lfcsa boardminutes 0.. - Los Feliz Arts

Los Feliz Charter School for the Arts
Monthly Board Meeting Minutes
February 1, 2007 4:00 pm
Los Feliz Charter School for the Arts, West Hollywood
BOARD MEMBERS:
Present: George Abrams, Linda Johannesen,, Karin Newlin, Sharon Sutton, Verna
Dauterive, Elise Buik (via phone)
Absent: Marissa Chibas-Preston/Travis Preston, Jeffrey Bujer
Quorum? Yes.
Also Present: Nancy Martorelli, Mary Ann Gallo, Tammy Stanton (ExED), Reg Jones
(LFCSA parent)
PROCEEDINGS:
• George Abrams called the meeting to order at 4:10pm.
• Abrams moves to approve November & December Board meeting minutes.
Verna Dauterive seconds. All others say, “aye.” Motion passes.
• Abrams moves to pass Resolution 2007-01 for a revolving loan of $250,000 with
2-3% interest, noting that it helps with cash flow. Tammy Stanton adds that it is
built into the budget. Verna Dauterive seconds. All others say “aye.” Motion
passes.
• Abrams asks that Stanton explain “consolidated application” (“con app”). She
says that its primary use is in title fundings and that it is parts 1 & 2 that need
approval. Abrams moves to accept parts 1 & 2. Elise Buik seconds. All others
say “aye.” Motion passes.
• Abrams gives a Site overview. He notes that the school could be approved for
$3.5 million which could go up to $5 million if the school’s population increased
by 1/3. He says that there is not a piece of property on the market in that price
range. They are looking at grants for the long term. Currently they are looking
for a property to lease. Also exploring partnering with another non-profit in order
to defray costs. Also in discussions with LAUSD regarding Prop 39 which would
not, however apply to 2007/2008 school year. Linda Johannesen wonders about
success stories of other Charter Schools in terms of Site. Abrams notes that they
are often “higher risk” neighborhoods & have much larger Title 1 populations and
therefore have access to larger grants as well as being in lower real estate markets.
• Johannesen shares her thoughts on what she calls creative solutions such as
exploring a relationship with the L.A. Archdiocese, perhaps through a teacher
training program. She emphasizes finding creative, non-cash solutions, perhaps
with other non-profits. Abrams notes that Dauterive has been working on one
such scenario.

• Abrams gives the floor to Stanton who presents on the financial report which she
distributed. She notes that the report is behind by a month because that’s how
accounting runs. She points out that the school’s ADA numbers are good for a 1 st
year school. She adds too that the fundraising revenue is currently ahead of
fundraising goals And that things in general are “going well” and we are currently
under budget. She mentions that the child nutrition application is still pending &
will not be retroactive. She also brings up several one-time grants for charter
schools, recently approved by the governor, based on ADA and applicable to
areas such as arts & music or gardening that are for this school year. In response
to a question from Karin Newlin, Stanton says that she will look into funding for
physical education. Newlin notes that ExED & the LFCSA administration have
forged a good working relationship. Stanton concurs.
• Abrams opens the floor to Newlin for her Principal’s Report. Newlin says that
the news is good. She is seeing real progress in students’ reading & writing skills
& feels that the teachers are really succeeding with this reading & writing
approach. She emphasizes that she sees the application of project-based,
constructivist curriculum to be succeeding beautifully. Newlin says that she &
Nancy Martorelli met with a professor at UCLA who specializes in autism in
order to help Special Ed run more smoothly. She adds that the P.E. program is
going well & that all students have been testing using California state fitness tests.
Martorelli highlights the great parent involvement & boundless enthusiasm from
the students on up. Abrams notes that parent evaluations will be collected in the
spring. Newlin says she is exploring having a school survey that evaluates
elements of effective schools conducted by a pair of professors at Claremont
College.
• Johannesen mentions the importance of tracking “in kind” donations & Stanton
adds that that applies to parent volunteer hours.
• Newlin asks Abrams to speak about a meeting with Mindy Jones, program officer
from the Ahmanson Foundation. Abrams talks about issues of diversity & what
makes a population “diverse.” M. Jones believes that quality of education is what
sets this school apart as well as our aptitude for becoming a lab school. Newlin
adds that M. Jones suggested our potential for aiding other charter schools.
• Sharon Sutton arrived at 5:10 pm.
• Johannesen notes that the challenge is in moving from vision to mission to
operation.
• Stanton & Reg Jones leave at 5:18 pm.
• Abrams closes open session at 5:29 pm. Closed session opens at 5:30 pm.
• Closed session closed at 6:05 pm. Open session re-opened at 6:06 pm.
• Abrams suggests Monday, March 19 at 4 pm for next Board Meeting.
• Abrams moves to aadjourn at 6:08 pm. Johannesen seconds. All others say
“aye.” Meeting is adjourned.
Minutes submitted by Mary Ann Gallo.