Attendance/CSAC

Tannis Nelson

John Geil

Sandy Carmany

Michael Fedewa

Kate Alice Dunaway

Simon Johnson

Nancy Farmer

Alfred Bryant

Richard Clontz

JoAnne Woodard

Ben Currin

 

Absent: John Crowder, Tony Cozart, Arlene Ferren

Attendance/SBE/DPI

State Board of Education

Absent: Kathy Taft

 

Office of Charter Schools

     Jack Moyer, Director

     Jackie Jenkins, Consultant

     Joel Medley, Consultant

 

Absent:  Carl Pridgen

Attorney General’s Office

     Laura Crumpler

SIMS Consultant

      Scott Douglass

School Business

      Paul LeSieur, Director

 

Welcome/Approval of Draft Minutes:

Chairman Fedewa, when a quorum was met, called the meeting to order.

 

The draft minutes from the September 22, 2005 meeting were presented for review and approval.  A motion was made to approve the minutes by Sandy Carmany and was seconded by Nancy Farmer.  The minutes were approved without dissent.

Update:  Rowan Academy

Mr. Archie Jarrell, the board chair, and Franklin Downing, another board member, were present representing Rowan Academy.

 

First, the school’s first day attendance was 26 children; and since then, the numbers have risen to 55 (October 20, 2005).  Also, 4 more students are enrolling and will be at school on Monday, October 24, 2005.  Second, and in finance, issues are being resolved as all rent/wages are currently covered. Third, they are also applying for grant funding and offering fundraisers to assist in covering the existing debt.  Some additional funding will be coming to the school through the Food Lion Foundation.  Finally, the school’s business plan revolves around their staying open and satisfying the immediate, short-term goals (now through December 31, 2005). 

 

Chairman Fedewa reiterated that their huge deficit needed a certain number of students to break even, and he asked what was being done to cover the debt.  Mr. Jarrell responded that the school is continuing to seek money from contributors to make all the payments.  Their break-even point is between 85 and 90 students, so they are running a deficit at this time and need funds beyond state or local to cover that expense.  Nancy Farmer asked for the specifics on the debt, and Mr. Jarrell said the debt is approximately $75,000 without interest accruing.

 

Chairman Fedewa asked again about the school’s “drop-dead” date, which the school has not yet set but agreed to do so at the last meeting.  Ms. Carmany stated a concern that the business plan relies so much upon grants.

 

Mr. Johnson asked where the students have been coming from because their population has grown by more than 50%.  Mr. Jarrell said that students are coming because parents did not want their children to get further behind at their existing schools in the northern part of the county.  The school has been targeting the students that are behind in the LEA to attract them to Rowan and, thereby, raise their achievement levels.  Mr. Franklin explained how the school’s number are growing because of the success they are seeing and that Rowan Academy’s parents are talking so positively about the school.

 

Chairman Fedewa pointed out that the committee’s issue is not with school performance because the school has done well.  The issue is financial and the lack of numbers per the SBE policy.  Mr. Franklin stated that he has verbal financial commitments but those commitments are yet to be finalized.  Mr. Moyer asked if any of those commitments could be put into writing by a specific date to alleviate the comfort level of the CSAC.

 

Mr. Jarrell stated that every day the school is open they, as a school, must raise additional funds to prevent the debt from increasing.  He also added that the school can and will go ask for written commitments.  The question arose as to whether another extension can be offered.  Chairman Fedewa pointed out that furthering the process needs to focus on the transition of the children into the LEA schools because Rowan Academy may not survive.

 

Ms. Farmer suggested that the CSAC create a specific rubric for the November 10, 2005 meeting.  Sandy Carmany made a motion that the student numbers be at least 65 and that all promissory notes to cover the outstanding debt be in writing.  Their school’s deadline is to be November 9.  It was seconded by Tannis Nelson, and the motion carried without dissent.

Update:  Two Rivers Community School

Natalie Lewis, the board chair, and Jennifer Kearse, a board member, were present representing Two Rivers Community School.  As they were coming forward, Joel Medley walked the committee through the packet of information that outlines the history with the school.

 

Mr. Clontz asked as to why the principal was not in attendance, and Ms. Kearse responded that the principal has been dismissed from her position by the board.  The board members had not received any of the communication from the Office of the Charter Schools through the principal.  Chairman Fedewa asked a clarifying question – did the board know about the mandate from the Office of Charter Schools not to open.  The board did not find out until later, but they did operate on the letter from the attorney at ASU stating the Broyhill Center was acceptable for a school.

 

Mr. Moyer asked if the board retained an attorney.  Ms. Lewis and Ms. Kearse had not spoken with the attorney nor were they aware of the letters from the attorney.  Steve Rigell, a board member, had initiated the relationship with the attorney and relayed information – the way to keep the charter was to retain the attorney.  The attorney also advised them not to attend the September 22, 2005 meeting; so they followed his advice.  Chairman Fedewa asked if the board is presently retaining the attorney, and she said they are revamping – adding new board members, dismissed the principal, and Steve Rigell resigned.

 

The school has 83 children enrolled and believes the average will come to 80.  Ms. Kearse is serving as the interim principal and the board has met with a gentleman to see if he would be interested in taking the position at Two Rivers.

 

The board will fax the calendar, new list of the board members, and board minutes to the Office of Charter Schools.  Ms. Kearse did mention that significant turnover had occurred on the board and that was part of the issue.

 

The board mentioned that they did not know of the situation that had been taking place; and they were operating on half of the information.  Mr. Currin asked if something could be put into place for communication to get the information to the boards.  Mr. Moyer informed the CSAC that the Office of Charter Schools actively sought the contact info but did not get sent to them.  Further, the school had been through board training prior to opening.

 

Ms. Crumpler asked if they knew an attorney had been retained.  Ms. Kearse said that they knew Steve was having a conversation with an attorney.  The board voted that Steve would be the liaison between the board and the attorney.  He has not been paid by the board.

 

Mr. Moyer asked why the board did not call the Office of Charter Schools.  Ms. Lewis said that she had a phone conversation with someone, briefly, about the certificate of occupancy requirement.  Mr. Moyer asked why the Office of Charter Schools received numerous phone calls from parents but never a board member.  Ms. Kearse said they were operating on information from Linda, which furthered the non-communication issue.

 

Mr. Geil pointed out that this is a serious governance issue and asked that the school make an action plan, in writing, to the Office of Charter Schools.  If he has been fired as the board’s attorney, then would the liability of insurance be valid (attorney Adkins is listed as the policy holder).

 

Ms. Kearse explained that the first time they spoke to attorney Adkins was on Monday, October 17, 2005.  Mr. Adkins asked to be put on speaker phone and spoke about how hard the Rigells worked on the charter school.  They thanked him, ended the conversation, and then moved forward with their meeting to dismiss the principal.

 

Ms. Dunaway suggested that this board go through board training again because of the turnover and issues that have arisen.  Dr. Jenkins agreed with the suggestion by Ms. Dunaway.  She also added that the board members that left during the planning year were over miscommunication between the board and the former director.  They were advised to not have the husband/wife relationship on the board nor would Linda serve as the director.  The husband did step aside from the board for a time; but upon his return, he nominated his wife to be the director.

 

Chairman Fedewa suggested several things – submit the requests from the Office of Charter Schools (i.e. new calendar, board names and contact info, verification of insurance, etc.), board training within a month, written action plan from the board, and the board to find if this insurance policy is valid.  The Office of Charter Schools will provide a report at the November meeting.

Renewal Concerns:

Visions Charter – the concern for the school, during this renewal phase, was the low enrollment numbers (56).  Mr. Willis, the new director at Visions, was present to provide some information.  He has been at the school for about 2 months and admitted the school is trying to change its image in the area while also attracting new students.  He admitted the budget is not as strong as it should be.  Mr. Moyer added that the certificate of occupancy was on the way to the Office of Charter Schools because he had a phone conversation with the inspector this morning.

 

Mr. Willis described the school population – largely a poor, white student population.  He has reached out into the Hmong and Hispanic populations of the area.  The school had some issues in the past and is still trying to change that reputation.  Chairman Fedewa asked about the number of board members, and Mr. Willis answered 5.  The board is presently looking for ideas to increase the enrollment; and Mr. Clontz said that the school has, in the past, had more than 200 children.

 

Chairman Fedewa charged Mr. Willis to get a plan in place, in concert with the board, to raise the enrollment.  Mr. Moyer asked for the plan to be in place one week before the CSAC meeting and have that emailed to the Office of Charter Schools.

 

Jackie Jenkins shared what happened at the school – claims of sexual abuse, kids being put in closets, and taping children to desks.  That information hit the newspaper and the students flocked away from the school.  Chairman Fedewa said that he needed to review the original charter, see why those children came to the school in the first place, and then began to work there.

 

Ann Atwater Charter – Chairman Fedewa commented that the school has been blitzing the paper with advertisements about open slots at their school, but Mr. Moyer pointed out some concerns that he has with the school.  Ann Atwater communicated with the Office of Charter Schools about waiting on an action plan, but no such plan was required by the CSAC.  Further, they did not submit a renewal last year; and if they do not receive a renewal this year, then their school must close as their charter will expire.

 

If the school is not above 65 students, then the school cannot be renewed; so discussion ensued as to the options available.  They have less than a month to get the numbers where they should be.  As Chairman Fedewa summarized:  “November is an up or down vote for them.”

 

A discussion followed on the tracking of late reports by the Office of Charter Schools.  Ms. Dunaway shared that when she was a principal she called for assistance.  The concern, with Ann Atwater, is that the school has a pattern of late reports and not asking for assistance.

 

Lakeside Charter – they school did resubmit their application to add the information on alternative assessment.  That information, on page 7 of their self-study, was presented to the CSAC.

Consultant Update:

Jackie Jenkins did not really have a report but listed some schools visited.

 

Joel Medley went over the Laurinburg site visit mentioning the positive and negative situations at the school.  He also provided a copy of his report and a reply from the Cynthia McDuffie for the committee’s review.

 

Karen Frazier did not have any financial issues; however, the second allotment will be available October 26.  She also has visited several schools offering financial training and listed some of those schools.

 

Mr. Moyer provided an updated on East Winston.  Their 10 day response period, thereby challenging the revocation, ends October 21, 2005; and without any response, the charter expires.  Mr. LeSieur readjusted the funding only for 13 students translating into $57,000 of state money for the year.

Minute Clarification:

Tannis Nelson made a motion to amend the minutes of the Sept. 22 meeting by inserting the reason for going into Executive session -- client /attorney privilege. The motion was seconded by Sandy Carmany carried unanimously.

Adjournment

Completing all business, the meeting was adjourned.  The next meeting is November 10, 2005 at 11am.