Welcome and Call to Order

The Meeting will be called to order by the Chair.

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. Each member of the public may sign up to comment at the meeting, and will be allotted three minutes. 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.

There were no comments by the public.

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

Review of the November 19, 2019 regular meeting minutes

Principal's Report

Principal Mike Stewart updated the board on recent activities and news. Principal Stewart reflected on student enrollment numbers noting that 6 students are withdrawing, the majority of which are associated with family relocations outside of the attendance area. The board discussed TMS being included in the Georgia Department of Education TSI list including next steps; holistic staff and administration support on challenge areas; and potential resources for staff and students. He also shared early MAP growth data, noting the figures were preliminary.

Executive Director's Report

Executive Director, Dr. Katherine Kelbaugh, had numerous updates. School transportation options for some students via select bus routes are being explored. Further communication with the bus provider is necessary. Dr. Kelbaugh is working with TMS staff to identify funding needs and priorities to present to TMS Foundation. She also discussed recruitment efforts in advance of the next lottery as well as a DeKalb Charter School Department site visit.

Dr. Kelbaugh provided a review of TMS Foundation's recent activities, including their adoption of a new strategic plan as reviewed by the Governing Board during the winter retreat. She also reported on a joint meeting of the Foundation and TMS PTO where future roles, responsibilities and collaborations were determined.

Finance Committee Update

Board of Directors Treasurer, Katie Cota, began with a review of revenue, noting QBE and funds generated from Auction Night. Ms. Cota also reviewed expenses. She stated that a draft of a budget amendment is under review in the Finance Committee and will be presented to the Governing Board at a future meeting.

Attachments

• Summary-2019-12.pdf

Governance Committee Update

Governance Committee Chair, Jesse Lincoln, noted that Leah Dobbs and Katie Cota are ending their tenure as Governing Board members, effective January 1, 2020. Both will join the Advisory Committee. The contributions of both were discussed and both were recognized by the Board. The need for a new Treasurer was discussed.

Development Committee Update

Development Committee Chair, Leah Dobbs, noted a few fundraising activities and funder recognition efforts that the committee has underway. Ms. Dobbs was recognized again for her service to the Board, as her term comes to a close.

Ingrid Irby provided an Auction Night report. Over $130,000 was raised for school needs. Ms. Irby provided details as to how the total was raised across different aspects of the event. The potential to alter fundraising events in the future and communication about those changes was discussed.

Facilities Committee Update

Facilities Chair, Alan Locke, first presented two options for use of the Facilities Grant funds ($40,000) given that estimates for entire window and door replacement came in higher than the grant amount. Option 1: replace only the two middle bay of windows instead of all windows and doors; Option 2: full replacement of windows and doors, going over the grant amount and spending the difference of the cost from TMS budget funds. There is some cost savings from doing all of the work at once, including not having to create two sets of drawings and not going through two permitting processes. Mr. Locke noted that there is a timing element to expend the grant funds requiring action to begin very soon. The Board supported moving forward with Option 1.

Diversity Committee

Diversity Committee Chair, Christina Cassidy, provided an update on the data mapping project to aid with recruitment efforts as well as serve as a resource to the expansion discussion. She also shared that development of a new school website page devoted to diversity is being created.

Board Chair Update and Remarks

Outgoing Governing Board members were recognized a final time.

The Meeting was Adjourned

The meeting adjourned at approximately 8:58 pm