|
| | | | Please join this meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone.
https://meet.goto.com/798037525
You can also dial in using your phone.
(For supported devices, tap a one-touch number below to join instantly.)
United States: +1 (872) 240-3311
- One-touch: tel:+18722403311,,798037525#
Access Code: 798-037-525
| | | |
|
Not available
|
|
| | 1. | | Roll call.
Minutes note: Meeting convened: 5:05 P.M.
Members present: Aycha Sawa, Kevin Ingram, Catina Harwell-Young, Desiree Pointer-Mace and Raynetta Hill (joined at 5:09 P.M.). | | | |
|
Not available
|
|
| | 2. | | Review and approval of the minutes of the November 1st meeting.
Minutes note: Ms. Sawa moved, seconded by Ms. Pointer-Mace, for approval of the minutes. There were no objections. | | | |
|
Not available
|
|
230151
| 0 | 3. | Communication | Communication relating to the 2023-25 activities of Milwaukee Academy of Science.
Minutes note: Anthony McHenry said they have over 1,400 students and over 2,000 applications each year, with 1,700 students stuck on a wait list. They would like to serve more of the kids on the northwest side of the city; the site is the old Penfield Montessori school. The additional site is within a mile of the current school and is permissible with the current contract. Their former students are now graduating college and there are just too few quality options on the northwest side of the city. He sees quality education as paramount to having a quality life. They will be serving kids at a younger age and then bring them up through their high school. They will serve 300 more kids next year and 600 over the next two years.
Dr. Lita Mallett said the current proficiency scores are a big priority and they are working on moving a number of students from the "below basic" to "basic" category and moving more students into proficiencies. This year they revamped coaching from the top down with their teachers weekly as they have a lot of brand-new teachers. They are also working on literacy focus with their K3 students and working on teaching their teachers on the science of literacy and how to teach it. Next year they will be work on improving their internal systems on data. Dr. Pointer-Mace asked how they are going to do all this this year and carry it into next year due to their high teacher turnover. The school will be doing a curriculum review, based upon Act 20, which will be being implemented, as well as focusing on coaching teachers on how to pull data and small groups. The coaching will continue over the next few years. Dr. Pointer-Mace suggested the school get parents involved in kids reading at home, possibly by starting with influential parents at the school. The school does give students points for reading, to obtain benefits or prizes.
Ms. Hill asked how the school is going to recruit qualified teachers for the new building. Dr. Mallett said they are hiring a principal now and the interviews have been going well. They are having a lot of interviews going on and she is the one doing the hiring. They have more teachers applying than they have time to interview. The goal is to have all teaching and teaching assistant positions filled by May 1st and they see that as very do-able. Some of the candidates have just finished their student teaching and they are working on pairing them with experienced teachers to make them into Lead Teachers and they are also working on pipelines for administrative positions as well. They are working on recruiting teachers of color; they met that goal within one year and they are working on retaining those teachers.
Tresca Meiling said they are also working on keeping their higher-education partners up-to-date so they keep the school in mind and they are also working with Leading Men Fellows, to encourage male teachers.
Mr. Ingram said this was the second year in the row that the Steering and Rules Committee has been more stringent and their main concern is academic performance. Mr. Ingram said this school needs to be in the range of "exceeding expectations" and their seems to be a lack of city/aldermanic support. Financially the schools are doing great and parents are knocking at their doors, but they need to demonstrate to the Common Council that these charter schools are working. He also wants them to connect with folks at DPI and other entities. Dr. Pointer-Mace encouraged the school to really praise and support academic learning and she also sees the city as being skeptical of supporting charter schools that are not better than MPS. The school does need to really, really improve academic in a year, then do it again and again in the following years. Dr. Mallett said the new school will result in a brand-new K5 class of students that they don't know and they will also be offered electives, to make school an enjoyable and safe space to learn.
Mr. Ingram noted that the Annual Audit was submitted late and a finding of a better review of segregation of duties. Mr. Ingram asked if more folks will be hired with the new school being added. Mr. McHenry said another full-time person is being added to the Finance Department.
Dr. Pointer-Mace moved, seconded by Ms. Hill, for approval. There were no objections.
| | | |
Action details
|
Video
|
|
230156
| 0 | 4. | Communication | Communication relating to administrative matters of the Charter School Review Committee for the 2023-25 school years.
Minutes note: Rupesh Gupta and Mary Goetter from ML Tharps present on this item.
Downtown Montessori - had a small deficit of $269,000 after several years of positive reserves, due to an increase in salary and benefits, as well as depreciation, interest expense and transportation costs. They placed a new building in service in April 2022, which affected their financials. They had $7,000 more in fundraising revenue. The average cost of students went up by approximately $3,000 per student. The audit was submitted on time and there were no significant findings and no issues over the school's ability to continue. They have complied with the city's monthly and annual reporting requirements with a few extensions requested and granted. The school is in excellent financial condition and is in compliance with the city contract.
Central City Cyberschool -- Their revenues decreased due to a PPP loan that was forgiven and decreased student enrollment. Their fundraising revenues have also decreased. Their deficit as a percentage of revenue is 3.3% and they have a cash balance of $1.2 million. The audit was completed on time and there were no findings or on-going concerns. The school was late with their monthly filings for a couple of months, with extensions requested. The school is in excellent financial condition and is in compliance with the city contract.
DL Hines - The revenues by $119,000 and they have an $87,000 surplus. The school continues to have a solid cash position and their current liabilities decreased by $54,000. The audit was completed on time and DL Hines has no issues continuing and there were no late reports. The school has solid procedures in place for financial compliance and is in compliance with the city contract.
Milwaukee Academy of Science - They had a deficit of $230,000 after several years of surplus, primarily due to repairs to the building and increased payroll costs. They had a million in fundraising this year, compared to $200,000 in the prior year. The average cost of students went up from approximately $12,000 to approximately $17,000 per student. The annual audit was completed late (December, rather than August) while there were no significant findings. The audit found one person had too many duties. The school filed 2 monthly reports late (extension requested) and the school is in excellent financial position and is compliance with the city contract. One person has been added to the accounting staff to take care of the concerns of one person having too many duties, with too little oversight.
Howard Fuller - They had significant surplus in revenues, primarily due to a donated building valued at $4 million. They had increased costs due to payroll and transportation costs. Average cost per pupil increased from approximately $16,000 to approximately $19,000. Liabilities increased by $67,000 due to building construction costs and total liabilities went up by $3.2 million due to the repair/new building costs. The annual audit was completed late, in December, due to management turnover. The findings were fine and there are no on-going concerns and the reporting requirements were met (but late for 3 monthly reports; one extension was not requested). The school has a sufficient financial management system and is in compliance with the city contract.
Milwaukee Math and Science Academy - They had a deficit of $108,000 and also had a deficit last year. Transportation was a big increased cost for them. The average cost decreased from approximately $17,000 to $15,000 per student. The annual audit was completed late, but there were no issues of the school continuing to operate. There were some issues of some bills showing up in Accounts Payable, even though they had been paid. There were 3 other issues, including non-reconciling of some accounts at year-end and lacking of the principal's signature on one document. ML Tharps will be testing their internal controls and are reviewing periodic reports, which showed they have been improving. They complied with reporting requirements, with 2 monthly reports being late with extensions granted. The organization has adequate procedures in place to ensure sufficient financial management system and is in compliance with city contract provisions. Mr. Ingram asked why the student costs decreased, but ML Tharp theorized might have been due to increased class size, they held their expenses better and they did not increase their payroll costs as much as the other schools.
Escuela Verde - They have very good financial reserves with a surplus of $117,000 and increased payroll and classroom supply costs. Costs per pupil increased from approximately $13,000 to approximately $16,000. Current liabilities increased by $170,000 due to a refundable advance for a 2023 fundraising event, that never happened, so contributions had to be returned.
The audit was completed timely and there are no issues with the school continued. All reports were filed timely, the school is in a good financial position and is in compliance with the city contract provisions.
Ms. Sawa moved, seconded by Ms. Hatwell-Young, to accept the draft report. There were no objections.
| | | |
Action details
|
Video
|