MINUTES CONFLUENCE CHARTER SCHOOLS BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING DECEMBER 18, 2014

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1 MINUTES CONFLUENCE CHARTER SCHOOLS BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING DECEMBER 18, 2014 Board Members in attendance: Robert Goldson, Chair Thurman Brooks Jose Pineda Leona Lucas Holston Black III Craig Larson, Treasurer Katherine Casas, Vice-Chair Board Members not in attendance: Lance LeComb, Excused Jeanice Baker Confluence Charter Schools Staff: Jeff Kuntze, Chief Financial Officer Terry Noble, Director of Human Resources Dr. Phil Kennedy, Director of Academics Dr. Jim Walters, Director of Professional Learning & Teacher Support Dr. Louise Losos, Director of Curriculum Resource Greg Allerdissen, Senior Accountant Shonda Gray, Director of UPP and Innovative Education Mike Baker, Assessment Coordinator Nez Savala, Director of Public Relations John Klein, Director of Enrollment and Attendance Jana Schaefer, Director of Special Services Darla Hemrick, Special Services Coordinator Angela Carpenter, Co-Principal, Walnut Park Campus Leslie Muhammad, Co-Principal, Walnut Park Campus Pam Davenport, Principal, South City Campus Dr. Sonya Murray, Principal, Old North Campus Joleen Ploeger, Administrative Assistant, Board of Directors Guests: Margaret Hesse of Tueth, Keeney Law Firm Earl Simms, University of Missouri - Columbia Dr. Deborah Carr, University of Missouri - Columbia Martha McGeehon, Saint Louis University Paul Doerrer, BAFC Consulting Dr. Susan Uchitelle, Former Board Member Mr. Jeff Winter, RubinBrown Mr. Pat Miller, RubinBrown Ms. Brandi Lawyer, RubinBrown Robert Goldson called the meeting to order at 8:05 a.m.

2 Craig Larson motioned to approve the Tentative Agenda of December 18, 2014; seconded by Jose Pineda. The motion carried. Leona Lucas motioned to approve the Minutes of October 16, 2014 and November 15, 2014; seconded by Holston Black III. The motion carried. General Board Business Introductions and Public Comment None. Any other general Board Business None. Presentation by RubinBrown of Confluence Charter Schools FY13-14 Audit Reports Mr. Jeff Winter, Mr. Pat Miller and Ms. Brandi Lawyer, of RubinBrown, provided a presentation on the FY13-14 Audit Reports which consisted of four LEA reports, a management report and View Points. The main goal is to provide a clean unmodified opinion on financial statements and Federal program compliance. GCAA received an unmodified opinion on the financial statements and on compliance with requirements application to major federal programs. They had one emphasis of matter related to substantial doubt about the LEA s ability to continue as a going concern. Friends of Confluence received an unmodified opinion on the financial statements. Confluence LEA also received an unmodified opinion on the financial statements and on state compliance. Confluence Academy, Inc., received an unmodified opinion on the consolidated financial statement. Areas that provide opportunity for improvement include maintaining a monthly reconciliation of the new hire list to the working roster of employees; uncollateralized deposits; all time and effort certifications should be completed in a timely manner and sufficient communication among the accounting staff and those responsible for compliance with grant requirements. Mr. Miller and Ms. Lawyer broke each LEA audit report down further highlighting reduced enrollment at Confluence and that the liabilities exceed the assets at Grand Center. Mr. Winter described issues for having two (2) sponsors/lea s. He believes we would be a much stronger entity as one (1) LEA. Final Board approval would take place later during this Board Meeting. Committee Updates Achievement Dr. Phil Kennedy delivered a brief Achievement update. The schools have concluded their STAR testing and we are in the process of compiling this data. GCAA will be doing Discovery assessments in January. They have completed nearly 500 classroom teacher observations. Dr. Kennedy explained the NEE rating scale for cognitive development, problem solving and formative assessments. He also said each campus chose another topic for targeting; South City chose vocabulary development; Old North chose student engagement and Walnut Park chose student-teacher relationships. Dr. Kennedy will provide a NEE report in January. Grand Center did not take part in NEE. Feedback from the principals has been positive with respect to this growth tool. Student surveys on teachers were also completed this past week.

3 Strategic Planning Updates MU Executive Summary Presentation Dr. Deborah Carr, University of Missouri, provided an Executive Summary of the Baseline Sponsor Report they developed following the assumed sponsorship of Confluence Academy on July 1, This report assists their office in understanding Confluence Academy and provides us data and recommendations for continuous improvement. It also provides support for the strategic planning process and guides both short and long term goals and action steps for the Confluence Board. Dr. Carr noted she was pleased with seeing some positive things but believed this report would be unsettling to some. Interviews of forty-seven (47) board, resource office staff and administrative teams were conducted and results were compiled for this report. Dr. Carr said there were four (4) areas that need to be addressed: more transparency on financials; people issues, political issues and symbolic issues. She had no doubt that every individual interviewed has a distinct passion for Confluence to survive. Mr. Earl Simms did a more thorough review of the Baseline Sponsor Report sharing more specifics to findings following the completion of interviews. He shared an overview of responses to topics such as mission and vision; roles, functions and processes; operations and measures of success and expectations of MU sponsorship. He ended his review with an analysis and MU recommendations which included: a strategic planning process; an analysis of the Resource Office; a clear organizational chart and evaluation process; a budget analysis; to increase transparency and to openly address the Confluence /GCAA facilities issues. Dr. Carr noted diversity is the greatest strength of an organization. She expressed her confidence in Confluence moving forward but said UM will hold us accountable for the outcomes in our schools and our fiscal responsibility. Her final comment was that our focus has to be about student outcomes. Martha McGeehon responded there was nothing in this report that SLU would disagree with. Following much discussion about the next steps for strategic planning, subcommittee structure and open communication, the Board discussed academic outcome and implementation of new programs and technology in the classrooms. They also discussed Grand Center and a response from Saint Louis University pertaining to this review. Finance October, 2014 Financial Greg Allerdissen presented the October, 2014 financial statements. He reported the net change in funds for Confluence as a negative $255K but $329K behind budget. Mr. Allerdissen reviewed notes related to the Confluence financial with basic state revenue (WADA) running ahead at $8019; transportation costs running behind due to budget costs by the State and employee benefits. He noted the receipt of an e-rate refund; student lunches and Edison payments. Grand Center s net change in funds was ($817K); $115K behind budget. WADA revenue was impacted with attendance lower than forecasted.

4 Action Items Approval of Bus Routes/Ride Times John Klein provided a revised bus ride time schedule for board review. Mr. Klein reported that following discussions with First Student and the determination that barn time had been counted in in the calculation of ride times, the report was now corrected and ready for approval. Dr. Craig Larson moved to approve the Bus Routes/Ride Times; followed by a second from Holston Black III. The motion carried. The Board discussed adding a legend to the bottom of the report explaining the proper calculation for ride times and Confluence s expectations. They also discussed the use of cameras on our buses. Confluence Charter Schools FY13-14 Audit Reports Katherine Casas motioned to accept the Confluence Charter Schools FY13-14 Audit Reports; seconded by Dr. Craig Larson. The motion carried. RFP Approval for Strategic Planning Consultant Jeff Kuntze advised that only one response to our Request for Proposal for a Strategic Planning Consultant was received. He did suggest another candidate, Mr. Larry Flakne of UM Columbia. Jeff believes Mr. Flakne would provide more specific Missouri knowledge and would be more cost efficient. The Board discussed their needs and desires to move forward with strategic planning and an appointment of a point person to direct this process. Katherine Casas motioned to reject the proposal from Calsoyas Group; seconded by Leona Lucas. The motion carried. The ad hoc governance committee will meet with Dr. Kennedy, Jeff Kuntze and Mr. Flakne for further discussions. GCAA Charter Renewal Application and Performance Contract with SLU Mr. Kuntze provided the GCAA Charter Renewal Application to the Board for approval. He apologized for the late timing in providing it to them. The deadline is December 31. Since the renewal application is quite large, Jeff provided a summary for the board. The Board discussed Saint Louis Universities obligations and our relationship. Margaret Hesse noted some typographical corrections needed. Subject to the corrections described by Margaret Hesse being completed, Katherine Casas motioned to approve the GCAA Charter Renewal Application; seconded by Holston Black III. The motion carried. Mr. Kuntze noted the Performance Contract with SLU would be finalized once the charter renewal has been approved by the State Board. Updates Enrollment and Attendance John Klein reported on enrollment as of the end of November. He highlighted the change differences for each campus. John continues to utilize radio ads and kindergarten roundups have already begun. Attendance is based on 90% of students in attendance 90% of the time. He explained APR points and how the principals are focusing on getting their students to school on time. All campuses, with the

5 exception of Walnut Park, are falling below ADA vs. this time last year. Jeff Kuntze recognized the dedication in attendance by both CPA and Old North. Policy and Regulation 2671 Margaret Hesse provided a first read on Policy and Regulation 2671 for student discipline. She provided a memorandum earlier to the Board for reasons pertinent to the need for revision. The Board discussed a smaller committee structure for student discipline matters; however, State law requires a board ruling on suspensions exceeding 180 days. Ms. Hesse will prepare and provide revisions to this policy and regulation for future Board approval. Other Business Communication/PR Update Nez Savala shared the news of the receipt of a $20K fellowship from the Regional Arts Commission for Mr. Keith Williams, our chair of theatre and dance at Grand Center Arts Academy; the gift of new athletic shoes from New Balance for every Walnut Park student provided by Service International, St. Louis Family Church and Love the Neighborhood volunteers; Active Shooter/Intruder Drills are being completed; a holiday CD from Mr. Brian Owens has been released featuring our very own Old North choir. Ms. Savala reported that all of our schools are registered to take part in School Choice Week January CPA will be hosting an enrollment open house on February 11. Plans are being developed for an academic related summer camp. More information will be provided. Roll Call for Closed Session At 10:24 am, Dr. Craig Larson motioned to enter into Closed Session pursuant to the Missouri Revised Statutes, Section , subsection (1); seconded by Thurman Brooks. With a roll call vote of Holston Black III - yes; Thurman L. Brooks - yes; Robert Goldson yes; Craig H. Larson - yes; and, Leona Lucas yes; the motion carried. The open session reconvened and adjourned at 10:42 a.m. with a motion by Holston Black III; seconded by Dr. Craig Larson. The motion carried and the meeting adjourned.

MINUTES CONFLUENCE CHARTER SCHOOLS BOARD OF DIRECTORS APRIL 1, 2016

MINUTES CONFLUENCE CHARTER SCHOOLS BOARD OF DIRECTORS APRIL 1, 2016 Board Members in attendance: Dr. Craig Larson, Vice Chair & Treasurer Jose Pineda, Chair Katherine Casas Rob Goldson Leona Lucas via