GREEN Charter Schools

1. Welcome/Opening Remarks

December 14, 2023 Meeting Started at 6:04 Ms Townes welcomes everyone and thanks all stakeholders Attendance

Members

Remote: Mandy Townes, Trishka Hornbeck, Tracy Kramer, Imtiaz Haque, Brittany Arsiniega (joined at 6:10pm)

Absent: Laurel Wiles, Judy Fairchild 

Notes: Location: Virtual

Guests

Remote:  Tom Cronin, Bobby Rollins, Timothy Watts

2. Public Comments (limited to three minutes per speaker, thirty minutes in total) No Requests for Public Comment

3. Approval of Agenda

Motion to amend agenda to remove line item #4, (Approval of Minutes from November 9, 2023), as Ms. Wiles is not present and was unable to circulate the minutes.

Motion to Amend – Dr. Haque

Second – Ms. Kramer

Motion to Approve Amended Agenda – Dr. Haque

Second – Ms. Hornbeck

Motion to Amend Agenda - Approved 4:0

Motion to Approve Amended Agenda - Approved 4:0

5. Committee Reports

a. Governance Committee

Ms. Townes states the committee did not meet in November.

b. Finance Committee

Ms. Townes states that this committee met on November 15 and met with the Director of Finance.  Discussion included the current budget, approval of finances and working on next year’s budget.

c. Infrastructure & Growth Committee

Due to Ms. Wiles' absence, Mr. Cronin will provide an update on this committee. Mr. Cronin states the focus has been on the Simpsonville campus.  A meeting with the Mauldin Zoning Board is tentatively scheduled for January 8, 2024, and the lease should be finalized in January.

d. Personnel Committee

Dr Haque states that there is no update to provide.

e. Election Committee

Ms. Kramer states that the Election was completed per the by-laws with no irregularities.  There were three unopposed candidates.  Voter turnout was low and going forward the emphasis should be for all parents/stakeholders to be involved, even if only to provide a vote of support.  Thanks was given to Dawn DeBoer for work to ensure the voting was a smooth process.

6. New Business

None at this time

7. Student Successes (Bobby Rollins)

Timothy Watt spoke with regard to the GREEN Upstate High School’s Youth In Government (YIG) delegation who attended the 2023 Youth in Government Conference in November and did exceedingly well.  Students were recognized for their achievements at the conference including “Outstanding Delegation”, “Outstanding Bill” and one bill made it all the way to be signed by the Youth Governor. 

8. Executive Director Update (Tom Cronin)

a. 2024-2025 Enrollment Update

Open Enrollment began December 1, 2023.  Credit is given to the Principals, who are the face of each campus, and others for the recruitment efforts.  Recruitment efforts include postings on GREEN websites, social media sites, school newsletters, participation in community parades, and on postcards.

Weekly meetings are being held to review enrollment practices and to learn from each other and work together to ensure success.

Ms. Townes asked about Intent to Return Forms and if there was an ability to indicate a request for a specific campus.   

There was discussion regarding how best to answer enrollment questions, and the possibility of a “point person” for enrollment questions, and Mr. Cronin indicated each campus office could be contacted.

Mr. Cronin announced plans to have a billboard on 385N for one month to advertise GREEN Charter Schools.

b. Financial Authorization – Action Item

With the hiring of Heather Plourde, Director of Finance, the Board was requested to re-ratify GREEN’s existing procurement policy to designate the Director of Finance have the same signatory authority as the Executive Director with regard to Article VIII and Article IX.

Motion to Approve: Dr. Haque

Second: Ms. Kramer

Approved: 5:0

c. Election Results

Mr. Cronin provided data that supported Ms. Kramer’s Election Committee report and appreciated all involved to ensure the election ran smoothly.  Special thanks to Dawn DeBoer for her help with the election.  Mr. Cronin congratulated the election winners who will be sworn into their Board member roll in January.

9. Adjournment

Motion to Adjourn – Ms. Arsiniega

Adjourned at 6:36 pm