APPROVED 02/27/18 New Mexico Connections Academy (NMCA) MINUTES OF THE GOVERNING COUNCIL MEETING Tuesday, January 30, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. MT Held at the following locations and via teleconference: 4001 Office Court, Suite 201-204 Santa Fe, NM 87507 and 4801 Hardware Dr. NE Albuquerque, NM 87109 I. Call to Order and Roll Call Mr. Boitano called the meeting to order at 9:08 a.m. when all participants were present and able to hear each other. The school location was open to the public. Mr. Boitano conducted a Roll Call. Governing Council Members Present: Governing Council Members Absent: Mark Boitano, (in person at Albuquerque location); Paul Gessing, Jerry Schalow, Anna Harb, and Patrick Chavez (via phone); MG Lupita Gurule; Guests Present: Justine Vigil, School Business Manager; (in person at Albuquerque location); Shannon Vasquez and Virginia Romero (in person at the Sante Fe location); Ramoncita Arguello, School Principal; Shawnna Sanchez, Katherine Peterson, Freda Daugherty, Laci Lockwood, and Craig Lockwood, School staff; Bryce Adams, Tanya Lee, Ray Lambert, and Kristin DeGroff, Pearson Online & Blended Learning (POBL) staff (via phone). II. Routine Business a. Approval of Agenda Mr. Boitano asked the Governing Council to review the Agenda distributed prior to the meeting. There being no changes, a motion was made by Mr. Schalow and seconded by Mr. Gessing as follows: RESOLVED, that the Agenda for the January 30, 2018 New Mexico Connections Academy Governing Council Regular Meeting, as presented, is hereby approved. III. Public Comment There were no public comments at this time.
IV. Oral Reports a. Principal s Report Ms. Arguello reviewed the Monthly School Report (MSR) with the Governing Council. i. School Operations Metrics Ms. Arguello reviewed the data included in the Governing Council materials, highlighting the school s performance as compared with other POBL partnering schools of similar size and years in operation. The Governing Council discussed the School Operations Metrics in detail with Ms. Arguello. b. Finance Report Ms. Vigil reviewed the school s financial statements in detail, including the check register, revenue and expense statements, as well as the school s forecast for the school year based on enrollment trends with the Governing Council. i. Finance Committee Updates and Recommendations for Approval 1. Approval of Connections Academy of New Mexico, LLC Invoices for November and December Mr. Schalow reviewed the November and December invoices as drawn from the financial report provided in the meeting materials, and reviewed earlier in the meeting. He advised that he reviewed the invoices and found them to be in order and asked the Governing Council whether they had any questions on the invoice or if any items required further explanation. There being no further discussion, Mr. Schalow made the following motion and it was seconded by Mr. Gessing as follows: RESOLVED, that the Connections Academy of New Mexico, LLC invoices for November, in the amount of $528,842.50, and December, in the amount of $536,119.17, as presented, are hereby approved. 2. Approval of LiveSpeech Invoices for November and December Mr. Schalow reviewed in detail the LiveSpeech Invoices for November and December, as provided in the Governing Council materials. He advised that the Finance Committee reviewed all item for consideration and recommended Governing Council approval. There being no further discussion, Mr. Gessing made the following motion and it was seconded by Mr. Schalow as follows: RESOLVED, that the LiveSpeech invoices for November, in the amount of $13,455.00, and December, in the amount of $14,282.50 as presented, are hereby approved.
3. Approval of Staff Conference Expenses: Leadership NOW Summit Ms. Vigil presented this item to the Governing Council. She advised that all staff lodging expenses that exceed the state allotment of $215 per night would need Governing Council approval. Ms. Arguello provided a detailed report on conference attendance for eight (8) staff members, and advised that the professional development opportunity aligned with the current School Improvement Plan. Mr. Schalow noted that several staff members would be sharing rooms to reduce the school s overall expenditure, and that the shared rooming cost for five (5) rooms placed the school well under the state maximum expenditure. There being no further discussion, Mr. Schalow made the following motion and it was seconded by Mr. Gessing as follows: RESOLVED, that the staff conference expenses for the Leadership NOW Summit, as discussed, are hereby approved. 4. Approval of Budget Adjustment Reports (BARS) a. NMCA_BAR#554-000-1718-0007-T 24101 b. NMCA_BAR#554-000-1718-0008-I 27107 Ms. Vigil reviewed the proposed budget adjustments with the Governing Council. She asked the Governing Council members whether they had any questions. There being no further discussion, Mr. Schalow made the following motion and it was seconded by Mr. Gessing as follows: RESOLVED, that the NMCA_BAR#554-000-1718-0007-T 24101, and the NMCA_BAR#554-000-1718-0008-I 27107, as presented, are hereby approved. V. Consent Items Mr. Boitano asked the Governing Council members whether there were any items from the Consent Items that they wished to have moved to Action Items for discussion, or tabled. There being no items removed from the Consent Items, a motion was made by Mr. Gessing and seconded by Mr. Schalow as follows: RESOLVED, the Consent Item: a. Approval of Minutes from the December 22, 2017 Special Meeting; b. Approval of Revision(s) to the 2017-2018 School Year General School Handbook: Clubs and Activities Policy; c. Approval of Revision(s) to the 2017-2018 School Year State Specific School Handbook: Graduation Requirements and Alternative Pathways; d. Approval of the 2018-2019 School Year General School Handbook; e. Approval of the 2018-2019 School Year State Specific School Handbook; and f. Approval of Safety and Security Plan; are hereby approved. VI. Action Items No items were considered at this time.
VII. Information Items a. Update on Staffing Ms. Arguello reviewed the Staffing report included in the meeting materials with the Governing Council and provided an update on staffing levels. b. Legislative Update Mr. Adams provided an update on the recent legislative activities in New Mexico, which may impact the school. c. Partner School Leadership Team (PSLT) Update Mr. Lambert presented to the Governing Council on behalf of Pearson Online & Blended Learning s (POBL), School Leadership Team, and advised that he would present Ms. Arguello s mid-year review during the Executive Session. VIII. EXECUTIVE SESSION a. Pursuant to 1978 Section 10-15-1(H)(2) to discuss the hiring, promotion, demotion, dismissal, assignment or resignation of or the investigation or consideration of complaints or charges against any individual public employee: Mid-Year Review of School Leader b. Pursuant to NMSA 1978 Section 10-15-1(H)(7) Attorney-Client Privilege: Pertaining to threatened or pending litigation in which the public body is or may become a participant Upon a motion made by Mr. Schalow and seconded by Mr. Gessing and confirmed vial roll call vote, the Governing Council entered into Executive Session at 9:58 a.m. pursuant to NMSA 1978 Section 10-15- 1(H)(2) to discuss the hiring, promotion, demotion, dismissal, assignment or resignation of or the investigation or consideration of complaints or charges against any individual public employee: Mid-Year Review of School Leader. Governing Council members present during the Executive Session were: Mark Boitano, Jerry Schalow, Paul Gessing, and Anna Harb. Guests invited by the Governing Council to attend were: Bryce Adams, Ray Lambert, and Kristin DeGroff, all having attendance rights. All others left the meeting at this time. [Mr. Lambert left the meeting, and Ms. Arguello re-joined the meeting at 10:29 a.m.] The Governing Council continued their discussion in Executive Session pursuant to NMSA 1978 Section 10-15-1(H)(7) to discuss Attorney-Client Privilege: pertaining to threatened or pending litigation in which the public body is or may become a participant. At 10:44 a.m. the Governing Council resumed open session. No action was taken during Executive Session. [Ms. Sanchez, Ms. Vasquez, and Ms. Romero rejoined the meeting at 10:44 a.m.]
IX. Approval of Action(s) Necessary Based on Executive Session Mr. Boitano reviewed the conversation as held during Executive Session, highlighting the need to conduct a Request for Proposal (RFP) process for additional legal counsel support. He advised that the Governing Council intended to continue to engage Ms. Fox s legal counsel for all Charter Renewal Appeal related matters, and that a secondary firm was necessary for all general legal matters. There being no further discussion, a motion was made by Mr. Schalow and seconded by Mr. Gessing as follows: RESOLVED, that the Governing Council Chair as Designee to obtain RFP s for secondary legal counsel to assist in general legal support; and to review, finalize, and execute a legal counsel Contract, as discussed, is hereby approved. X. Adjournment and Confirmation of Next Meeting - Tuesday, February 27, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. MT Mr. Boitano noted that the Governing Council was at the end of its agenda and that the next meeting is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, February 27, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. MT. At 10:50 a.m., a motion was made by Mr. Schalow and seconded by Mr. Gessing as follows: RESOLVED, that the adjournment of the New Mexico Connections Academy, Inc. January 30, 2018 Governing Council Regular Meeting, as discussed, is hereby approved.