Welcome and Call to Order

The Meeting was called to order by Board Chair Dr. Kelly Swinks at 7:05pm.

Mission: The mission of The Museum School of Avondale Estates is to inspire students, teachers and the community to collaborate to develop strong critical thinking, interpersonal and academic skills in our students, which will prepare them for real-world success.

Core Values: Responsibility, Respect, Cooperation, Sustainability, Creativity, Kindness

Public Comment

Our Public Comment period is for members of the public to address the board. The board will listen, but may not directly respond to any comments. Please do not use specific student, teacher or administrator names in your comments as our meetings are open to the public and public record. As such, if your comment is about a private matter, please contact the board via email, or speak to the board chair privately. Email Executive Director, Dr. Katherine Kelbaugh at Katherine.kelbaugh@themuseumschool.org for Zoom access to the meeting.

Public comment (no longer than one page) should be submitted via email to Katherine.kelbaugh@themuseumschool.org. Your comments must be received by 10:00 am on the day of the meeting. Only those emails received during the allotted time will be read aloud and broadcast. Emails received outside of the allotted time will be included in the Public Comments record for the next meeting.

No public comments were made.

Approval of Agenda

So that there is agreement between board members on the agenda, and the amount of time spent on the meeting, the board shall vote to approve an agenda for the meeting. To the best of its ability, it will follow that agenda, and allow for the chair to move the board through the agenda as specified.

Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes

Approve the previous meeting minutes.

Board Chair Update

Board Chair Dr. Kelly Swinks provided a brief update and then asked for a motion to move into Executive Session.

Principal's Report

Principal Mike Stewart was not in attendance but emailed a report to the Board.

• Review of 'Stay' interviews and 'Exit' interviews.
• At work preparing teachers to best support MTSS outcomes for students.
• Transition planning and readiness with teachers and staff for new TMS Principal.

Executive Director's Report

Executive Director Dr. Katherine Kelbaugh provided a report.

• Per the request from the Governing Board, The Foundation has voted to approve $71,485 to the school for roof work and this amount was transferred to the school on March 13th.
• May 2nd State of the School - Strategic Plan will be presented.
• Fun Run Explorer Dash this Saturday, March 25th.
• Art in the Park is Thursday, April 13th.

Finance Committee Update

Treasurer and Finance Committee Chair Andrew Tashiro provided a report.

• Decrease in QBE funding from Dekalb due to lower student enrollment numbers. This runs counter to our charter agreement and is part of the ongoing litigation.
• Variance in Personnel expenses due to the salary increases approved last year. This trend will continue in future months.
• $90k in ESSER grant money, mostly reimbursements for FY 22 expenses.
• $5k in floor cleaning, this was budgeted in January but hit in February.
• Good expense management with no other material variances of note.
• Healthy balance sheet with a sizeable cash balance.
• Given recent news about regional banking issues, TMS cash is collateralized and the finance committee believes it is protected in excess of FDIC limits. Andrew is meeting with our TMS banking representative to discuss any further risk mitigation strategies if needed and will communicate this back to the Board.

Facilities Committee Update

Facilities Committee Chair Jade Yang provided a report.

• Sports Court renovation.
• Annual training of PA system to be established.

Governance Committee Update

Governance Committee Chair Richard Piercy provided a report.

• Onboarding for new members was this evening, Tuesday March 21st at 6pm. Welcome new Board Members Monique Dukes, Sterling Johnson, and Cameron Lewis!
• TMS Board Open House, March 30th at 7:30pm in the Cafetorium.
• Asking people to submit their applications in mid April for anyone with potential interest in joining the Board.

Diversity Committee Update

Diversity Committee Chair Christina Cassidy provided a report.

• Dr. Kelbaugh presented to the Diversity Committee on the Lottery and the Jr. DEI Council, formed by TMS 6-8th grade middle schoolers. Diversity Committee plans to meet with Jr. DEI Council.
• We have seen an increase in the number of economically disadvantaged enrollment in the incoming kindergarten class. Dr. Kelbaugh will have enrollment numbers finalized for the next TMS Board meeting.

The Meeting was Adjourned

The meeting adjourned at approximately 9:01 pm.