This meeting was held in person.
March 31st 5:30pm
In person at Common Ground – Hilltop Room 109
Present: Alexis Smith, Brian Kelahan, Carly Osborne, Jeff Carter, Ky Andersson, Peter Ludwig, Sarah Field, Terri Snell.
Staff: Amanda Byam, Ana Rosa, Audrey Nefores, Deborah Greig, Elena Augusewicz, Jeremy Stone, Joel Tolman, Rebecca Holcombe, Sarah Field.
Public: N/A
Welcome
Alexis called the meeting to order at 5:31 pm.
Public Comment (5:31): There was no public comment.
Welcome CG ED Genevive Walker
Presentation by Jeremy Stone, Lead Teacher of Curriculum and Instruction – Proposed changes to the teaching schedule for 2025-2026
Curriculum & Schedule Changes for 2025/2026 at Common Ground
– Jeremy Stone presented on the current curriculum challenges at Common Ground, emphasizing the need for more upper-level elective courses.
– The curriculum tree concept was introduced, highlighting the core curriculum experience and the need for more choices for students in junior and senior years.
– There has been a significant reduction in elective offerings, impacting student choice and retention, particularly among high-performing students.
– The school is currently operating with fewer teachers than needed, affecting the ability to offer a full range of courses.
– Bargaining for teacher contracts is upcoming, and there is a need to address staffing levels to improve course offerings.
Business Requiring Approval
Minutes of the February 24th Board Meeting
Peter moved to approve the February meeting minutes. Jeff seconded. All in favor.
Motion for Certified Resolution:
- Motion to add Alexis Smith, Jeff Carter, Elena Augusewicz, Genevive Walker, and Monique Fraiser as signatories on the TD bank accounts.
- Motion to remove Cherry Pacquette–Emmanuel and Karen Jenkins from the TD bank accounts.
Jeff moved to approve the two motions. Brian seconded. All in favor. None opposed. The two motions carry.
Invoices Needing Approval
- Rent Due to City of New Haven $20,000 ($13,000 CGHS & $7000 NHEP) – Elena will cut paper check from NHEP and do an inter org transfer to make equitable to both sides
- Public Allies Contract – $19,000.00 total contract for the 2024-2025 School Year, Payment option 3 (three payments) – 33.33% of the full payment due – two invoices currently due.
- BC Greenhouse Builders $30451.47: Funding provided by CT DOAG Enhancement grant funding. We have received and advance of $24,999.50 already *More info needed, were expenses in budget?
- Edgility $12,500.00 per contract / Not budgeted.
Peter motioned to approve the invoices. Jeff seconded. All in favor.
Executive Director Report
Link to March Director Reports
Genevive shared that she has been focused on meetings & introductions, along with union contract negotiations.
Ky asked about the numbers for chronic absenteeism and the Management Team explained their process for reaching out to parents and families, as well as what factors affect those numbers.
Committee Reports
Minutes of all Committee Meetings will be posted on the Board of Directors Webpage by the end of each month.
Finance Committee (Jeff)
The regular meeting of the finance committee was held on March 27th.
The meeting agenda and notes from the Finance Committee can be found HERE.
The February financial report can be found here.
Budget and Staffing Issues:
– The current deficit is projected at $335,000, reduced down from $572,000.
– Staffing levels are critically low, with a hiring freeze complicating the situation further.
– The need for additional teachers and the impact of not filling vacant positions were discussed as key factors affecting the school’s ability to meet student needs.
– The importance of addressing the budget and staffing in upcoming negotiations was emphasized.
Elena shared deficit reduction adjustments and a deficit reduction plan (linked below). She stated that every single MT member went through their budgets to see where they could make cuts to their budgets, reduce their expenses and try to find areas in which they could increase their revenue. Elena also discussed the financial impact on when roles are not filled.
Margaret added that all the work being done is showing in the deficit reduction and it looks much better. She explained that there is a Foundation grant that is projected, but not certain, and everyone should understand the risk.
Genevive asked Margaret to point out the dollar amount for that grant in the budget and Margaret answered that it’s the one above total revenue: projecting $280K.
Elena encouraged the board to spend some time to look over the budget reduction plan and review it to be aware of what program managers have had to make decisions about over the last couple of months.
Governance Committee Report (Alexis)
The governance committee met every Tuesday in March, starting on March 4th.
Minutes of the meetings can be found HERE.
Ky discussed that they have been focused on ED transition work, along with Board membership.
Governance and Board Membership:
– The Governance Committee is focused on board membership and finding new members, particularly a parent representative.
– There is a need for a strategic approach to recruiting board members based on current needs and expertise.
Ky explained the process and stated that they were hoping to bring a potential Parent Rep to this meeting.
Genevive asked if the posting of the role on the website is a requirement.
Joel answered that it isn’t, it’s just something that CG does.
Ky explained that this access has been a great thing in the past.
Genevive advised that there is a difference in messaging to reflect the point we are at and where we need to be.
Ky explained that the posted role is just asking those interested to submit a CV.
Development Committee Report (Brian + Committee)
The Development Committee met on March 24th and 28th. They will give a verbal update.
Development and Fundraising Efforts:
– The Development Committee is actively working on a capital campaign and engaging with potential donors.
– There is a focus on communicating the broader financial needs of the organization rather than individual cases.
– Social media strategies were discussed to enhance visibility and engagement with the community.
Audrey explained that she is reaching out to large donors. Brian shared about the Capital Campaign. Audrey and Brian will be going through the lists of names that board members shared this weekend. Brian gave props to Audrey and the Development team for finding a way to link R2R and other annual campaigns to this Capital Campaign. Brian added that this ask is about seeking support for the deficit, not for support to save a specific person.
Audrey shared that the Capital Campaign post will be shared on our social media accounts tomorrow at 2pm and urged everyone to leave a comment and then ‘Reply All’ to the email with the social links, stating that they have commented. She added the importance for people to understand the overall financial situation of CG. Audrey expressed her confidence in re-motivating some past donors to come back.
Peter shared his excitement for this campaign.
Jeff announced that he was able to re-engage a former donor and they donated $22K.
Brian added that this brings our current amount of money raised to $89K.
School Committee Report (Brian/Liz)
The School Committee met on March 12th.
Minutes from the School Committee Meetings can be found HERE.
– The need for a strategic planning session was highlighted to address current challenges and future direction.
– Upcoming meetings and commitments were outlined, including union negotiations and community engagement efforts.
New Business
N/A
Executive Session
Sarah motioned to move into Executive Session at 7:16pm. Brian seconded the motion. All approved.
There were no votes taken during executive session.
Peter motioned to exit executive session. Sarah Field seconded the motion.
Executive session was adjourned at 7:48pm.
Adjourn
Meeting ended at 7:48pm.
Next Meeting: Monday, April 28th on Microsoft Teams.
Public Comment:
In order to comply with Connecticut Open Meeting laws, any member of the public wishing to participate in the meeting must sign up on the Public Participation Sign-up Document. Sign-ups for Public Participation will open at 5 pm on the last business day before the meeting (Friday, April 25th) and will close at 5:00 pm on the day of the meeting (Monday, April 28th) Public Participation is limited to 2 minutes per person up to 30 total minutes. Anyone wishing to make a statement to the board can also submit testimony in writing to Alexis.Smith@nhep.com by 5:00 pm on the day of the meeting. All submitted documents will be included in the publicly shared meeting minutes.
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