Board Minutes Feb 10 2022
Board Meeting Notes:
Call to Order: 6:05
Peter Hegalbach, Lucas Ketzer, Allyson DeSart, Rachel Buckley, Bryce Carlson (legal advisor), Mike Tadros, Karen Wolfer, Ryan Conrad, Elizabeth Parady, Adam Brink, Lynn Pency, Brooke Bell, Mike Ashmore, Julie Layne, Mercedes Gitter, Jess Hogan, Micah Schwalb, Aubrey Demmon
Absent: Stacy A.
Timekeeper: Peter
Process Observer: Ryan
Introduction and Invitation for Public Comment
Elizabeth Parady: Governance – communications at Horizons, central repository, how to make things “must read”, how to break down where sources of emails, link for council and what topics will be covered, council had 75+ people after two emails
Mike Ashmore:
Consent Agenda: Approved
Notes: Approved
Role of Council/Governance
Bryce Carlson advised us on charter, bylaws; point out areas of concern, existing structure, best practices, Q&A
The governance model at Horizons is unique, authority is a concern for Bryce, the council having authority on decisions internal to the school, councils ability to approve the charter contract, unanimous approval from council, CDE or state board level – board consider the role of the council in those arenas.
Rachel – question about other schools and the role of council
The vast majority of schools do not have voting members like our council, usually, it is a board 5-7 members, self appointing
Any change to bylaws would require the council to be engaged.
Lucas: the board doesn’t have authority to take responsibilities away from the council
Dialogue and buy-in from the council that we’re all on the same team.
Adam: powers given to council were based on its smallness initially, our charter shouldn’t be in the hands of a large body, maybe?
Peter: not just size, but communication of information, required knowledge to make the decisions (20-25 dedicated people/families)
Allyson: what to consider besides charter renewal
Decision Making and concordance: unusual number (even, and more), potential conflicts of interests when staff is on board, (most charters aren’t teacher-led), changing council’s decision-making ability would be subject to the concordance model, bylaws provide board with ability to break a stalemate,
Lucas: what changes can we take on
Sunshine laws: staff board members recuse themselves from certain conversations
Bryce: there are areas of concern re: sunshine laws
Mike Tadros: should we talk about a formal process of addressing these issues? Based on Bryce’s suggestions?
Head of School Updates:
Operational goal: to keep students in school, keep goal in place, financial
Rachel: Come to agreement on goals tonight
Add the topic of safety to operations goals?
Goals/evaluation going out to community? Peter: goals go out that are relevant to community
Mike: motion to approve goals subject to minor editing while keeping with the spirit of the goals, editing to be done in committee, approved,
Hiring process: been solidified, few vacancies to fill, April or May meeting approve new hires, executive meeting over the summer to approve new hires,
Vacancy – Board Treasurer:
Lucas: pitch to learn about school finance, how school is operating, looking for volunteer, Adam volunteered
Finance Review Committee:
Shared notes from last meeting, we’re going to come close to breaking even this school year in terms of revenue vs expenses, long term forecasting (5 year), anticipated to continue to draw down our reserves, wild card: what PPR is going to be, top projections 5.3% increase in revenue, proposed budget for next year: unspent arts//music/movement/experiential learning roll over to next year,
Front Office salary schedule: district salary schedule used; recommend to move over to BVSD salary schedule, more transparent than Horizons,
Mission, Vision, Values Update & Discussion:
The term teacher led being part of our mission. (it’s already in our strategic plan). More power as a foundational pillar than as part of our mission. Is teacher led operationally significant to the mission of creating students who are self-directed. Wordsmithing putting teacher led: responsibility and out of mission: Jess proposes. approved.
Process Observer: Ryan – people volunteered, lots of communication, really good questions, made decisions effectively, overall great job
Adjourn: 7:43