BIA Board Meeting Minutes
April 21, 2012
The Board Meeting was called to order in the BIA cafeteria at 11:00am.
In attendance wereKona-Facia Nepay, Patrick Nepay, Joe Nimely, Obadiah Swen, Lisa Eimer, Elena Lokounia, Jean Cobb, and Kali Merritt.
The February minutes were adopted with additions made to reflect the work session that occurred after the February meeting had closed.
Board Reports
--Mrs. Cobb gave her IB report and an electronic copy was submitted for the record.
--Mme Lokounia gave her report as Head of School and an electronic copy was submitted for the record.
--Mme Nepay stated that our School Effectiveness Review (SER) will take place on May 30 & 31. The SER collects qualitative data and is a big part of our charter renewal. We also need to begin working on the action items from the February language immersion site visit. Mme Nepay noted that she met with Dr. Alonso regarding the principal transition and informed him that it had not been a good fit and that the school mission had not been upheld. Dr. Alonso stated that if he were to create his own school, it would be a language immersion school. Mme Nepay held a transition meeting with BIA faculty and staff after Spring Break and clarified how charter schools work. Mme Nepay stated that we will need to hold a Middle School transition meeting and that we will be looking to hire one highly qualified Chinese teacher for the Middle School.
--Mr. Nimely stated that we had applied for federal equipment grants and were offered $25,000 worth of equipment, including 25 printers as well as 6 computers worth a total of $4,600.
--Ms. Merritt stated that she continues to do advocacy and is going to DC May 3-5 for an intense advocacy training. She spoke with Stephanie Simms about IB funding and is talking to MICA students about doing a mural for BIA.
Updates
Recruitment/Enrollment/Registration--Ms. Eimer submitted a recruitment/enrollment update for the record. There was discussion around how to run the registration process and appointments more efficiently.
Building Permits/Preparation
--Pastor Nepay stated that all fire extinguishers at the new building have been inspected and the cafeteria passed inspection. Contractors are looking at the kitchen now to determine what work needs to be done in the kitchen.
---Mr. Nimely stated that he is working on the Use & Occupancy Permit for the new building. The health inspection and fire inspection are done. The final building inspection will be done after all renovations are made and we satisfy the health and fire code requirements.
Timeline for Relocation--This agenda item was tabled for the Work Session after the meeting
Financial--No Report
PTO--Ms. Miller stated she had no report to give as there had been no PTO meeting in April.
Adjournment--The April Board Meeting was adjourned at 12:19pm.
WORK SESSION:
We formed four committees:
Physical Move Committee (Joe Nimely as chair)--responsible for helping to plan packing and unpacking and transportation
Beautification Committee (Kali Merritt as chair)--responsible for input on the interior (paint colors, tile colors, murals/artwork, etc) and exterior (landscaping, playground/fields, signs, etc)
Resources Committee (Dr. Harris as chair)--responsible for creating the wish list and soliciting donations, grants, and community support
PR Committee (Mrs. Cobb as chair)--responsible for parent & community communication, media coverage, and events coordination.
We planned to send out an announcement about the lease and about the committees via e-mail and hard copy by Tuesday, April 24 and receive responses by Monday, April 30. Mrs. Cobb will collect the responses. We will send out committee confirmations and notice of the first meeting on May 2, and on May 8 committee volunteers will attend the PTO meeting. At this meeting we will select committee heads and they will receive committee guidelines.
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