Board Meeting Minutes – 12.08.21

By Lake Country Classical Academy | December 8, 2021

Lake Country Classical Academy

Regular Board Meeting
December 8, 2021, 7 p.m.
LCCA West Campus, 818 W. Wisconsin Ave, Oconomowoc

Minutes

President Kristina Vourax called the meeting to order at 7:01 PM. All Board members were present excepting Brian Hastings and Ali Schweitzer. Tim Peterson participated in the meeting via phone connection.

  • Motion made by Tom Gehl to approve the Agenda – Motion was approved.
  • Motion made by Tom Gehl to approve Minutes of November Meeting – Motion Approved
  • Comments in the Citizen’s Forum were offered by Tonia Froling, Andrea Hayse, Holly Buchwald,and Jacob Peterson.Creation of Brokerage Account with Edward Jones:
  • Motion made by Tom Gehl to approve creation of a brokerage account with Edward Jones. Said account is for the purpose of accepting gifts to LCCA in the form of securities or other non-liquid assets. Motion included the granting of authority to the Board President to sell and liquidate said assets.
  • Tim Peterson requested the specific language of the agreement, and Tom Gehl accepted this as a friendly amendment to the motion.
  • Motion approved – the entire agreement was presented to Board members, and is included for the record with these minutes.Leadership Report:

• Interim Principal Margaret Daigneau presented the report, a copy of which will be included with these minutes for the record.

Accounting Policies and Procedures Manual:

  • Dan Fuhrman presented a draft of this manual.
  • Motion made by Tom Gehl to approve the draft for forwarding to the Department of PublicInstruction by December 10, 2021, with the understanding that a finalized draft withmodifications would come before the Board at a future meeting for final approval.
  • Motion ApprovedCESA Five Proposal for Accounting Services:

• A video that was pre-recorded by Brian Hastings was presented by the Board President.

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It outlined the provision of Skyward software, accounting services, and payroll, at a cost of

$4,975 per month.

  • Motion made by Dan Fuhrman to approve this expense and enter into agreement with CESA 5for the provision of said services.
  • Motion Approved.Proposal from Excel Engineering:
  • A proposal from Excel Engineering for initial conceptual design of a new, greenfield school facility was presented by Dan Fuhrman, at a cost of $12,000.
  • After Board discussion, it was agreed to table this matter until another proposal(s) could be obtained.
  • No motion was forthcoming. Treasurer’s Report:

• Kristina presented this report via a pre-recorded message by Brian Hastings. Following were the highlights of that report:

  1. True start costs were identified, totaling approximately $500,000 for buildings and $300,000 for curriculum and operational costs.
  2. A run rate for monthly operating costs was identified.
  3. A projected operating deficit of $242,000 was identified for the 2021-22 year.
  4. The need for $300,000 in fund-raising was to close a gap in the operational budget forthe 2020-21 school year.

Finance and Facilities Committee Report:

  • Potential sites and properties for future facility needs are being evaluated.
  • The potential of using mobile classrooms (pods) is being evaluated.
  • The purchase of a used, 12-passenger van for transportation is being evaluated.
  • Firms to conduct auditing of LCCA’s financial systems are being evaluated.Fund Raising and Communications Committee:
  • Update on work of Legacy Committee and various paths of fund raising.
  • Update on marketing efforts to support enrollment.
  • Update on planning for Gala fund raiser in February of 2022.Board President Report:
  • Kristina Vourax took the opportunity to thank staff and school leadership for their prodigious efforts since the beginning of the school year.
  • A family and faculty/staff satisfaction survey will be sent to all LCCA families in mid-December. Survey results/highlights will be shared at the January board meeting.

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• Date for January meeting was confirmed to be January 5, 2022. Meeting Adjournment:

  • Motion made by Tom Gehl to adjourn.
  • Motion passed – meeting adjourned at 8:37 PM.

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LCCA Principal Report to Board of Directors

December 8, 2021

GOVERNANCE DECISIONS, MONITORING, AND ACCOUNTABILITY

Current Significant Issues/Opportunities – elsewhere in agenda Matters of Approval – elsewhere in agenda
Risk and Charter Compliance Update:

  1. School Goals – in progress
    1. Math Growth Y1: 55% of all students who take the fall and spring NWEA Map Assessment will meet projected growth in math.
    2. Reading Growth Y1: 55% of all students who take the fall and spring NWEA Map Assessment will meet projected growth in reading.
    3. Professional Development for Faculty & Staff Y1: All new teaching staff will attend “new school” teacher training at LCCA (Aug. 2021); Principal attends annual school leader training at Hillsdale College (Feb. 2022); all teachers will participate in at least one PD training per year specifically designed for classical education; tracked by attendance logs.
  2. Hillsdale Partnership
    1. Hillsdalecertificate,photo
    2. Hillsdale zoom calls: Literacy Essentials x2, Student Services, monthly check-in
    3. Confirmed registration for School Leaders Conference and Job Fair (Feb. 6-9, 9-11)
    4. Hillsdale consultations

3. Finance

  1. Enrollment – currently 399 students, East 212; West 187
    1. November 10 Enrollment Information Session, Tours East
    2. December 2 Enrollment Information Session, tours East & West
    3. Considering potential seats opening to current waitlists in certain grades
  2. Contracts
    1. PowerSchool service contract – Dec. 7 Snapshot complete
    2. CESA5 agreement
    3. Snow Removal Service at East
    4. Johns Disposal Service – East dumpsters
  3. Dec. 6 receipt of state deposit

4. Academics and Student Life

  1. Close of Quarter 1 (11/24); Start of Quarter 2 (11/29)
  2. Calendar change and updates – extended Thanksgiving break, no early release starting in January
  3. Report Cards sent December 1
  4. Attendance – PowerSchool, homeroom only
  5. Student Services, Special Education Compliance

i. Compliance:

  1. 35/37 students in Environmental Code “A” (80% or more in regular education setting) – State of WI Goal = 70% of students in code “A”
  2. All timelines are currently compliant.
  3. All of our students are receiving the OT, PT, Speech, and Vision services as outlinedin their IEP plans.

ii. Progress Monitoring/Data Collection:

  1. Progress reports were sent home with report cards.
  2. EasyCBM to be purchased for RtI (Response to Intervention)
  3. Total Students
    1. 504s – 10 students
    2. IEPs – 37 students
      1. 24 students receive Speech/Language Therapy
      2. 23 students are seen by Special Education Teachers
      3. 8 students receive Occupational Therapy
      4. 2 students receive Physical Therapy
      5. 1 student receives Vision consult

c. Initial d. RtI

Evaluation/Referrals: 2

  1. Tier 2: 4 students
  2. Tier 3: 0 students

4. Pending: 1 referral, 2 RtI requests, expected parental feedback from report cards iii. Highlights:

  1. Speech/Language Impairment, Other Health Impairment, and Specific Learning Disability continue to be our three highest areas of disability.
  2. The special education department has restructured at West to better meet the needs of students and utilize our current resources.
  3. IEPs will continue to be updated to reflect student needs at LCCA.
  4. Staffing Update: Current Occupational Therapist and Assistant are not able to meetour growing needs. Mary Beth, OTR (also from Rehab Resources) will transition into the new role this week. Current staffing meets the needs and IEPs of all of our students; however, there is minimal room for growth without hiring additional personnel.

f. Curriculum Updates

  1. Final order for main materials completed
  2. Remaining need for classroom libraries/book collections for independent leveled reading in K-6 classrooms

g. Discipline

i. Current situations – general interactions among 5th – 9th students (topics of conversation, kindness, respect)

h. Culture

  1. Wacky Wednesday – $800+
  2. Wednesday, November 10 – “An Evening of Classical Conversation”
  3. Veterans Day assembly at East and West
  4. Liberty Leaders club partnership with VFW – Operation Christmas Care – service project
  5. December 7 TLC Meeting with Ms. Daigneau
  6. December 10 Faculty/Staff Christmas Gathering

INFORMATIONAL

1. Matters of Note:

  1. Facilities
    1. Plumbing at East and West – DONE
    2. HVAC at East – in progress; still significant heating issue
    3. HVAC at West – recent heating issue discovered with cold temperatures
    4. Front door fixed at East
    5. Flagpole fixed at East
    6. Successful Fire Drills (November and December)
    7. Shuttle – oil change, emissions test
  2. Professional Development
    1. November 17 professional reading and discussion (The Elements of Teaching: Authority)
    2. Hillsdale Zoom opportunities
    3. 1.5 hr Powerschool Training Wednesday, December 1
  3. Human Resources
    1. Hires: Mr. Peter Knapp (Facilities Supervisor); Mrs. Nancy Woods (Latin)
    2. CurrentNeeds:Extendedoffertofull-timeMath
    3. Likely Needs: 1 Special Education Teacher, 1-2 Special Education Paraprofessional, 1 Speech Therapist
    4. 401k
      1. Gallagher is short-staffed due to a resignation and is trying to allocate a resourcetoward correcting our plan documents and compiling the employee communicationmaterials.
      2. T. Rowe cannot move forward with preparing our employee portal until they havereceived these documents. Expecting an update Mon or Tues by end of week.
      3. Paycom is at the ready to set up the payroll feed from Paycom to T. Rowe, but iswaiting on plan documents as well. Employees will be able to enroll via Paycom as they do with all of their benefits but will make investment selections and changes on the T. Rowe employee portal.
  4. IT
    1. 100 chromebooks for testing prepared; 3 damaged upon receipt, sent back for warrantyrepairs, returned fully functional
    2. NWEA Map setup – January 3rd PD for teachers, testing complete by end of January
  5. Upcoming Events
    1. Tuesday, December 14 – 5th-9th Band&Orchestra Christmas Concert @ 6:30p.m., East
    2. Friday, December 17 – Red&Green Casual Day
    3. Tuesday, December 21 – K-9 Classical Christmas Concert @ 6:30 p.m., East
    4. Thursday, December 23 – Sunday, January 2 WINTER BREAK
    5. Monday, January 3 – All Staff Professional Development Day
    6. Tuesday, January 4 – Students return