Board Meeting Minutes – 4.19.23

By Lake Country Classical Academy | April 19, 2023

LAKE COUNTRY CLASSICAL ACADEMY – BOARD MEETING MINUTES
APRIL 19, 2023

WEST CAMPUS – 818 WEST WISCONSIN AVENUE. OCONOMOWOC – 6 PM
(Upstairs Room #208)

Open Meeting:

Meeting was called to order at 6:02 p.m.
LCCA Board Member present: Kristina Vourax (President), Brian Hastings (Treasurer), Taryn Whipple, and Tim Peterson (virtual).
Motion to approve the meeting agenda by Taryn Whipple, seconded by Brian Hastings, motion was approved.

Citizens’ Forum:

An opportunity for any member of the audience to address the Board on a topic, provided it does not appear on tonight’s Agenda. Each speaker has a maximum of two minutes to address the board. Board members will not be able to respond tonight, or engage in dialogue on any topics raised, as they are not on the agenda.

Consent Agenda:

Motion to approve minutes from March 15 regular board meeting and closed session by Brian Hastings, seconded by Tim Peterson. Motion passed.

Discussion Items:

School Leader Report

Margaret Daigneau shared a revised monthly report highlighting key topics that better illustrate the school’s successes and areas/opportunities for improvement. The full school leader report is attached to these minutes. A few highlights include:

Authorizer Report

Kristina Vourax announced that LCCA’s new authorizer, the Waukesha County Executive’s office has hired a consultant to handle the backoffice/administrative authorizers duties: Wisconsin Resouce Center for Charter Schools (WRCCS). LCCA school administration will work closely with WRCCS beginning in July 1 of this year.
The WCE will be submitting the final/signed draft of the WCE-LCCA five-year charter agreement to the DPI by April 28, which will take affect on July 1, 2023.

Benchmarking Analysis
- Brian Hastings, Board Treasure, shared a financial data analysis that he did comparing LCCA to other Hillsdale College Member Schools. Objectives for this analysis –what is a considered a healthy amount of debt? How much fundraising will we need to take on to balance it? A $22 million bond at 6.25% interest rate works out to about 1.5 million per year, 17% per student, or $1,952. 15% per student or lower is more ideal.
- The full benchmarking analysis is included with these meeting minutes.

Action Items:

Public Commentary Policy (no no discussion or action took place regarding this policy – item has been tabled for a future board meeting.)

Treasurer’s Report:

Brian Hastings, Board Treasurer, reported that cash on hand at the end of March was $1.37 million and that LCCA should have $1.2M cash on hand by end-of-year. No need to draw on our line of credit. Private notes will be paid off by the end of May.

Committee Reports:

Finance – Brian Hastings, committee chair: the committee is reviewing and revising the LCCA Accounting Policies and Procedures and hope to present the revised policy to the board at the May meeting for approval. Margaret and Business Manager, Lori Kaari, are working on 5-year budget projections.
Policy & Curriculum: this committee did not meet in April.
Fundraising and Communications: Kristina Vourax, committee chair:
1. The TLC will be giving $4K to the school for a guest speaker, Leonard Sax, this coming fall.
2. The Liberty Gala ticket sales are now open, marketing is underway, and the budget is on track. More volunteers and items for the silent auction are needed. Email gala@lakecountryclassical.org if you can help.

President’s Report:

Kristina Vourax, Board President, reported on the following:
- Change in board membership: Tom Gehl, Board Secretary and most recently VP, recently tendered his resignation from the LCCA Board of Directors. Tom has played an essential role in governing our new school over the past two years and has been a pillar of strength and mentorship. We will miss Tom’s wisdom and dedication, and we wish him the very best. The board plans to fill two board vacancies with outside (non-LCCA parent) board members in the near future.
- Board Committees: the LCCA Board is suspending it’s committees until further notice. The Board is focusing its full cooperative attention and effort on our one-campus project and will bring back board committees at a later date with newly restructured purposes to future its work.
- One campus search: The Board has begun meeting in closed session every month (immediately after regular open meetings) to discuss updates on future one-campus property options. Although no decision shave been made, the board and school administration are evaluating a handful of possible options including existing facilities that would require renovations, as a well as construction options on vacant land. In addition, the board is evaluating various funding sources for this project to ensure the most viable and fiscally responsible path forward. The board’s ambitious goal is to have all K-12 students on one campus in the Lake Country area by the fall of 2025, and we will share as much information as possible as we are able. We are as anxious to figure this out as all of you, and we appreciate everyone’s patience and support!

Motion to go into Closed Session:

Motion was made by Tim Peterson, seconded by Brian Hastings, to go into Closed Session under Wisconsin State Statute 19.85 (1) (e): to “deliberate or negotiate the purchasing of public properties, the investing of public funds, or conducting other specified public business, whenever competitive or bargaining reasons require a closed session. Motion passed. Board went into closed session at 7:27 p.m.

Reconvene into Open Session:

Board reconvened into open session at 9:15 p.m.
Pros and cons of several one-campus facility options were discussed (some more viable than others). Financing options for the one-campus facility project were also discussed and will continue to be investigated. Once the facility and required funding has been identified, the Board will put out an RFP to several investment firms.

Adjournment: