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Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting

   December 14, 2021 ● 6:30pm ● Creative Arts Classroom #202

1601 Turk St. San Francisco, CA 94115

VIRTUAL MEETING

Notice of Virtual Meeting - English ● Aviso de Reunión Virtual  - Español

Publish-to-web version of these meeting minutes.

A meeting of the Board of Directors (“Board”) of CREATIVE ARTS CHARTER SCHOOL (“CACS”) was held at 6:30 pm on Tuesday, December 14, 2021 at 1601 Turk St, San Francisco, California via a virtual meeting.

[2021-12-14] Meeting Notice & Agenda - English

[2021-12-14] Aviso de Reunión y Agenda - Español

The Spanish version of this document was translated using Google Translate, apologies for errors.

La versión en español de este documento se tradujo con Google Translate, disculpas por los errores.

Following are the minutes of the meeting.

Welcome & Check-in Eric T. and Janina

Meeting called to order at 6:33 pm

Name

Present

Absent

Board Members

Eric Talbert, President

X

Justin Amirault, Treasurer

X

Laura Farley, Staff Representative

X

Janina Floyd, Secretary

X

Grace Cortez

X

Manda Simpson

X  (745pm)

Staff Members

Fernando Aguilar

X

Maria Jenerik

                 X (642pm)

Jenny Kipp

X

Ann Ledo-Lane

                 X

Approve Consent Agenda =

This meetings agenda + Prior meeting minutes - Eric T. & Janina

[2021-12-14] Meeting Notice & Agenda - English

[2021-12-16] Aviso de Reunión y Agenda - Español

[2021-11-16]_CACS_Board_Meeting_Minutes__English_Draft

[2021-11-16]_CACS_Acta_de_la_reunión_de_la_Junta_Directiva__Español_Borrador

Board Member update;

Alecia  has accepted a job with SFUSD so she had to resign as a CACS board member effective immediately in order to prevent any conflict of interest and to assume her new role with SFUSD.  While she is no longer a board member, she remains a valued member of our community so we extend warm congratulations to her, and wish her well in her new role.

Public Comment on General Matters - Eric T.

Board actively listens to comments shared by CACS community members.

AB361: Ralph M. Brown Act

Vote on board meetings to be virtual or in-person due to covid

Motion to stay virtual for the next 30 Days.

Essential Question (EQ) & Sharing - Eric T.

Board members were asked to review and reflect on the Wheel of Privilege/Power  (from From Dr. Nathalie Edmond) as part of our ongoing work towards becoming an anti-racist board.  

Laura: I appreciate the visual, it is a great representation of who is closest to power and who is further away.

Fernando: Being an educator and leader at the school and an advisor to 20 students I think of myself and where I fall on this wheel.  I also think of our students and what I can do to help our kids, more than inclusion but celebrating who they are.  Understanding on the educator's side that it is my responsibility to uplift them, and empower them more.  On a personal level I can see where I have power in some places and more on the marginalized side in others and how that makes me feel, at realizing at times you feel like you have no power at all.

Eric: Some of this we think is visible and fluid but honestly much of this is not visible right away when getting to know someone we need to understand that.

Jenny: I echo what Eric said about things that may not be visible and also what aspects may change over time in a person’s life verus what is fixed and will never change.

Eric: We are all very different and complex people, we are not one or all of these things so we need to be aware and mindful of that.

Executive Directors Report - Fernando

Important Upcoming Dates

Enrollment Update

Covid- 19 Updates

Personnel Updates

CACS Update:

CACS/SFUSD Update:

Questions:

Justin: How long is the waitlist for Kindergarten? And have we emailed those on the waitlist?

Jenny: I can get the info on how long the list is.  We have emailed all families on every grade level who may have been at other schools or not accepted offers and some have withdrawn their applications so now we can reach out to those who are truly interested.

Janina: Can we test elsewhere or do we have to use the kits that are sent home?

Jenny: This is a program being put on by DPH and was designed to have minimal impact on staff so the data would be coming from one place where you would go online and input your data. While we want to be flexible and open but It would put more work on myself and Roberta if we are receiving test results from a wide variety of locations and could also cause delays in getting everyone back to school as we try to manage all the test results sent in through various tracking systems. We will encourage everyone to use the kits we send home and to follow that process.

Grace: Will we get the kits and all the testing information before the end of the week?  Or is it possible families will get this information over break.

Jenny: Yes. You will definitely get the kids and the information in the next day or two.  We have the kits and will send them home with students.

Laura: What about the kids who are leaving early for vacation and may be absent Thursday / Friday and miss getting a kit from school, are we able to get the kits to them at home?

Jenny: Yes, with what we had to do with remote learning and getting items and supplies to students at home I am sure we can get their kits to them over break.  The issue may be those who have traveled and may not get their test done in time because per CDC those who don't take the test should quarantine which is what we are trying to avoid with this testing process.

Laura: Will those who have not taken their test or able to turn in a negative test be allowed to return to school?

Jenny: This is not mandatory, we will have to talk about it and work out the details ourselves.  We can test students on site if we need to and we also need to keep in mind that cases in children are still less than adults so we will have to look at the statistics and use that data as we look at this situation and consider if any travel has occurred for the student.

Eric: Thanks Jenny for your efforts and if I can help in any way with distribution please let me know..

Eric N: Just data to share; By 2031 they are expecting enrollment to drop statewide by about 11% not just due to COVID but various other factors.

 

Finance Presentation -  Eric Noll (with EdTec) + Justin Amirault

December Financial Update

October Forecast and Multi Year Projection Interim Report submitted in Nov

October Forecast shared with the district =  $180K Loss

Multi Year Projection (MYP) shared with the district which is also at a deficit

On the Horizon for CACS - Dealing with the unknown

Eric T: I want to share a few things I am doing to help in the fundraising efforts and invite others to help. As board members we should be ambassadors, advocates, and askers.

Advocates - On Elm St. there is an everyday fundraiser flyer you can talk to other parents about while picking up and dropping off.

Ambassadors - Provide resources for those who can provide financial support.

Askers - Thank those who have given and ask them to give again and possibly increase the amount. Also working with Jenny, Janice, and Mel to get a list of those who have given in the past and are still a part of our community and ask them to give again.

Committee/Task Force Updates - Eric T.

 

Anti-racism:

Manda: Fernando, Grace and I met briefly and will have a meeting mid Jan with the committee members from the years prior to discuss how we want the committee to proceed going forward and what we would like the committee to work on.

Fernando: We also met with Chris P. who previously led the committee previously to get his feedback and learn from him.  We discussed some next steps and I think we did quite a bit of work this month.

Grace: The unity group’s main goal is bringing the group to the community so we will have the Unity function this month and hope to get people to come out and celebrate the holiday.

Teacher/ Staff:

Laura: Not much to share, committee is at a standstill due to lack of membership.   Perhaps Jenny, Fernando, Ann and I can meet to discuss what steps we can take to get more teachers and more community members to join the committee.

Development:

Janice and Melanie are no longer on the board but still acting on the development committee.

If you know anyone who has fundraising experience please let us know.

Facilities:

Jenny: Will spend time over break to ensure it makes sense to move forward with the new access points and test all of them.  Ongoing safety measures - filter changes, providing masks etc.

Finance:

Manda: Focus on Fundraising Efforts as a Priority.

Justin: Teachers have said they will reopen union negotiations in January.

Governance:

Eric T: Rescheduling the board retreat; looking at a date in February, no set date yet.

Recruiting more board members.

To join a committee you do not have to be a board member, community members are encouraged and welcome to help.

Questions on the updates from the board? None

Action Items - Next Board meeting will be January 18th

Adjournment - Eric T.

Adjournment 855pm

If any questions come up after the meeting please reach out to Eric T. or Fernando.