New America School-New Mexico

Governing Council

Wednesday January 13, 2016

4:30 PM

1734 Isleta Blvd

Albuquerque, NM 87105

Board Members Present: Paul Rael (President),Juan Vigil (Treasurer), Fred Silva (Secretary)

Regrets:Gladys Recinos (President-Elect),Rick Bela

Staff: LaTricia Mathis-Principal, Mike Vigil II-Business Manager, Patricia Matthews (GC Legal Counsel), Lorella Lovato (Assistant Business Manager), Paul Perez (Programs and Compliance Director), Dominic DiFelice-Superintendent, Craig Cook-CBO

Minutes of the GC

  1. The meeting was called to order at 4:37PM by Paul Rael
  2. The mission statement was read by Paul Rael
  3. Students of the month were recognized.Students of the month were introduced by staff and addressed questions asked by the GC. Recipients this month
  4. Sadia Dost
  5. Elsa Gonzales
  6. Armando Martinez
  7. Monique Maes
  8. Genesis Tarango
  9. Isaac Duran
  10. Marissa Alires
  11. Charity Casias
  12. Annabell Cruz Villa
  13. Modesto Duarte
  14. Nelly Sanchez
  15. David Romero
  16. Ismael Bustillos
  1. Moved by Juan Vigil and seconded by Fred Silva that the agenda be approved as amended (item #8 should read Performance Framework). Votes: Unanimous.
  2. Moved by Juan Vigil and seconded by Fred Silva that the minutes of December 9, 2015 be approved as amended (Fred Silva and Gladys Recinos were both present).Votes: Unanimous.
  3. Counsel Patricia Matthews reviewed the Open Meetings Act resolution and indicated changes made to last year’s resolution. Moved by Juan Vigil and seconded by Fred Silva that the GC rescind the OMA resolution2015-01-14-01 and adopt OMA resolution 2016-01-13-01. Votes: Unanimous.
  4. Craig Cook introduced Colleen Martinez who is responsible in preparing the FMP for the school. She reviewed key sections of the FMP by a power point handout. The plan has been reviewed by the State and very few issues were identified. Any and all concerns have been addressed. The GC provided a number of suggestions with language changes in the document. Sections of the plan will be reviewed by Counsel. Moved by Fred Silva and seconded by Juan Vigil that the FMP be approved with the suggested language changes. Votes: Unanimous.
  5. LaTricia reviewed the School Performance Framework and reiterated issues with the framework in its current state. Patricia Matthews concurred and pointed out other areas for concern pointing out significant changes to the present framework contract. Counsel prepared a resolution for the GC to review. After careful deliberation the GC determined it would not sign the Performance Framework but would adopt the resolution has presented by Counsel. Moved by Paul Rael and seconded by Fred Silva that the GC approve resolution 2016-01-13-02 approving the 2014-2015 Performance Framework for 2015-2016 and that the resolution be presented to the PEC for their approval. Votes: Unanimous.
  6. Paul Perez reviewed the Wellness Policy before the GC and pointed out minor revisions to the current Wellness Policy. Some language changes were suggested by the GC. Moved by Juan Vigil and seconded by Fred Silva that the GC adopt the School Wellness Policy with suggested changes. Votes: Unanimous.
  7. Juan Vigil discussed the need to renew our contract with the Lobbyist Domonic Silva. It will be for a shorter session. Moved by Fred Silva and seconded by Juan Vigil that the contract with Domonic Silva be renewed and a new fee be negotiated. Further the GC gave Juan Vigil authority to execute the contract. Votes: Unanimous.
  8. The Finance Committee met as normal prior to the GC meeting to discuss the financial reports ending 12/31/15 in depth. Mike Vigil II presented to the GC that all BARs for the purpose of maintenance and 1 BAR to acknowledge an increase in revenue for prior year’s expenditures were approved and reflected in the reports. 1 BAR approved by the GC was disapproved by the PED. The school has a new budget analyst who did not accept the backup documentation for this BAR which was for the purpose of matching the cash carryover projection to the actual amount per the draft audited financials. Mike stated that the same documentation has been used each year and been accepted by the PED for this purpose. He also stated that other charter schools have had their carryover BARs approved by different budget analysts using the same type of backup documentation. Mike is working on a number of different approaches to get this BAR through the PED as it is necessary to the budget process and he will report on his progress to the finance committee and GC in February. The bank reconciled to the GL at over $718k with activity account reconciling at over $5k. No BARs were presented. Moved by Fred Silva and seconded by Juan Vigil that the financial report be accepted. Votes: Unanimous.
  9. LaTricia reviewed the report card grade. She indicated there are a number of concerns regarding the scoring, In particular, the State is comparing growth of students using two different assessment instruments, viz. SBA last year and PARCC this year. The grade has been appealed and we will hear from the State by January 20th. To address the poor results, the principal working with staff has developed a detailed plan of action to improve student results.
  10. The Principal Report
  11. A parent and community resource center has been created by students to collect food and clothing to give to students in need.
  12. The PED has conducted a Food Services review and was extremely complimentary to staff on the school operation. Kudos to Paul Perez for leading this area of operation.
  13. 12-15 SAM principals will be meeting with Momentum Research to better understand the SAM model and discuss how the current accountability framework for SAM schools can be improved.
  14. Public Input: None
  15. Next meeting February 10, 2016
  16. Meeting adjourned at 7:20pm.

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Secretary, GC