Back to Basics Charter School Foundation, Inc. Board of Directors Meeting Wednesday, December 10, 2014 6PM TCMS Café Minutes Approved at the January 14, 2014 Meeting In attendance: Mrs. Tiffany Sperry, Ms. Lynne Volpe, Mr. Gil Schisler, Bonnie Salazar, PhD, Ms. Alba Mas, Mr. Peter Wengertsman, Mr. Dave Andreychuck, Mrs. Ruby Anderson Absent: Lew Kirk, PhD, Mrs. Nancy Hutson, Mrs. Carol Hines-Cobb, Mr. Vinny Medero Call to Order Ms. Alba Mas called the meeting to order at 6:03PM. Public Comment on Agenda Items None Approval of the November, 2014 Minutes Ms. Alba Mas asked for approval of the minutes. Mr. Schisler moved for approval; seconded by Ms. Volpe. The board then voted unanimously to approve the minutes as written. Treasurer s Report Mr. Gil Schisler (Attachment #1) Principal s Report Ms. Tahvia Shaw Holiday party was held last Friday at the Shivers home; thank you to the board for the $100 gift 6. Faculty Report Mr. Peter Wengertsman (Attachment #2) 7. PRA Report Mrs. Ruby Anderson (Attachment #3) 8. Committee Reports Development and Finance Oversight Mr. Gil Schisler reported. The committee did meet. There are no financial concerns to report Food truck rally will be held on Feb. 20; presale will begin on Jan. 6 Dr. Salazar reviewed upcoming grant opportunities provided to Ms. Shaw. TCMS only received 2 TT grants for about $500; Ms. Shaw expressed disappointment about this, considering there is money left in the budget Governance Mrs. Tiffany Sperry reported. The committee did not meet. Building Ms. Alba Mas reported. The committee did not meet. Academic and Standards Ms. Lynne Volpe reported. Conference night was successful. For future, a discussion was held about adding information to the contract alerting teachers that conference night, open houses, etc. are expectations for working at TCMS. Changes related to teacher evaluation are on the horizon. It is troubling that there are many subjects where there is no assessment available for charter schools. There are test banks available, but the questions available for traditional public school teachers may not apply to charter school teachers. At this point, Ms. Shaw is pulling together assessment questions, which is not ideal. A plan is required by 12/31. A meeting among Charter school principals regarding this issue is planned for tomorrow, 12/11. Ms. Shaw intends to ask for a waiver.
9. New Business There was no new business. 10. Old Business There was no old business. 11. Public Comment None 12. Adjournment Ms.Mas called for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Schisler motioned; seconded by Ms. Volpe. The board voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 6:32PM. Minutes taken by Bonnie Salazar, PhD Minutes respectfully submitted by Bonnie Salazar, PhD, Board Secretary
Attachment #1 Back to Basics Charter School Foundation, Inc. Terrace Community Middle School Finance Committee To: BTBCSF Board Members & Finance Committee From: Gil Schisler, Treasurer Date: 12/07/14 RE: November 2014 YTD Operating Results ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ These results, as outlined in this report are based on unaudited financial data, and as such is to be used for informational purposes for management only and is not intended to convey Foundation financial data to the public. Revenues: YTD revenue total $2,202.8k versus the plan of $2,145.6k, for a variance of $59.9k. FTE and capital funding are favorable by 75.2k, comprised primarily of favorable FTE payments YTD. Student revenues are slightly behind YTD plan. YTD revenue are still strong. Expenses: YTD total spending totals $1,936.7k vs the plan or $ 1,982.9k for a variance of 46.3k favorable. Nothing of concern at this point. F&D will advise Board if there are issues developing. Net Asset Changes: YTD Net asset changes are of $268.9k versus the plan of $162.7k. Favorable variance of $106k from the combination of increased revenues and reduced expenses. Cash Balances: Cash balances and working capital liquidity increased by $13k MOM to $1,463k. Of the cash balances $1,022k is encumbered by the bonds and associated mortgages. The balance of $441k is available to meet current foundation needs. The next Series A bond interest payment of $ 141,450 k and the final Series B bond interest payment of $1,380 is scheduled for May 15, 2015. The final principle payment of $ 40k on the Series B taxable bonds and the first principle payment on the Series A non taxable are also due on November 15, 2014. These are all covered in the encumbered funds balances and are funded monthly with our mortgage payment. All required tax obligations and bond covenant filings are current and up to date. Respectfully submitted, Gil Schisler
Attachment #2 FACULTY REPORT TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS DECEMBER 10, 2014 Gratitude was expressed for this year s holiday bonus from the Board. 3D Art: Mrs. Miller We are currently making clay whistles in 3-D art class. The students LOVE doing this project and trying to get their whistles to actually work! They do this with a lot of help from me, but all the clay whistles do actually make a sound when we are finished. 6 th grade Language Arts: Mrs. Hopper Students have turned in their Poetry Portfolios and they look awesome! The portfolios showcase our students mastery of figurative language and are an opportunity for them to express themselves creatively. I am blown away by the quality of the work demonstrated by the students this year. They clearly have a love of writing and a way with vivid imagery. 8 th grade Health: Mrs. Cannady Students are applying their knowledge of nutrition. Students will be analyzing their usual food item choices at various fast food restaurants. They will do some comparison with various fast food outlets and determine what items can be labeled as healthy. They will conclude with a summary of their findings. Sports news from Mr. Negron As we wrap up our basketball season, both our JV teams have finished with great seasons, while our varsity teams for the first time get ready for playoffs. Our girls JV team had a shorter-than-usual year with some tough opponents and finished with a 2-3 record and our boys JV team finished with a record of 5-2 with 3 of those wins in exciting overtime games. Our boys varsity finished ranked in 1 st place after the regular season and have a bye to the 2 nd round which will be held on 12/10. If the boys make it all the way, they will play in the championship which will be held at Lutz Prep on Monday, Dec. 15 at 4:30. Our girls varsity has 2 regular season games left, and their playoffs start next week on Wednesday, Dec. 17. If they make it all the way, the championship will be held on Friday Dec. 19 at Lutz Prep at 4:30. Girls soccer is our next sport up, and tryouts are being held this week.
Attachment #3 PRA Report to the Board of Directors December 10, 2014 The TCMS Teach-in took place on November 21st. The key note speaker was Aaron Littles, inspirational speaker. He was very well received and delivered a motivational presentation to all grade level students. In addition to the keynote speaker, we had nine speakers assigned to 6th grade level. Nine speakers for 7th grade level. Six speakers for 8th grade level. The speakers came from a diverse list of companies to include American Express Travel, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Stormwater Engineering, Suncoast Credit Union, US Army, USF, Walt Disney Company, etc. We even had a local police canine division present an exciting demonstration. Each speaker was stationed in a classroom and each grade level rotated around a schedule of presentations. PRA provided a continental breakfast and light lunch for speakers. The brunch was outstanding as a result of generous donations from the TCMS Parents. In addition to the speakers, we were able to serve the TCMS teachers and administration. The SGA were ambassadors for the event. Each SGA student was assigned a speaker to escort throughout the event. SGA followed up with thank you cards to each presenter as well. Last Monday, PRA had a planning session with the Sub-committee for the Family Fun Night scheduled for February 20th. Family Fun Night will be open to TCMS families, friends, and community. We will have food trucks, live music, silent auction and fun activities such as rock climbing walls, outdoor movie, and glow in the dark activities. More detail will be shared with the Board at the January Board Meeting.