Centennial Academy

Governing Board

Regular Meeting - Monday June 27th, 2022 @5:30 PM

Meeting Minutes

Attendance Summary

Name Status Arrival Time Departure Time
Egbert Perry present chair On Time At Adjournment
Renee Glover present vice-chair On Time At Adjournment
Tequila Lamar present ex-officio On Time At Adjournment
Demetrius Patterson present member On Time At Adjournment
Panya Lei Yarber-King present member On Time At Adjournment
Walt Higgins present member On Time At Adjournment
Howard Grant present member On Time At Adjournment
Joseph Handy present member On Time At Adjournment
Christopher Burke present member On Time At Adjournment
Maurice Baker not present member
Virginia Sheppard present member On Time At Adjournment
Chaundra Gipson present member On Time At Adjournment
Allison Toller present member On Time At Adjournment
Aquaria Smith present member On Time At Adjournment
Rewa Berry present member On Time At Adjournment
Lizanne DeStefano not present member
Jessica Olowoyo present member On Time At Adjournment

Welcome Call to Order

Chair Perry called the meeting to order at 5:36 pm.

Approval of Agenda & Previous Meeting Minutes

Quorom required to proceed with motion.

Motion to adopt the amended agenda and minutes without correction.

By: Renee Glover Seconded by: Demetrius Patterson

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Chair's Remarks

Chair Perry briefly recounted the meeting with APS Superintendent Dr. Herring regarding the Board's desire to move from a conversion to a locally authorized charter.

Chair Perry expressed the sincerest gratitude for Ms. Lamar's service to Centennial Academy as a teacher to the Head of School and complimented Ms. Yarber-King for her leadership and service to the Board from the beginning. Chair Perry welcomed Ms. Olowoyo and looks forward to her tenure at Centennial. 

Public Comment

No public comment.

Finance Committee Report

Finance Chair Glover highlighted the Centennial's current financial outlook and proposed budget for the school year 2022-2023, and Ms. Lamar underscored areas of the budget linked to strategic goals. Mr. Pressas called attention to the 11-month YTD actual budget ending May 31, 2022.

Motion to approve FY23 School Budget.

By: Renee Glover Seconded by: Allison Toller

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Motion to approve four items discussed because of the absence of a quorum in May:

  • $3,500 for applications costs related to educational enrichment program scholars' trip to Peru
  • $31,000 for the selection of independent auditors to perform the audit and tax-related matters
  • $25,000 for 25 Centennial Academy legends who matriculated through Grade 8 at Centennial in 2018, and currently pursuing an undergraduate degree or a certification from an accredited college or university or technical students

By: Renee Glover Seconded by: Rewa Berry

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Governance Committee Report

Governance Chair Yarber-King reported on the Board's training status due by June 30th and reminded individuals to contact Ayana Clark with questions or issues. Ms. Berry reminded the members to complete the board assessment tool for the July Strategic Planning session.


Academic Accountability Committee Report

Academic Accountability Chair Patterson reported on Centennial's performance metrics from April and May against targets for attendance, standardized test scores, and other benchmarks.

Head of School Report

Ms. Lamar updated Centennial's 2021-22 target goals on academics, school culture, professional capacity, community partnerships, financial stability, and enrollment.

Chair Perry reported the investigation results from the personnel grievance discussed in the Executive session and proposed formal training and coaching facilitated by Human Resources with a clear delineation of roles and responsibilities.

Executive Session Call To Order

The Board can call this session to order to discuss records (or portions thereof) exempt from public inspection or disclosure pursuant to Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50, (OCGA 50-18-72).  If called, this will be a closed session.

Enter into Executive Session for discussion on personnel investigations regarding matter related to operations.

By: Renee Glover

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Moved to reconvene to the general Board meeting.

By: Renee Glover Seconded by: Howard Grant

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

The Meeting was Adjourned

The meeting adjourned at approximately 7:12 pm