazing accreditation report and scores. Ms. Galvin hopes to leverage the upcoming Best of the Mid-Valley Awards to target the Salem-Keizer and Mid-Willamette Valley area. B. State relations update Mr. Schweitzer reported that, while none of the bills ORCA was supporting are moving forward, COVID-19 has brought a lot of attention to virtual education which will be helpful in future efforts.
IX.
The board moved into EXECUTIVE SESSION at 1:27 pm in order to review and evaluate the employment-related performance of the chief executive officer of any public body, a public officer, employee or staff member who does not request an open hearing – Executive Director’s End of Year Review – pursuant to ORS § 192.660 (1) and (2) (i) Board members present: Joe Brown, Kim Thatcher, Marsha Moyer. School Staff present: Todd Schweitzer, Lori Walter, Mary Ellen Mansfield. Mr. Schweitzer recorded the board’s scoring and comments on the Administrator Formal Evaluation form. [Ms. Moyer left the meeting at 2:00 pm] The board returned from Executive Session at 2:25 pm.
X.
The meeting was adjourned by Mr. Brown at 2:25 pm NEXT MEETING: Annual Meeting – June 23, 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.