Location: Old Colony YMCA, 320 Main Street, Brockton MA

New Heights Board of Trustees

March 10, 2016

5:30-7:30pm

Location: Old Colony YMCA, 320 Main Street, Brockton MA

Food and refreshments will be available at 5:00

I.  Call to Order

·  Meeting called to order at 5:35

·  Introduction and Welcome by Chairman Sullivan

o  Overview of Board procedures

o  Overview of Open Meeting law

o  Overview of DESE requirements

II.  Roll Call

Board Members Present:

·  Michael Sullivan, Board Member, Board Chair

·  Pastor Emanuel Daphnis, Board Member, Board Co-Chair

·  Traci Vaughan, Board Member

·  Vincent Marturano, Board Member

·  Judge Gregory Philips, Board Member

·  Anthony Modica, Board Member

·  Maria Fernandes, Board Member

·  Carlos Gomes, Proposed Board Member

·  Rick Schwartz, Proposed Board Member

Board Members Not Present

·  Carlina Evora, Board Member

·  Nicholas Christ, Board Member, Board Treasurer

III.  Reading and Approval of Minutes

I.  There are no Minutes to approve as this is the Board’s first official meeting.

IV.  Reports of Officers, Boards, and Standing Committees

I.  Chairperson’s Report: Chairman Sullivan thanked members of the Board for their commitment to the work and invited Executive Director Omari Walker to present a formal ED Report.

II.  Executive Director’s Report

Several members of the NHCSB founding team traveled to Atlanta to attend the annual EDWorks conference on Early College models. The team met with individuals working in Early Colleges around the country and met several key contacts concerning evaluation, development, special education, and college partnerships.

NHCSB Lottery Update: ED Walker reminded the Board that the lottery was the following day, March 11, 2016. The telephone and email accounts for NHCSB are quite busy in anticipation of the lottery and nearly 140 applications had been submitted since NHCSB received a charter on February 23rd.

NHCSB Transportation Update: The NHCHB team secured external funding to provide transportation to students in Randolph and Taunton. Brockton will be responsible for transporting Brockton residents. There are reimbursement costs from the state associated with providing transportation to 100% of our students and the NHCSB team is working on securing reimbursement.

The NHCSB building update: ED Walker is in the process of developing the lease. The attorney that wrote the option had to step away and we are in the process of securing a new attorney to complete the lease. A new attorney was identified, known by the landlord of the school building site, and the landlord is suggesting we sit down to craft lease together.

Building Conversation: Board members expressed concerns about how best to secure a favorable lease. ED Walker shared with the Board that a prior Board member drafted a lease option for the school that ensures NHCSB’s interests are met. Trustee Philips recommended that we secure new counsel to work with us through the drafting of the official lease. In addition, Trustee Philips wondered how the Board may work with ED Walker to ensure that a proper lease is drafted. Trustee Philips recommended a motion to approve ED Walker to negotiate a lease on behalf of the school. The motion was seconded by Trustee Fernandes. Chairman Sullivan asked for discussion, there was none, Chairman Sullivan announced the motion passes unopposed. ED Walker has the Board’s approval to negotiate the lease within the parameters presented in the charter.

V.  Reports of Special Committees

1.  There are no Special Committee Reports

VI.  Special Orders

I.  Opening Procedures with Alyssa Hopkins, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

I.  Alyssa is unwell and was unable to attend.

VII.  Unfinished Business and General Orders

I.  There is no Unfinished Business

I.  None.

VIII.  New Business

I.  Approval of New Board Members

Trustee Philips called for a motion to approve new Board members Rick Schwartz and Carlos Gomes. Trustee Modica seconded the motion. Chairman Sullivan called for discussion, seeing none, Chairman Sullivan called for a vote. The motion passed unopposed. Chairman Sullivan welcomed Rich Schwartz and Carlos Gomes to the Board, pending Commissioner Chester’s approval.

IX.  Approval of Draft Bylaws

Trustee Marturano presented the current draft Bylaws and shared his conversation with Alyssa Hopkins, of the Charter School Office in the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Chairman Sullivan asked for Board discussion on the draft Bylaws. Chairman Sullivan asked if anyone had any questions or edits to the current draft. Discussion followed.

Terms: The Board agreed to change the terms listed in Bylaws 3.6 to reflect up to a three-year term with a limit of 2 three-year terms. It was agreed through general consensus that the Nominating Committee would develop the terms for the lottery that then determines each Trustees terms in office.

Nominating Committee: Chairman Sullivan recommended that 3 people should serve on the committee, rather than the 5 people listed in the draft Bylaws. Chairman Sullivan asked members of the Board to contact Jess Geier if they would like to serve on the Nominating Committee.

Indemnification Language: Trustee Marturano shared that he is waiting on indemnification language from the lawyers at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to strengthen the draft Bylaws.

Motion: Chairman Sullivan called for a motion to approve the draft Bylaws and submit to the state for consideration. The motion was seconded by Trustee Philips. Chairman Sullivan called for discussion, there was none, the motion passed unopposed.

I.  Approval of Draft Enrollment Policy

Draft Enrollment Policy Update: Jess Geier and ED Walker provided a brief update to the Board concerning the Enrollment Policy. Discussion followed concerning the lottery process and the applicant pool.

Motion: Chairman Sullivan called for a motion to approve the draft Enrollment Policy and Application to be sent to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for approval. The motion was presented by Trustee Marturano and seconded by Trustee Daphnis, pending the update to the NHCS acronym used throughout the document be updated to reflect the true acronym, NHCSB. There was no discussion. The motion passed without opposition.

X.  Good of the Order

I.  Announcements

II.  Program

·  Proposed calendar for future Board meetings, 2nd Wednesday of every month. 5:30-7:30pm. A calendar will be circulated before our next meeting on April 13th, 2016.

·  ED Walker recommended the Board meets 10x per year, not in December and not in July

XI.  Adjourn

Meeting was adjourned at 7:35 with Chairman Sullivan’s thanks to Board members.