November 18 Approved Board Meeting Minutes

Oregon Charter Academy (ORCA) APPROVED Jan 27, 2021 MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Wednesday, November 18, 2020 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. Kropf called the meeting to order at 12:38 when all participants were present and able to hear each other. The meeting was open to the public and held via video conference due to state precautions regarding health and safety during the COVID-19 pandemic.

II.

Roll Call Board Members Present: ​Jeff Kropf, Joseph Brown (present although unable to confirm during roll call), Becky Badger, Bobbie Jager, Kim Thatcher Members of the Public Present: ​Michael Alarcon, Debbie Virden School Staff Present: ​Allison Galvin, Executive Director, and the following School Staff: Todd Schweitzer, Mary Ellen Mansfield, Lori Walter, Jason Horton, Corrine Allen, Laura Howard, Laura Dillon, Matt Bergdall, Matt Lacy, Sheena Elliott, Susan Pollnow, John Meyer, Marci Cammann, Dan Vassen, Joe Mogford (left meeting at 1:25), ​Michael Rodriquez (left meeting at 12:52), Calla Mapel (left meeting at 12:54), Colleen Simon, Nathan Ohta, Corinne Allen (left meeting at 1:21), Kristin Alarcon, David Yanowitz (left meeting at 1:30), Misha Moon (left meeting at 12:58), Morgan Hubbard, Anika Miller, Paula Leifer (left meeting at 12:58), Summer Highfill (left meeting at 1:20), Mark Cralen (left meeting at 1:06), Megan Kohl (left meeting at 12:59), Caitlin Joseph, Jessica Rorshak, Justin Turcotte (left meeting at 1:04), Stacy Kimbrel (left meeting at 12:58), Phil Miscovich (left meeting at 12:56), Tim Keene (left meeting at 1:00), April Bauguess (left meeting at 12:59), Jessi Heisley (left meeting at 12:59), Dorrie Board, Robin Bender (left meeting at 12:55), Ethan Hartz (left meeting at 1:12), Rachel Kazmieski, Laura Cantu (left meeting at 12:53), Christine Hutchison, Jennifer Wallace, Heather Adovnik (left meeting at 12:53), Tessa Ammons, Stephanie Imig (left meeting at 1:04), Niky Bojorquez (left meeting at 1:18), Erica Hand (left meeting at 12:52), Mark James (left meeting at 1:10).

III.

Public Comment

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.

Michael Alarcon had submitted a written request to speak during the public comment segment of the November meeting. Mr. Alarcon read a prepared statement related to Mr. Kopf’s speech at the Defeat the Steal rally in Salem on November 14, 2020. The statement included the following questions. “ 1. Members of the board – do you feel that it is appropriate for the chairman, or any member of the board to use their power and control over curriculum decisions at Oregon Charter Academy as a tool to give clout to a personal political cause?

2 - Members of the board - How do you plan to address ORCA staff, students, and their families who have seen the video of Chairman Kropf’s speech and now worry that the freedom and liberty of their publicly funded educational institution is potentially being impeded by someone who leverages his position of power over the curriculum as a political talking point?

3 - Members of the board – Do you feel it is appropriate for a member of this board to represent themselves as a leader of a public educational institution on a stage endorsed by a known hate group such as the Proud Boys?”

Mr. Kropf apologized to the ORCA family for mentioning the School in his speech. It was wrong to do so. He owns this mistake, promising never to do it again. Mr. Kropf further clarified that his negative comments related to curriculum were not directed at ORCA but were made in a context intended to encourage involvement and public service. Referencing ORCA within these comments was admittedly unnecessary. Mr. Kropf assured the School he knows ORCA curriculum is based on state standards, encourages critical thinking, and is delivered in an unbiased manner, by neutral moderators. He regrets that he did not uphold the same professional standards on the day.

A second public comment was received after the cutoff to make it on to the Board Agenda.

IV.

Routine Business A. Approval of Agenda It was noted that a number of Board Members would have to leave the meeting soon and it might be prudent to move items requiring a vote further up in the order. ​It was also suggested that an Action Item be added to the Agenda to devise a plan of response to the second public comment and any comments received in the future that are related to the same topic.

A motion was made and seconded to move Action Items and Consent Agenda prior to the Oral Reports, and to add a second Action Item as described above.

RESOLVED, that the Agenda for the November 18, 2020 meeting of the Board of Directors of Oregon Charter Academy, as amended, is hereby approved.

The motion passed unanimously.

V.

Action Items A. Discuss and approve a plan to respond to the unaddressed public comment from November 18 meeting, and any further comments made on the same topic.

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.

It was suggested that the board appointment a committee, to include two board members as well as Ms. Galvin and board attorney Matt Lowe, that would review all outstanding inquiries and draft a response that could then be reviewed and approved by the entire board at a special board meeting. Mr. Kropf recused himself from serving as he is the subject of the current inquiries. Mr. Brown and Ms. Thatcher were nominated to serve, although Ms. Thatcher declined. Ms. Jager was then suggested, but she also declined. Mr. Brown and Ms. Badger agreed to serve on the committee.

After this discussion, a motion was made and seconded as follows: RESOLVED, that a board committee to review and draft responses to outstanding public comments to include Joseph Brown, Becky Badger, Allison Galvin and Matt Lowe and that a Special Board meeting would follow for the entire board to have a final review and respond to Board comments is hereby APPROVED. The motion passed unanimously.

B. Review and consideration of PowerSchool data analytics program Ms. Galvin presented a new tool that integrates with PowerSchool that will identify students needing additional support on an easy to understand, user-friendly dashboard. The system will put class and student level information at a teacher’s fingertips that is now only available after running time-consuming school wide reports. One useful functionality is an early warning system that identifies students who are trending downward on a particular metric, allowing the teacher to proactively respond. It may take up to six months to fully implement the program depending on the state of the school’s current PowerSchool data, but the vendor seems optimistic that it could move faster. Year 1 - costs are just under $65,000; Year 2 costs just under $89,000 and Year 3/ongoing costs expected to be $47,000/annually.

Without further discussion, a motion was made and seconded as follows: RESOLVED, the purchase of the PowerSchool analytical tool is hereby APPROVED. The motion passed unanimously.

VI.

Consent Agenda A motion was made and seconded as follows: RESOLVED, the Consent Items, A. B. C. D. E.

Approval of Minutes from the October 28, 2020 Board Meeting Approval of Staffing Report Approval of monthly expenditures Approval of Legal Invoice(s) Approval of Bank Reconciliation

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.

[Bobbie Jager left the meeting at 1:03 pm] [Kim Thatcher left the meeting at 1:03 pm] [Joseph Brown left the meeting at 1:03 pm] VII.

Oral Report A. School Leader’s Report 1. School Social Worker programs and the Holiday Gift Bag Drive School Social Worker Corrine Allen was present to discuss her programs. Ms. Allen works closely with two liaisons from Linn Benton Lincoln ESD to assist students who may have non-academic barriers to learning. Ms Allen and her colleagues attempt to connect students and families with services they need (housing, medical, etc) and mental health support as needed. Responding to a board question, Ms. Allen noted that this year’s referrals for mental health have been much higher than she has seen previously.

In addition, Ms. Allen highlighted the second annual holiday gift drive. She sent an email to all school staff this week that contained a link to the wish list and opportunity to give. The eight families the school will be supporting have varying situations from COVID struggles to wildfire loss, but all share a significant financial need. Ms. Galvin will forward the email the staff received to the board as well.

2. School leader report​ Today’s Enrollment: 4828 (holding steady) Ms. Galvin spoke about the great learning staff has been doing to get new curriculum systems’ functionality maximized. There have been a number of collaborative help-sessions where staff have taught each other on topics they identified themselves as needing additional training. Friday, November 20 will be devoted to Professional Development with departmental staff meetings and workshop opportunities facilitated

by SYS Education.

The Leadership Team is hosting this year’s initial “open office” December 3rd for parents of currently enrolled families. While attendance isn’t usually high, it is an important part of the transparency goal.

Accreditation preparation has begun. The virtual visit will be the first week in March.

Mill City smoke remediation is complete and both main building and storage facility are back to 100% operational.

B. Financial Report 1. October financials

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 Mansfield reported that the State School Fund adjustments came out this week.

ORCA did request an ADM increase (from 4,200-4,700) and will see those increased revenue streams in January. Cost per pupil funding held steady at ~$8,500.

Additionally, the IDEA allocation has come in from LBL ESD at $365,275. This is $100,000 above what was projected in the original budget.

On the expense side, with the increase in enrollment funding comes the increased cost for the school’s two big service providers, SYS Education and Phillips. Those vendors will be invoicing the school at the 4,700 level going forward.

Finally, Ms Mansfield pointed out two changes to the current assets on the Balance Sheet. Reserve funds have been established and funded to save cash for future facility plans and to protect against future downturns and emergencies. Secondly, the National Honors Society account was closed at NW Preferred CU and the funds deposited with the Student Activities at Key Bank (where the other accounts reside).

[Becky Badger left the meeting at 1:40] VIII.

Information Items A. Outreach and events Update Mr Horton reported that six virtual informational sessions have been scheduled for January 2021. These were very popular last summer and hope to be so again.

Media/Advertising contracts will continue into the new year as well (IHeart through June 2021; Portland Monthly through April 2021).

B. State relations update Mr. Horton will be attending upcoming legislative sessions, likely to be held via video conference.

C. School Improvement Plan, quarterly data review Ms. Galvin noted that the new format for quarterly review will be focused on the board approved School Improvement Plan. One thing that is impacting the numbers on all goals is the ODE restriction on 10 day withdrawals for non-engaging students. Overall Ms. Galvin is pleased with the numbers. Considering new systems, COVID and ODE attendance changes these numbers provide a good starting point.

IX.

The meeting was adjourned by Mr. Kropf at 1:53 pm.

The next regular meeting is scheduled for – January 27, 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.