Centennial Academy

Finance Committee

Regular Meeting - Wednesday October 18th, 2023 @11:30 AM

Meeting Minutes

Attendance Summary

Name Status Arrival Time Departure Time
Renee Glover present chair On Time At Adjournment
Aquaria Smith not present member
Allison Toller present member On Time At Adjournment
Eric Pinckney present Non-voting Administration On Time At Adjournment
Steve Pressas present Non-voting Administration On Time At Adjournment

Meeting Minutes

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BUDGET, FINANCE AND FACILITIES COMMITTEE (COMMITTEE) OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF CENTENNIAL PLACE ACADEMY, INC. (CA) HELD ON OCTOBER 18, 2023

Committee Members Renee Glover, Chair, Allison Toller and Eric Pinckney attended the meeting. Jessica Olowoyo, Head of School, and Steve Pressas, Chief Financial Officer, Julien Siah, Head of Operations, and Jasmine Spencer, Administrative Assistant to the Head of School, were also in attendance to support the Committee. Derrick Gervin was not able to attend the Meeting. Jessica Story and Cindy Ethridge, Partners of Warren Averett, CPAs and Advisors, were also present at the invitation of the Committee. Warren Averett has been contracted by CA as the certified independent accounting firm to conduct the audit of CA’s financial statements for its 2023 fiscal year. Ms. Glover acknowledged that a quorum was present and called the meeting to order at 11:35am. Before turning to the business of the Meeting, Ms. Glover acknowledged that Jessica Story has been promoted to become a partner at Warren Averett and will be the lead partner on the CA account. Ms. Story is the lead partner on the audit of CA’s FY 2023 financial statements. She also acknowledged that Cindy Ethridge, also a partner at Warren Averett and the former lead partner on CA’s account for the past nine years, had announced that she was retiring from Warren Averett in December 2023. Ms. Glover thanked Ms. Ethridge for the outstanding work that she had performed for CA. She went on to say that CA’s strong financial performance and standing were due, in part, to the thoughtful and strategic guidance provided by Ms. Ethridge and her firm. Ms. Glover also thanked Steve Pressas, for his outstanding leadership and service as CFO of CA since its inception. She also thanked the other members of the Committee, Ms. Olowoyo, Mr. Siah and Ms. Spencer for their leadership and service. Ms. Ethridge thanked the Committee and the Senior Leadership team of CA. She also made some remarks reflecting on her service at CA and the progress made to date. Ms. Story also thanked the Committee and the Senior Leadership team.

REVIEW OF THE AUDITORS’ REPORT ON THE CA FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE FY 2023

Ms. Story presented and reviewed the Auditors’ Report on CA’s financial statements for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023. She stated she was pleased to report that Warren Averett will issue an unmodified opinion. She also stated that there were no significant findings, conditions, material weaknesses or significant internal control weaknesses. Ms. Story provided a detailed report highlighting areas of interest. After extended discussion, the Committee determined by general consensus that it would recommend to the full Board of Directors that the Warren Averett Auditors’ Report be accepted. Ms. Story will present the Auditors’ Report to the full Board at the upcoming CA Board of Directors meeting on October 23, 2023.

CA’S FINANCIAL REPORTS FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2023; OCTOBER STUDENT COUNT; RENEWAL OF CA’S CHARTER; AND FACILITIES

Mr. Pressas reported that he had circulated the unaudited financial reports for the three months ended September 30, 2023. In response to a question from Ms. Glover, he stated that CA’s financial position remains strong, and CA continues to be in compliance with the Charter financial requirements as of September 30, 2023. He went on to state that CA must closely monitor its student count, which as of the October 10 measurement date was 722. Ms. Olowoyo stated that she would address the October student count in greater detail at the full Board meeting.

Discussion was had concerning the upcoming Charter Renewal process, which Ms. Olowoyo stated will be discussed in greater detail at full Board Meeting.

Discussion was had concerning various Facilities matters, including exploring options to replace the Learning Lofts at the appropriate time. Mr. Pinckney, Mr. Pressas and Ms. Olowoyo agreed to explore various options and come back to the Committee with recommendations at a later meeting.

No formal action was taken by the Committee on any of the foregoing matters.

Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Meeting was adjourned at 1 pm.

The Meeting was Adjourned

The meeting adjourned at approximately 12:28 pm

Motion to adjourn

There was no notable discussion on the motion.