Cincinnati Preschool Promise

Board of Managers

Minutes of the Wednesday, May 31, 2017 Special Board Conference Call/Meeting

8:30am-9:30am

Board Members Participating In/On Conference Call:

Dr. Kimya Moyo, Pastor Ennis Tait, Deborah Mariner Allsop, John E. Pepper, Dr. O’Dell Owens, Timothy J. Fogarty, Laura Sanregret, Sallie Westheimer, Cheryl Rose, Micah Kamrass, Stephanie Byrd (ex-officio)

Board Members Not ParticipatingIn/On Conference Call:

Fr. Michael J. Graham, Terri C. England, Jasmine Jones, Gary Lindgren, Steve Shifman, Kathy Young

Board ObserversParticipatingIn/On Conference Call:

Greg Landsman, Cincinnati Preschool Alliance

Leshia Lyman, United Way of Greater Cincinnati

Jennifer Wagner, Cincinnati Public School

Board Observers Not Participating In/On Conference Call:

Kelley Bagayoko, CPS Secondary

Ross Meyer, UWGC Secondary

Cincinnati Preschool Promise Staff ParticipatingIn/On Conference Call:

Stephanie Byrd, Vanessa White, Anne Sesler and Creola Dickerson

Parthenon StaffParticipatingIn/On Conference Call:

Haven Ladd, Malavika Dhawan, Chantal McKay, Dan Lesser

  1. Welcome and Call to Order

Stephanie Byrd called the meeting to order at 8:36am. She stated the focus of the conference call will be to discuss the prioritization for Tuition Assistance funding based on interpretations of the Master Agreement. She then referred to pre-reading materials provided. Deborah Allsop expressed that this call should not include a vote. The response was that the meeting was publicly announced.

  1. Malavika DhawanPresented Pre-Read PowerPoint Slides

Slide 4:The Master Agreement Language and Two Potential Interpretations

Discussion:

  • Dr. Kimya Moyo asked if there were a difference between 3YO and 4YO’s going to preschool and why consider the interpretations for just 4YO’s. Ms. Byrd noted that the estimates were based on the number of children to be accommodated, understanding that 1 year of preschool is okay, but 2 years is more effective. The most funds are available for 4YO. Ms.Dhawan noted that a literal reading of the Master Agreement indicates that 4YO are most important.
  • Tim Fogarty asked what are the interpretations of our partners. Jennifer Wagner responded that she would have to take the conversation to her full board and respond back.
  • Laura Sanregret indicated that she did not remember language in the Master Agreement having 3YO’s up to 200% FPL.

Slide 5: Pros and Cons of each Interpretation of Master Agreement Language

Discussion:

  • Dr. Odell Owens stated that one of his concerns, as we are figuring out the money, is the high mobility rate. The changeover rate can be as high as 50% within a given school and questioned how these children will be tracked and the situation address. Stephanie noted that the monies follows the child. Ms. Wagner asked what would happen if a child transferred to a lesser rated school. Stephanie answered that the tuition would be adjusted to the lower rated provider.

Slide 8: Consideration of Tuition Assistance Policy to Fund Various Prioritization Levels

Discussion:

  • John Pepper asked what were the participation rates in Denver years 1 and 2. Malavika responded that the rates included various cities but she could get the Denver rates and respond later.
  • Dr. Owens asked if we funded only 4YO’s, would we want to have higher participation? Ms. Byrdresponded that we expect higher participation.
  • Mr. Fogarty asked if there were enough capacity in the community to handle full day preschool. Ms. Byrd noted that we were focusing on quality improvement. Currently 42% of preschool seats are rated high quality.

Slides 13-16: Sensitivity Analysis

Discussion:

  • Mr.Pepper asked that if we received 15m, why are we in the red zone without servicing 3YO’s. He also asked on QI, how many students will move into highly rated seats because of that spending.
  • Ms. Allsop asked what does 20% administration account for in the Master Agreement. Ms. Dhawan referred to the Master Agreement with all administrative components projected at 17%.
  • Mr.Pepper asked what were the Costs of Quality and WDC. Ms.Dhawan explained they were minimum wage increases and Workforce Development Costs as described in the Master Agreement.
  • Pastor Tait asked that we document the non-essential questions and send them to Ms. Byrd.
  • Sallie Westheimercalled attention to the split in the showing CPS receiving 3.7m and community providers receiving 1.9m. Haven pointed out that this is the split expected for 1 year, which is driven by the number of seats that are non-Head Start seats. The plan is to significantly expand the number of 3-5 star seats in community providers over time. This is a point-in-time view not a long-term view. Sally noted that if CPS were successful in continuing to expand, the ratio could conceivably be the same, and asked what the community would think.
  • Ms. Allsop offered a point of clarification in that our charge was to ensure as many highly-rated seats as possible, no matter where the seats were.
  • Greg Landsman noted that ensuring quality footing for community providers is crucial to getting to the point where we can serve everyone.
  • Ms. Westheimer noted that it would be contrary to community intent if an inequitable number of children are enrolled in CPS programs at the expense of community providers.
  • Ms. Allsop noted that we will be in startup mode and believes that by the end of 4.5 years we will be positioned to know if $15m is enough or not.
  • Ms. Westheimer cautioned that should there be a migration from programs that do not cover the full workday, there is a concern that there would be unintended negative consequences.

Slide 17: Questions for consideration

  • Dr. Owens questioned why there the need for reserves stating that he believes the public provided the money to be spent.
  • Ms. Byrdasked members to email additional questions in advance of next week’s call so that responses could be forthcoming.

Adjourn:

Ms. Byrdadjourned thecall at 9:31a.m.

Future Meetings:

June 7th – Board Conference Call, 8:30-9:30a.m.

July 11th – Board Meeting, 3:00p- 5:00p.m.

August 14th – Board Meeting 3:00p- 5:00p.m.

Submitted by,Creola Dickerson, Senior Administrative Assistant, Cincinnati Preschool Promise

Cincinnati Preschool Promise Board Conference Call Minutes / May 31, 2017 Page 1 of 3