Polaris Board Minutes 2.9.12
Polaris Charter Academy
Board Meeting Minutes
February 9th, 2012
Board Topic: Chasing Freedom Event and Board Membership
Conference Call
Board Members: Darren Snyder (Chair), Mick Domagala, Uday Khedkar , Marion Rice, Michelle Navarre, Keecia Broy, Travis Swoope, Sarah Walker
School Leaders: Michelle Navarre (Head of School), Carol Clavadetscher, Roel Vivit
Teachers in Attendance: No teachers were in attendance
Darren called the meeting to order at 6:32pm. The meeting date was shifted from February 28th to February 9th, due to preparations for the Chasing Freedom event being held on February 29th. The meeting was held as a conference call.
Darren shared with the attendees that the agenda for the meeting
- Chasing Freedom event update from Carol Clavadetscher
- Finance Committee update
- Board vote on Susan Ansai for board membership
Carol provided a brief update for the Chasing Freedom event. The event will be held on February 29th from 5:30pm to 8:00pm at the J.W. Marriott downtown. Board members are asked to arrive no later than 5:15pm to greet guests. Carol shared that 70 guests had registered for the event. Darren asked how sponsors for the event should register; Carol provided the board the information and will follow up with each of the sponsors individually. Board members were encouraged to continue reaching out to their networks in an effort to reach the goal of 200 attendees.
Uday shared a brief financial update. As of January 31st, Polaris was approximately $25,000 unfavorable to budget. The variance is driven primarily by fundraising timing, offset by approximately $20,000 of insurance claim funds relating to the breakins in Q2. The forecast for the year is to be equal to budget.
Darren shared with the board that a vote had been recommended for Susan Ansai to join the Board of Directors. Before taking a vote, Michelle reminded the board that Susan had attended a board meeting in 2010 to provide insight into ISAT data. Susan is an employee of Chicago Public Schools. Prior to the vote, Darren requested feedback from board members. Mick and Keecia had sent the following via e-mail prior to the conference call.
From Keecia Broy
I recommend adding Susan to the Polaris Charter School board. She seems to have a deep knowledge and understanding of CPS (how it works) due to her lengthy tenure in the district. She also has contacts within the district that we might be able to leverage for school-related activities and initiatives. She understands student achievement data and is currently working on common core standards integration, which should be a great help to the board and the school leaders. She also seems extremely dedicated to and passionate about Polaris and stressed numerous times that she’d be willing to help out in any way that she can, be it as a board member or not. She has a lot of ideas, which she expresses freely and often, so I think she will add a lot of new insight and creativity to our conversations around school achievement and other data.
From Mick Domagala
In addition to meeting Susan at the ISAT presentation, we sat for an extended meeting about her interest in the school. Susan is a long time supporter of Polaris, and is one of our top two board candidates. I would strongly recommend dialing in to the call and voting yes on her candidacy.
Darren echoed his thoughts on adding Susan to the board. He made a motion to call a vote. All 8 board members on the call voted yes to adding Susan to the board. No board members voted no. Mick made a motion to invite Susan to the board, based on the vote. Uday seconded the motion.
At 7:15, Darren asked if there were any other items to discuss. No additional items were identified. Uday motioned to end the meeting; Keecia seconded the motion. The meeting ended at 7:17pm.