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 AT Conference Holston Black III Board Members not in attendance: Lance LeComb, Secretary Confluence Charter Schools Staff: Dr. Peter Kachris, Interim CEO Jeff Kuntze, Chief Financial Officer Terry Noble, Director of Human Resources Dr. Phil Kennedy, Director of Academics Dr. Louise Losos, Director of Curriculum Resource Dr. Jim Walters, Director of Professional Learning and Teacher Support Greg Allerdissen, Senior Accountant Mike Baker, Facilities/Transportation Marcy Dotson, Instructional Technology Nez Savala, Director of Public Relations John Klein, Director of Operations and Enrollment Angela Carpenter, Co-Principal, Aspire Academy Leslie Muhammad, Co-Principal, Aspire Academy Dr. Sonya Murray, Principal, Old North Campus Pam Davenport, Principal, South City Campus Dr. Matt Frederickson, GCAA, Head of School Dr. Laurie Milburn, ELL Coordinator Dr. Ronald Ferrell, Principal, Elite Academy Joleen Ploeger, Administrative Assistant, Board of Directors Guests: Margaret Hesse of Tueth, Keeney Law Firm Martha McGeehon, Saint Louis University Earl Simms, University of Missouri Paul Doerrer, BAFC Steve Langhorst Jennifer Adams Deborah Meng Many teachers/staff from CPA and South City Dianne Gray
Jose Pineda called the meeting to order at 8:03 a.m. Rob Goldson motioned to approve the Tentative Agenda of April 1, 2016; seconded by Dr. Craig Larson. The motion carried unanimously (6-0). Rob Goldson motioned to approve the Minutes of March 5, 2016; seconded by Katherine Casas. The motion carried unanimously (6-0). General Board Business Introductions and Public Comment Dianne Gray introduced Jennifer Adams as the new development coordinator for the GCAA Fund. Ms. Adams has 20 years of experience and will work to prepare a development plan. She announced an annual fund awareness event in May. Ms. Adams will provide a report at the next Board of Directors Meeting. A second public comment was made by Ms. Deborah Meng. She provided a memo from the South City Compton staff regarding a protest of the removal of the library and librarian from the South City Compton Building. Dr. Kachris will follow-up with administration. Governance Nomination and Election of New Board Member(s) Leona Lucas introduced Ms. Essence Owens. Ms. Owens submitted her application for nomination with the Board. Ms. Lucas recommended Ms. Owens for board membership. Dr. Craig Larson motioned to nominate Essence Owens for board membership; seconded by Katherine Casas. The motion carried (6-0). Committee Updates Academic Wrap-Around Services Dr. Phil Kennedy was asked to provide a summary of wrap-around services provided by Confluence during the February Board Meeting. Dr. Jim Walters and his team provided a compelling video documenting the journey that Confluence has had since the inception of these services. Leona Lucas challenged Dr. Walters to develop a plan by this fall to phase in all of the Confluence schools. Holston Black suggested this be added to the strategic plan currently being developed. Dr. Walters accepted the challenge and will be gathering his team in June to work on this plan. GCAA Advisory In Rhonda Holt s absence, Dr. Matt Frederickson shared news of a busy month for Grand Center Arts Academy. He highlighted upcoming events such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ; a chess competition; dance concert and GCAA s first prom.
Strategic Planning Dr. Louise Losos met with Dr. Keith Marty and Dr. Kachris to review the status of the strategic plan. There are five (5) planning committees. These committees are close to bringing this to a close. The plans are due to Dr. Losos by April 25. The full strategic plan will be presented May 3 rd from 4:30 8:00 pm. Each committee will take 25-30 minutes to present. Next, the Board will determine the guiding path going forward. Leona Lucas suggested a retreat session be scheduled for prioritization and implementation. Jose Pineda took responsibility for scheduling this retreat session. Finance January, 2016 Financial Mr. Greg Allerdissen reported the Confluence net change in funds as ($18,000). We are ahead of budget by $218K. Mr. Allerdissen highlighted note #6 of $126K in expenditures on food service equipment. Grand Center Arts Academy has a net change in funds of ($259K) with a variance of ($177K) behind budget. Mr. Allerdissen highlighted higher electric expenditures and $13K in security upgrades. The board inquired into the expenditures for student discipline hearings and the use of a hearing officer. This expenditure was not assigned to the GCAA budget last year, but it is now. FY2016-17 Budget Assumptions Jeff Kuntze continues to provide updates for the 2016-17 budget every month until it is brought before the Board in June. Two scenarios were provided; one with the inclusion of Pre-K funding and the other no funding for Pre-K. Old North, South City and the Aspire Academy will each have one section of Pre-K in 2016-17. Mr. Kuntze explained potential challenges in revenue. Jeff will be meeting with each principal for a third round of budget discussions later this month or in early May. New technology equipment in the classrooms has been a major focus in this budget preparation. Capital projects include new windows at South City; a new roof at Old North and fresh paint at the Aspire Academy. Additional staff will be added for the pre-k classrooms and at CPA for the additional seventh and eighth grade students. Pre-K Funding Pre-K funding was addressed earlier in today s meeting. Bond Refunding Status and Bond Underwriter(s) Recommendation Three evaluation summaries were provided for Bond Underwriting Services from Crews & Associates; Piper Jaffray and Stifel. Dennis Lloyd from Columbia Capital shared a memorandum providing their recommendation. They believe that a team consisting of Stifel as senior manager with Piper Jaffray as co-manager will provide Confluence Charter Schools with the underwriting team most likely to achieve a successful underwriting of the contemplated bond issue at the lowest overall borrowing costs. This recommendation will be presented to the Finance Sub-Committee on April 6 th for approval. Rob
Goldson motioned to accept the recommendation, contingent on the Finance Sub-Committee authorization on April 6 th ; seconded by Holston Black III. The motion carried. Action Items Bond Counsel Recommendation Mr. Kuntze announced plans to utilize Gilmore & Bell as bond counsel. Following some discussion, Rob Goldson motioned to approve Gilmore & Bell as bond counsel for Confluence Charter Schools; seconded by Holston Black III. The motion carried (5-0). Old North Roof Replacement John Klein provided a bid summary for roof repair at the Old North campus. Following some discussion, Dr. Craig Larson motioned to approve Mr. Klein s recommendation for John Beal to provide this service; seconded by Holston Black III. The motion carried (5-0). Policy 3170 and 3440 In order to stay compliant and per the request of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Policies 3170 and 3440 have been revised and reorganized to include the Perkins Grant and the Every Student Succeeds Act. Following the assurance of a review by the Perkins Office and our legal counsel, Dr. Craig Larson motioned to waive a second reading and approve Policies 3170 and 3440; seconded by Holston Black III. The motion carried (5-0). New Business and/or Updates Custodial/Maintenance RFP John Klein advised an RFP has been issued for custodial/maintenance services. Ten (10) companies responded and attended a pre-bid meeting. The Board discussed other options for maintenance. Mr. Klein will reach out to Robert Goltermann as an additional resource. Charter Renewal Sub-Committee Dr. Kachris met with Jeff Kuntze to discuss our upcoming charter renewal. Assignments have been delegated to members of the administrative staff for completion by the end of August. Friends of Confluence The Board of Directors for Friends of Confluence met Thursday, March 31. Board Member Burl Stamp and his wife have volunteered to lead a capital campaign for the Confluence schools. Dr. Pineda requested collaboration in the effort to support our schools. Mr. Robert Goltermann was nominated and elected as a new board member for Friends of Confluence. Friends of Confluence approved a new grant program for all six (6) of the Confluence schools. Notification of the new grant application and the rubric for scoring and selection of applicants will be provided to the principals. A deadline date for grant applications of June 1 has been set.
Other Business Communication/PR Update Andrew Goodin is a semi-finalist for the New Teacher Project s Fishman Prize for Superlative Classroom Practice. He is one of 21 applicants. Winners will be announced this spring. Patricia Henry, sixth grade science teacher at Old North, was selected as the 2016 Academy of Science St. Louis-Monsanto Science Teacher of the Year. She will receive her award on April 7. School bus safety is a priority for our schools. Schools were provided key messages and bus safety reminder cards prepared by transportation and public relations staff. Aspire Academy sent 23 fourth graders to the Sheldon Concert Hall to see Nothin but the Blues in late February. The Titans girls and boys basketball teams donated to the Susan G. Komen and American Cancer Society. Approval of Check Register Rob Goldson motioned to approve the check register; seconded by Holston Black III. The motion carried (5-0). At 9:48 am, Dr. Craig Larson motioned to enter into Closed Session pursuant to the Missouri Revised Statutes, Section 610.021, subsections (1), (2), (3), (9) and, (13); seconded by Rob Goldson. With a roll call vote of Rob Goldson yes; Dr. Craig Larson yes; Katherine Casas yes; Holston Black III yes; and, Jose Pineda yes; the motion carried unanimously (5-0). The open session reconvened at 11:08 am with a motion by Dr. Craig Larson; seconded by Katherine Casas. With a roll call vote of Rob Goldson exited at 10:25 am; Dr. Craig Larson yes; Katherine Casas yes; Holston Black III yes; and, Jose Pineda yes; the motion carried unanimously (4-0). Katherine Casas motioned to adjourn at 11:09 am; seconded by Holston Black III. The motion carried unanimously (4-0) and the meeting adjourned.