Welcome and Call to Order

Welcome and Call to Order @ 6:37pm.

Approval of Agenda

Approval of Minutes from Jul 31, 2024

The committee approves the agenda items.

Adjournment

Motion to adjourn the meeting @ 9:34

Executive Session

Personnel Matters

The Meeting was Adjourned

The meeting adjourned at approximately 9:34 pm

Ascertain a Quorum

Ms. Arnold, Ms. Walker, Ms. Wilhite, Ms. Young, Ms. Robinson, Ms. McKay, and Dr. Bostic were all present at the meeting. The roles during the meeting were:

• Ms. Arnold: Chair
• Ms. Walker: Vice-Chair
• Ms. Wilhite: Treasurer
• Ms. Young: Member
• Ms. Robinson: Member
• Ms. McKay: Member
• Dr. Bostic: Ex-officio

This information was not reflected in the meeting's summary report, as the minutes were submitted after the board roles had been updated in Charter Boards.

DPA Board Elections

All board members cast their votes to determine which member would assume each position. Before the voting took place, Ms. Walker provided a detailed explanation of the responsibilities for each role. The selections are listed below.

Board Chair- Ms. Young

Vice Chair- Ms. Arnold

Second in Command- Ms. Walker

Treasure- Ms. Wilhite

Secretary of Board- an unannounced DPA employee.

Secretary Representative- Ms. Robinson

Ms. Arnold congratulated all members and asked that Ms. Walker be named second in command in which there was a unanimous agreement amongst the board members. 

Finance Committee Report

Dr. Bostic explained the status of the audit. Dr. Bostic stated that the auditor is in the next phase which is writing the report. The auditor is waiting for the FY24 closeout. We are on track with the audit. They have everything but the FY24 closeout. The appraiser has completed their 2 day they are in the writing phase. We have an audit update for our next finance committee meeting.

(ESSR)Ms. Lee said that all the ESSR reimbursements have been submitted. They are in the process of being reviewed. Ms. Lee has submitted reimbursements totaling 1.5 million.

Janelle Wilhite asked if Dekalb County indicated how long it will take to notify DPA? Ms. Lee explained that DeKalb County did not indicate how long it will take to notify DPA.

July Financials

Ms. Lee gave an in-depth overview of the July financials.

Ms. Arnold asked for all surplus to be green on the financial spread sheet and all deficits be red. Ms. Arnold stated that we have spent 7% of our annual budget. Ms. Arnold stated that she would like to see a budget amendment once all the federal grants are in.

Ms. Arnold questioned the amount of money spent in the first month of the school year in which Ms. Lee confirmed it was an error that she will correct.

Mr. Dennis presented the company that he has selected to fix the broken water tower. Mr. Dennis stated that if approved the company can begin tomorrow with an approximate labor time of 2 to 3 weeks. Currently DPA only have one pump working which is affecting the flow of water in the school.

Academic Committee Report

Roberta Walker reported that the academic committee met on August 14, 2024. During the meeting, they discussed student enrollment, the hiring of a middle school teacher, and the need for potential tutors.

Dr. Bostic provided an overview of the MAP assessment and explained that both teachers and principals have been trained on how to interpret the MAP data. Dr. Bostic also mentioned that there will be a MAP training session during curriculum night to help parents understand their children’s scores.

Ms. Arnold inquired about strategies to ensure parents attend curriculum night. Dr. Bostic responded by sharing that Ms. Baker is organizing more activities to encourage greater parent participation.

Ms. Arnold also expressed interest in knowing the ratio of new teachers to experienced ones and how this correlates with MAP scores, as well as identifying returning students and their MAP score connections. Dr. Bostic said she would gather this information and include it in the board report.

Additionally, Dr. Bostic discussed the PEC (special education) department, confirming that all annual IEPs (Individualized Education Plans) are up to date. Ms. Robinson asked about the number of PEC students in co-taught vs. pull-out settings and whether the progress or regression of students in the Tier process is being tracked. Dr. Bostic explained that Mrs. West has this data, which will also be included in the report.

Dr. Bostic reviewed DPA’S progress in the corrective action plan.

Development Committee

Ms. Young reported that Development Committee met in August and discussed the Fall festival. The proceeds will go to the possible renovations of the gym. Ms. Young mentioned that fundraisers are on hold until further notice until the payment system is finalized. The committee is still working on partnerships. 

Governance Committee Report

Ms. Robinson reported that the governance committee met on August 21, 2024, discussed the current board calendar. Discussed the board retreat. They also looked into board training.

Ms. Robinson expressed that the organizational structure and staff contracts should be discussed in the executive session.

Public Comment

Ms. Dent asked if it is possible for the board members to have name tags to identify the board members.