School Board Meeting Minutes

Regular Meeting
Odyssey Charter School
6201 Noble Ave. N.
Brooklyn Center, MN 55429
May 21, 2003
6:30 P.M.

Call to Order                        A regular meeting of the Odyssey Charter School Board of Directors was held on Wednesday, May 21st, 2003 at Odyssey Charter School. The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. and was facilitated by Janice Sandberg.

Roll Call                                The following Board members were present: Janice Sandberg, Nathan Disch, Jeni Holm, Rick Fletcher, Dave Rand, Kari Mitchell, Steve Skramstad, and Susan Dougherty.

Acceptance of Agenda        Motion by Dave Rand, seconded by Steve Skramstad, to accept the printed agenda as amended. Motion carries unanimously.

Approval of Minutes            A motion by Dave Rand, seconded by Rick Fletcher, to accept the minutes of the April 9^th regular meeting and the May 6^th special meetings. Motion carries unanimously.

Community Comments       None

Consent Agenda                  None

Old Business                       None

New Business                      Advisory Committee

There was discussion about the advisory committee. Janice Sandberg stated the board will hold off on approving the model until the new director is hired. She also stated that the group may move forward with forming subcommittees and with the community service component of their plans.                  

Mission statement

Jeni Holm stated she had been speaking with staff about what they saw as important components of Odyssey Charter School. She stated that she and Nathan Disch had been trying to develop a more vibrant mission statement that will allow people to see more clearly who and what Odyssey is.

Janice Sandberg stated she would like a mission statement developed, and then  she would like each team to adapt that mission statement for themselves, and then she would like each classroom to do the same.  Jeni Holm stated she thought the mission statement should stay the same for everyone, but a vision statement could be developed, and that vision statement would be adaptable to different groups.  Jeni and Nathan will continue to work on this issue.

Start and end times

Motion by Rick Fletcher, seconded by Susan Dougherty, to establish a start time of 9:00 a.m. and an end time 3:30 p.m. for the 2003-2004 school year. Motion carries unanimously.

Transportation

Motion by Johm Sedey, seconded by Jeni Holm, to award the transportation contract for the 2003-2004 school year top Laidlaw Bussing. Motion carries unanimously.

9^th Grade

Janice Sandberg stated Odyssey Charter School  will continue to offer ninth grade 2003-2004 school year.

Finance team

Steve Skramstad stated there was no cash flow statement for the month.

Janice Sandberg recommended the board pass the attached budget, with the provision that it may be need to be updated when the legislature passes the state budget. She also recommended the budget be reforecast in October and again in February.

Motion by Jeni Holm, seconded by Dave Rand, to approve the attached budget for the 2003-2004 school year, with transportation numbers amended to reflect the actual cost of transportation. Motion carries unanimously. 

Janice Sandberg noted the budget reflects an increase in hours from two days per week to four days per week for the social worker.

Excell Academy

Janice Sandberg stated she has a meeting scheduled with Sabrina Williams regarding Excell’s use of the Zane building next school year. She went on to say Excell’s enrollment will not be as high as they thought it would be and they may not be needing the additional space they thought they might need. She stated she will speak with Sabrina at the meeting about the outstanding balance that is owed as well. John Sedey will go with Janice to the meeting with Sabrina.

Selection Committee

Rick Fletcher presented the attached report from the selection committee.

John Sedey stated he feels the job of the search committee is done, and the whole board should now interviews the top two candidates.

There was discussion about how the process should move forward.

Motion by Jeni Holm, seconded by Dave Rand, that the board be briefed by the interview and search committee, then the board will interview the candidates with help and or questions provided by the search and interview committees, and then the board will vote on a motion to hire one of the candidates at the next special meeting.  Motion carries unanimously.

It was determined the two groups will meet at 8:00 a.m. on May 28^th.

Rick Fletcher will electronically forward the questions to board members.

Motion by Kari Mitchell, seconded by Steve Skramstad, to accept the reports from the subcommittees. Motion carries unanimously.  

Special Education services

Motion to accept MACS as Odyssey Charter School’s director of special education services. Motion carries unanimously.

Planning session

Janice Sandberg would like to plan a day long planning session with the board at Designs for Learning. She would like Bryan Rossi to facilitate the meeting. Janice will follow up plans for the session.

Special meeting

Motion by John Sedey, seconded by Susan Dougherty, to schedule a special meeting before the end of May.

Adjournment:           The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p.m.

Next meetings:       Special meeting to be held before the end of May.

Regular meeting to be held Wednesday, June 18^th  at 6:30pm.