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Board Minutes Oct 14 2021

Board Meeting

Oct 14, 2021

6:00 to 8:00 PM

Introductions

Peter Hegelbach, Rachel Buckley, Mike Ashmore, Ryan Conrad, Lucas Ketzer, Allyson deSart, Aubrey Demmon, Jessica Hogan, Adam Brink, Stacy Acquavella, Karen Wolfer

Absent: Paul Ramer

Public attendees: Maggie Anderson, Jeanne Schutz, Lynn Pence, Elizabeth P, Jannell Eagan, Brooke Fritz, Micah Schwalb

Address the board for public comment

Brooke Fritz: Support motion to require vaccination for all Horizons staff. Similar to how most other workplaces-public and private-and other local school districts. Science is dictating that this is the correct thing to do. New study published Oct 1 demonstrates that the virus spreads more rapidly among the unvaccinated. Lower spread from a vaccinated person.

Micah Schwalb: even though BVSD opted not to mandate vaccination, we should at Horizons. We don’t let people into the building that are a danger to the community. There are children in the school that have disabilities. Need to be mindful of danger to the faculty. We should take steps to limit breakthrough infections. If we chat with people that are resistant then we might be able to get them over the hump.

Consent Agenda:

  • Approve Oct 14 Agenda
  • Prior Minutes: approved for Sept 9 meeting

Motion – Mike Ashmore

Motion to approve consent items, including prior minutes

Second –  Jess
Concorded

Head of School Updates:

Appreciating the staff for great forward momentum

  1. Curriculum and programming committees
    1. Assessing all students in math
    2. Adopting literacy curriculum
    3. Shoring up MTSS and G&T designation and programming
  2. Had our first EDB meeting
  3. Diving into a new comprehensive evaluation system for teachers based on growth and data

Music teacher will be starting teaching students next week on Tuesday

Sending out COVID updates weekly. Tracking similarly over the past few weeks. No major outbreaks. Vast majority of cases are caught early and those kids never came to school with it because families are doing a great job keeping cases isolated.

Strategic Planning Committee Update:

  • Jess provided an update on the process to date and shared her screen to show a spreadsheet to the different iterations of Vision, Values, Mission. Goal tonight is to come to closer agreement on vision and then values. What the board proposed and what faculty provided were very different
    • How can we capture equity and justice as a concept but rework to include key components that were included in prior feedback and to embody more parts of the original vision
    • Faculty will work on this Friday or Monday

Finance Review Committee: 

  • Got a true up from BVSD which reduces deficit
  • Revenue and spending are on track. Fund 11 is looking great. 5 year budget we are drawing down reserves but still financially viable
  • Council budget is tracking but might need to make modifications depending on which events we’re allowed to have
  • Tent donations. Working with current year capital construction funds. Getting more trees around the school, got parking lot stripes. Those funds were used to offset the costs of the tents so had less capital funds to use. They will be looking into selling some tents in the spring and reimbursing parents that made donations
  • Bonuses for staff 11/1 and 5/1. FRC parents approved. Paid for through BVSD funds that were reimbursed. 

Covid testing mandate

The Board is making a formal request to the faculty for the unvaccinated to voluntarily get tested weekly and submit their test results to Karen

What’s the highest level of integrity–attest or show us your vax cards

If this is not resolved by Monday, the Board will meet again for a special session

Meeting adjourned 7:55 pm