BADEN ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Regular Meeting

December 8, 2014

Call to order

The meeting was called to order on Monday, December 8, 2014 by Mr. Sal Aloe at 5:00pm.

Roll Call

Present: Absent:

Mr. Sal Aloe

Mr. Rob Sacco

Dr. Pamela Rossi-Keen

Mrs. Marta Karwoski

Mr. Jerry Fleeson

Pledge of Allegiance

Motion to Adopt Agenda

A motion was made by Mr. Fleeson to adopt the agenda. Mr. Aloe seconded the motion and it was unanimously passed.

Approval and Signing of Minutes

Dr. Rossi-Keen motioned to approve the November 10, 2014 minutes and Mr. Sacco seconded the motion. It was passed with a unanimous decision.

CEO’s Report

Ms. Bensink reported that out of 118 charter schools in the state we were 38th. It isn’t where we want to be but it is great in as far as if they are looking to get rid of any charter schools we aren’t near the bottom.

Some good news is that the holiday concerts are coming up. The only issue we have is parking but we are resolving that by using a shuttle bus to Wal-Mart. We are getting some negative feedback about the limited tickets.

We received appraisals back. It is lower than the sisters wanted. They are refiguring the income based appraisal because they didn’t take into consideration that the majority of rent we pay the sisters is from the main school building. So they will redo that figure. Mr. Swartzmiller spoke to the board about expansion. The most important thing to do is explore Baden Academy’s future. Mr. Swartzmiller suggested that we should move ahead with “controlled growth”. This way we could handle all the classes while staying in this building.

Correspondence NNDS Monthly service report was presented.

Solicitor’s Report None

Executive Session Mrs. Karwoski motioned that the Board go into Executive Session to discuss legal and personnel matters, in accordance with Pennsylvania’s Sunshine Law, 65 Pa.C.S.A. § 701. Dr. Rossi-Keen seconded and it was passed with unanimous vote.

Mr. Fleeson motioned to exit executive session and it was seconded by Mrs. Karwoski and passed with unanimous vote.

Public Comment

Mrs. Lori Reese was there to talk with the Board about the gifted program and how the school was founded on being a leader and not a follower. Mrs. Reese felt that we were adopting things from other public schools like the grading system and then she was worried that we were going to be cutting out the gifted program. The Board re-assured Mrs. Reese that they were only discussing changing the gifted program, and have now decided to keep the program.

Financial Report

A motion to approve a – c of the financial report was made by Mr. Fleeson and Mr. Sacco seconded the motion. The decision was unanimously passed.

a. Recommend that the Board approve the attached financial statements as of November 30, 2014

b. Recommend the Board approve the list of invoices paid in November 2014 totaling $191,922.12 from the General Fund

c. Recommend the Board approve and sign checks for payment

Joint Purchasing

Mr. Fleeson motioned that the Board approve participation in the Beaver Valley Intermediate Units Joint Purchasing Committee for the 2015-2016 school year. Mrs. Karwoski seconded the motion and it was passed by a unanimous vote.

Personnel

Mr. Sacco motioned that the board approve the personnel report dated December 8, 2014. Mr. Aloe seconded the motion. The motion was passed with the remaining board members voting in favor.

Technology

Dr. Rossi-Keen motioned that we table a vote on approving a contract with NNDS for a new wireless system for internet access until Thursday and was seconded by Mr. Fleeson with a unanimous vote.

Mr. Aloe motioned that the Board approve the contract with Rubicon and was seconded by Mr. Fleeson. It is software that will aid the teacher to create lesson plans and it will help align curriculum with standards and it will house resources for teachers. There will be an onsite training for staff at the end of the school year at their in-service. It was passed by a unanimous vote.

Title 1

Dr. Rossi-Keen motioned that the Board approve the Parent Involvement Policy. Mr. Fleeson seconded. Jackie Ray explained that this is needed for our Title 1 program, it is standard policy. It passed with a unanimous vote.

Board Member Questions & Comments None

Adjournment

Mrs. Karwoski motioned to adjourn the meeting and was seconded by Mr. Sacco and it was approved by all.

Signed by:______

Dr. Pamela Rossi-Keen

Board Secretary