MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

A regular meeting of the Explore Knowledge Academy Charter School Board of Trustees was held on Friday, February 8^th, 2008 at 1711 Whitney Mesa Dr., Ste # 140, Henderson, NV 89014.

Mini-Retreat: Parliamentary Procedures Skit by secondary students under the supervision of Mr. Quinn.

A. Call to Order: Vice President Camille Wilson called the meeting to order at 5:03 pm and led the flag salute and moment of silence.

B. Organization

1. Roll Call: A quorum was established with five board members present: Ben Childs, Ben Day, Lauren Scheer, Camille Wilson and Jay Rosen. Dee Anna Carey arrived at 5:30. Jill Nelson was absent. Others in attendance: Joan Sando, Constance Ewing, Sue Stewart, Danette Green, Clark Price, Deni LaBree, Leanne Hall, Dalia Ruiz, Karyl Davis, Patrick Quinn, Abbe Mattson, Calvert Webster, Tawnee Brilla, Angelic Willis, Kathleen Erickson, Randy Sue Poloniecki, Angie Story, Keri Bentley, Claire Raymond and several students.

2. Adoption of Agenda: President Lauren took over the meeting. Jay made a motion, which Camille seconded to adopt the agenda. Vote: all ayes, none opposed, motion carried.

3. Approval of Minutes from January 11, 2008 meeting: Jay moved, Ben Day seconded a motion to approve the minutes as presented. Vote: All ayes, none opposed, motion carried.

C. Reports

Administrators:

Joan Sando reported that the Nevada Legislative Committee on Education has a meeting scheduled on February 21, 9:30 am, at Agassi Charter School. Issues related to charter schools will be discussed. The agenda is not yet available. Ben Childs and Jay Rosen expressed a desire to attend this meeting.

Connie Ewing reported on the secondary testing schedule and Clark Price reported on the elementary testing.

Students: There was no student report but board members publicly thanked the students for their skit.

Advisors:

Deni LaBree presented the draft of the calendar and summarized the discussion held at the recent All-Staff Meeting and the results of the survey for parents on the web site.

Abbe Mattson reported for the students on their student account, the yearbooks and newsletters which are completely student driven projects. The students have a dance scheduled for next Friday evening, Val-a-grams for the 14^th, carwash and spirit week being planned and maybe a talent show. The penny drive resulted in a profit of $138.

Abbe reported for the secondary advisors that students are all working hard and in a business-like atmosphere and second semester has started.

PASTE

Angie Story, PASTE President, introduced herself and two other board members, Claire Raymond and Keri Bentley. She reported that PASTE has a little fund-raiser going with ID tags and bracelets. She said the annual family festival is scheduled for May 9^th.

Board Members: no reports

D. Public Comments on Agenda Items: None

E. Response to Public Comments: None

F. Old Business:

1. Projected Budget Reduction

Susan Stewart described her memo on suggested cuts. Ben Childs made a motion, seconded by Camille, to approve the cuts as presented. Vote: all ayes, none opposed, motion carried.

2. Procedures for review of EKA policies:

Jay made a motion to have the administration review the policies and report any suggested changes to the board as needed. Ben Childs seconded the motion. Vote: All ayes, none opposed, motion carried.

3. Job Description of Director of Development:

Danette presented a draft of the job description as requested by the board. Jay made a motion to adopt the job description. Ben Childs seconded the motion. Vote: All ayes, none opposed, motion carried.

Jay made another motion to advance this job to a priority for the administration to advertise to fill. Ben Childs seconded. There was a discussion on how to fund this position. Jay called for the question. Vote: All ayes, none opposed, motion carried.

4. Political Action Committee:

Jay reported that he had contacted all charter school administrators and board members, but only one had responded. Therefore, he made a motion to join efforts with the Nevada Charter School Council and drop the idea of organizing another committee. Camille seconded the motion. Vote: All ayes, none opposed, motion carried.

G. New Business:

1. Quarterly Financials

Susan Stewart presented the financials from the second quarter and answered questions. After discussion, Jay publicly commended the administration for being frugal with the budget and asked about charging student fees for specific supplies or activities. Joan replied that our charter agreement with CCSD addresses that topic and the fees we can charge are quite limited. Jay made a motion to accept the report as presented. Camille seconded the motion. Vote: All ayes, none opposed, motion carried.

2. Calendar for 2008-2009

Joan and Danette summarized the differences between our calendar and CCSD's 9-month calendar. Jay made a motion to approve the draft as presented. Ben Day seconded the motion. Vote: All ayes, none opposed, motion carried.

J. Public Comments on Non-agenda items:

Kathleen Erickson stated that her family has a 501(3)c named Kokena that was established for education and is not being used. She said it is possible that our funds could flow though it.

She also noted that she had seen the job description for Executive Director on the web site and thanked Joan Sando for her efforts to get the school organized.

Claire Raymond, PASTE Board Member, requested a closed session with the EKA Board at the next meeting.

K. Response to Public Comments:

Several board members commented and asked questions on Kathleen's statement about the non-profit organization.

L. Announcements: Next Meeting: March 14, 2008.

Meeting adjourned at 6:30pm.