Mike Fedewa

Ben Currin

Kate Alice Dunaway

Simon Johnson

Alfred Bryant

Sandy Carmany

Nancy Farmer

Zoe Locklear, Associate Superintendent, Leadership Development & Special Services

Otho Tucker, Director, Office of Charter Schools

Carl F. Pridgen, Consultant, Office of Charter Schools

Jackie W. Jenkins, Consultant, Office of Charter Schools

O’Linda Williams, Admin. Assist. Office of Charter Schools

Laura Crumpler, State Attorney General’s Office

Paul LeSieur, Director, School Business

Linda Ivy, Accounting II, Auditing and Charter Schools

Scott Douglass, SIMS

Chairman Mike Fedewa called the meeting to order and extended greetings to those in attendance.

A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes of the May 15, 2003 Charter School Advisory Committee Meeting. The motion passed. The minutes were approved.

Chairman Mike Fedewa requested a motion to move into executive closed session for attorney client privileges. The motion was made and seconded. The Committee met in closed session with Attorney Laura Crumpler.

A motion was made and seconded to return to open session. The motion carried.

Paul LeSieur, Director, School Business updated the Committee regarding the financial and reporting status of Wayne Technical Academy, a charter school that was approved in 1998 and is located in Wayne County. At the time of his report, Mr. LeSieur reported that the school administrators had submitted the revised information to the Local Government Commission (LGC) which found that the information acceptable. The LGC has not received a copy of the final revisions submitted by the charter school. He will be contacting the LGC to get the most recent revisions.

Mr. LeSieur stated his concerns regarding the school’s late reporting. As a corrective action, Mr. LeSieur proposed developing steps that would include a checklist of procedures that would ensure that Wayne Technical Academy submits reports in a timely manner. Reports that are regularly late include student accounting information reports and SIMS data reports.

Dr. Tucker updated the Committee regarding the June 4-5, 2003 State Board of Education Meeting. The SBE approved the request of Orange Charter School to remove itself from the oversight o the F.R.E.E. Board. The Charter would be held and governed by The Public Schools of Choice Inc. nonprofit.

The members of the SBE have questions regarding the Guilford Early College Application. The main question centers on the requirement for the Guilford Early College teachers to be employed by the charter school. The SBE wanted time to investigate the question and ruled to take action of the Guilford Early College application at its July 9-10, 2003 meeting.

Carolyn Foxx, Alternative Learning Programs presented an overview of the recommendations for alternative learning programs that will be presented to the SBE. The proposed recommendations are intended to strengthen the Alternative Learning Programs and would include certain charter schools that meet specific guidelines.

Ms. Foxx presented the following criteria that would be taken into consideration to determine if a charter school is eligible for Alternative Learning Program evaluation status:

Ms Foxx concluded by sharing that the Charter School Advisory Committee would recommend the eligibility of a charter school to be evaluated under the Alternative Learning Programs model. Schools that the CSAC deem eligible will be forwarded to the SBE for approval and inclusion in the ABCs as an alternative school.

A motion was made and seconded to accept the recommendations presented for the inclusion of charter schools in the ABCs alternative schools model. The motion passed with a vote of six (6) for and one (1) against the proposal.

Dr. Tucker reported that the SBE requests that the CSAC review its original decision regarding the renewal status of Wayne Technical Academy. Chairman Fedewa reviewed Wayne Technical Academy history of reporting issues that resulted in the schools recommendation for a one-year delay.

Mr. Paul LeSieur, Director, School Business presented the following information to the Committee:

The Wayne Technical Academy accountant submitted the schools’ audit to the LGC on May 22, 2003. This audit was received and accepted by the LGC. The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has not received a full audit report.

Mr. LeSieur added that if the Committee recommends renewing the school’s Charter, a stipulation should be added regarding the school’s reporting practices. To assist the school in developing and improving its reporting practices, Mr. LeSieur proposed developing a list that outlines all reports that are due and a checklist to serve as a guide to ensure that the school improves its reporting practices. Any recommendation forwarded to the SBE regarding the renewal status of Wayne Technical Academy should have the stipulation that all required reports should be submitted in a timely manner.

Mr. LeSieur reported that the Schools Business staff would correspond monthly with Wayne Technical Academy officials to assist them in meeting reporting deadlines to improve the pattern of late reporting. Mr. LeSieur clarified and identified several reports are regularly late. These include the monthly financial report and the Student Information reports.

Chairman Fedewa sought clarification as to whether the Committee would consider renewing the Wayne Technical Academy charter with the caveat that the school would comply with all DPI reporting requirements.

Chairman Fedewa extended an invitation to Mr. Jerome Shipman, Acting Director, Wayne Technical Academy to respond to Mr. LeSieur’s comments.

Mr. Shipman elected not to respond to Mr. LeSieur’s statements but rather provided his perspective of the matters in question.

According to Mr. Shipman, he received a receipt from the LGC indicating that the audit was accepted at the time it was submitted. He admitted being slow on some reports more recently due to the death of a member of an employee’s family. Other reports were late but he was unable to name them.

Mr. Shipman reminded the Committee that the renewal application was denied based on the audit, not other financial matters. He argued that the audit was received by the LGC and was considered acceptable at that time.

Mr. LeSieur stated that a full audit report from the LGC is needed at this time. The Department does not have that report.

After hearing the report from Mr. LeSieur and comments from Mr. Shipman, Chairman Fedewa stated the renewal options:

1. Maintain original recommendation with one caveat that all reporting timelines are followed to the letter;

2. Non- renewal or

3. Renewal under the leadership of new people, since Mr. Shipman has stated he is leaving with the same stipulation that all reports are submitted in a timely manner.

A motion to recommend non-renewal was made and seconded. The motion failed with a vote of 3 for non-renewal of the charter, 2 opposed the motion and 2 abstained from voting on the motion.

Before a second motion and vote, Attorney Crumpler clarified that it the obligation of the body to vote on the matters that come before the board. A review of the procedures showed that the 3 to 2 vote met the majority vote required for passage. A point was made that a majority of those voting is necessary for passage.

To clarify the vote, Ms. Sandy Carmany, Member, moved for reconsideration of the prevailing vote. The motion was seconded and passed with a vote of 4 in favor of reconsidering the vote and three against the motion.

Another motion was made to recommend non-renewal of the charter. The motion was seconded and carried with a vote of four(4) in favor of the recommendation of nonrenewal, two (2) opposed the motion and one abstained due to lack of background information to make a decision.

Dr. Tucker provided background information as it relates to the conflict between the SABIS Management Organization and the Guilford Charter School Board of Directors. He reported on his visit to the school for the purpose of gathering insight into the conflict that exists between the entities involved. From what he gathers, the biggest concerns seem to be that of communication between the school’s board of directors and SABIS and a lack of trust between the two entities. Most of the problems are process problems that can be solved by working out the details that outline how to manage and move information to the appropriate parties.

The current board came together without the benefit of board training. Such training may be beneficial.

Dr. Tucker also pointed out the contract between the board and SABIS expires in June 2004.

Chairman Fedewa stated that the concerns from the Committee’s standpoint relate to the status of the school’s Charter if SABIS withdraws its contract. If the management company withdrew, that means a substantial material change in the charter that was originally submitted.

With such an action, the Committee would need to hear from the Board detailing its plans for offsetting any changes that would occur if SABIS withdraws it contract.

Representatives of SABIS Education Management Organization were present to address questions and to provide insight into the concerns that have arisen. SABIS representatives indicated that the company is willing to fulfill its contract with the school and they feel that the conflicts that are occurring can be resolved with proper mediation and board training.

Chairman Fedewa presented the following summary of the situation with SABIS and Guilford Charter School as a point of clarification.

1. The viability of the board that is in place – SABIS representatives confirmed that there is a viable board

2. The arrangement between the board and SABIS is going to continue through next year. SABIS representatives stated that it is their intention to fulfill the contract through the next year. SABIS representatives clarified that they could not speak for the Guilford Charter School Board.

Sandy Carmany, CSAC Member reported on the meetings she attended by invitation of the parents and after obtaining support from Dr. Tucker. Ms. Carmany feels that if the Guilford Charter School Board of Directors would be well advised to work things out with the SABIS Management Company. The parents and students want to keep the school open and there are members of the community with board experience who are interested in serving on the board of assisting in any capacity.

Chairman Fedewa requested that the minutes reflect that the SABIS board is committed to working with the school to fulfill its contractual obligations through next year at which time it expires. Representing SABIS were Derrick Shelton –Regional Operations Director and Jose ____, Director of Governmental Affairs.

Mr. Paul LeSieur and Dr. Otho Tucker updated the Committee regarding East Winston Primary School and the concerns related to financial and governance matters. The use of the credit card, which seemed to have some expenditures that were excessive and the viability of the school’s board of directors were discussed.

Other concerns include the More at Four Program and the 5^th Grade private school entities that may be funded using state and local funds. These concerns stem from charges for entities that are not specifically for the state approved charter school, but are charged to the credit card and paid for with state funds.

According to Mr. Bonham, the American Express credit card belongs to all of the entities under the East Winston Primary School Corporation nonprofit.

Copies of invoices of expenditures were requested on May 9, 2003 but not received as of the date of this meeting. Other concerns include the management and reporting of SIMS data that may potentially show that students were funded who were not authorized to be in the charter school K-4 program. There appears to be undocumented movement from a funded grade to a non-funded grade, duplication of student records and under aged students. Duplication of student records in some respects have the same name but different birthdays.

Chairman Fedewa invited Mr. Jimmie Bonham, Executive Director East Winston Primary School to address the concerns that were presented by Dr. Tucker and Mr. LeSieur.

Mr. Bonham introduced Mr. Mikal Muhammad as Board Chair and Ms. Tameka Hardy as Secretary of the Board and explained the manner in which he became a member of the board. He proceeded to give a historical overview of the school’s road to financial solvency regarding the debt with the IRS.

Mr. Bonham explained the process that was followed in the recruitment of new board members to replace the former members that resigned or did not show up for meetings.

According to Mr. Bonham, the school now has nine capable board members as of 4/28/2003 who have met up to four times since the election of the new board. The recruitment process involved sending letters home to parents by students, teacher and parent recommendations, as well as advertising using various mediums.

Mr. Muhammad was given the opportunity to respond to concerns raised by Mr. LeSieur and Dr. Tucker. According to Mr. Muhammad, this was the first time he had heard of the matters that were presented. Chairman Fedewa asked the board chair to discuss the board’s relationship with the Executive Director and overall progress the board is making in addressing some of the issues that have been raised regarding credit card expenditures, funding of the private school and student membership.

He restated that he is the new board chair and has been in the capacity for two months but has not heard these concerns come up until the present time. Mr. Muhammad is the parent of a rising kindergarten student at East Winston Primary School.

Mr. Muhammad stated that it was a good relationship. He disclosed that Mr. Bonham is a voting member of the board. Mr. Bonham said that there is a conflict of interest clause that addresses any potential for conflict.

Chairman Fedewa asked the board chair to respond to how the different entities work at the school, which includes the More at Four Program, the private 5^th grade, the pre-k program and the charter school. Mr. Muhammad did not have information as he restated his position as the new board chair.

Ms. Tameka Hardy, Board Secretary indicated that she has been on the board for 2 months and was not aware of any of the concerns that were being presented at this present time.

Questions were asked regarding the manner in which the private fifth grade is maintained and the tuition costs for the students enrolled in the school. According to Mr. Bonham, the students are not charged tuition. Chairman Fedewa inquired as to how the program is funded without tuition. Mr. Bonham said that many of the students have IEPs and are being funded through the federal government. When asked to identify the source of the funding, Mr. Bonham responded that the federal government is funding the student’s IEPs for approximately $3500 per child. Mr. Jimmie Bonham could not identify the source of the funds.

Mr. Bonham explained that one teacher is working in the private school program. When asked how the teacher’s salary is funded, he responded that the teacher works in a volunteer capacity. The funds are needed to pay for the space the private school students occupy. The volunteer private school fifth grade teacher also teaches reading in the charter school.

Mr. Bonham could not answer questions regarding SIMS. He noted that he does not manage SIMS. The person formerly hired to manage SIMS no longer has a contract with East Winston to serve in that capacity. Mr. Bonham felt that there was a conflict of interest between the former SIMS manager, Mr. Harry Harris and Ms. Lindy Harris, former Team Leader at the school who resigned. He feels that the relationship between Mr. Harris and Ms. Harris was still active in that Mr. Harris was communicating all of the business that was going on in the school to Ms. Harris.

Chairman Fedewa sought clarification regarding the Pre-K program, which is a private school Pre-K program does not work in the charter school. The program he stated is funded by the Department of Health and Human Services. There are approximately 30 students in that program. He also stated that none of the students were ever enrolled in kindergarten at any time during the year. The person with knowledge of whether these students were enrolled in kindergarten is the SIMS manager who no longer works at the school in that capacity.

When asked who signs the Principal’s Monthly Report (PMR) he stated that former Team Leader, Ms. Lindy Harris signed them and he only signed the 8^th month report due to the fact that Ms. Harris had resigned.

Chairman Fedewa suggested that the Mr. LeSieur and his staff go to the school and conduct an extensive financial audit of not only student enrollment but of the financial condition of the school including SIMS information to clarify any questions of dual enrollment.

Chairman Fedewa informed Mr. Bonham that if investigations results show that there are illegal operations; those would be reported to the appropriate authorities.

Chairman Fedewa reminded Mr. Bonham of the positive changes that appeared to have been in place when he came before the Committee two years ago. He noted that it pains him that these allegations have arisen after he demonstrated the potential to turn the school around.