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OCN > 2401 > Monument Academy School Board, Dec. 14 – Board hears about midyear budget, enrollment/retention, fundraising plans

Monument Academy School Board, Dec. 14 – Board hears about midyear budget, enrollment/retention, fundraising plans

By Jackie Burhans

The Monument Academy (MA) School Board met on Dec. 14 and went directly into executive session to discuss the purchase of real property and for legal advice on matters regarding the parental rights policy. No action was taken afterward. Treasurer Joe Buczkowski noted that the governance committee had received many community comments on the parental rights policy, has been researching the topic, and hopes to address this more in the January meeting.

The board also heard about its amended 2023-24 budget, plans for fundraising, and updates on a variety of policies.

Midyear budget

Financial consultant Glenn Gustafson reminded the board that the state allows for a midyear process where schools can amend their budget based on new information such as fund balances, final staffing numbers, and final per pupil revenue (PPR) amounts. For FY2023-24, the bad news is that MA’s enrollment was flat from last year and down from the enrollment projection. This represents a loss of $1.1 million in PPR, as well as $71,000 in mill levy override money and some student fees.

MA has had to make significant adjustments to its budget but has tried to keep cuts away from the classroom, Gustafson said. MA restructured its teacher compensation to be more competitive and has fully funded its debt service bond payments. Gustafson said that the team went through every single line item looking for opportunities. He noted that tax revenues come in between February and July. Increased interest income has helped, along with new special education (SPED) grants. A $400,000 emergency connectivity grant was received, which had been applied for by MA’s former CFO Marc Brocklehurst. He noted that thanks to Operations Manager Jake Dicus, there were facility rental revenues from both campuses and that MA had used gifts and donations to help balance the budget but was still a little short at East Campus.

Under expenditures, Gustafson added a line item for MA to purchase land for a parking lot at West Campus and looked at revising its HVAC, copier, shredding, custodial, and custodial supplies contracts. He thanked principals for enforcing color copy rules since each color copy costs 10 times what a black-and-white copy costs.

In summary, he thinks MA is well-positioned for the 2024-25 fiscal year when he is expecting a 5% increase in PPR or about $700 per pupil. He said that MA will not have the big costs for the modular buildings this coming year nor the big Internal Revenue Service (IRS) penalty it had two years ago. MA will be more conservative with its budget and try to make sure it will be in compliance with bond covenants. Finally, he noted he was working on restructuring the Finance Department with his transition.

The board unanimously approved the resolutions to appropriate funds for the midyear amended budget, to use a portion of its beginning fund balance as required by state statute, and to approve an interfund borrowing resolution. The interfund borrowing resolution allows MA to borrow $250,000 from its general fund and $100,000 from the preschool fund. The resolution does not specify the use of the borrowed amounts but states that the loans must be repaid when those funds are required to meet obligations or no later than three months after the beginning of the following budget year. In last month’s article on MA, Buczkowski noted that the Finance Committee had discussed borrowing from the West Campus to lend to the East Campus (see www.ocn.me/v23n12.htm#ma).

Enrollment/retention marketing plan

Interim Chief Operating Officer Kim McClelland introduced Kendra Kuhlmann from Marketing, Elementary School Registrar Lena Gross, and Secondary Campus Registrar Laura Polen to present their strategic plan for enrollment and retention.

Gross said the team had made changes they hoped would make a true difference. They had gotten a 96% response rate from the West Campus and an 89% response rate from the East Campus. They added “undecided” as an option and asked what the most important factor would be in parents’ decision. The team expected to begin calculating the enrollment numbers and sharing them with the administration team.

Polen said the previous year’s enrollment process has been revised and streamlined. One change was to have a separate form for preschool since they ask about potty training. The data is automatically transferred from a Google form to a spreadsheet, eliminating manual data entry. The data is displayed by grade, and they can see waitlist numbers and priorities by applying a filter in addition to showing who has an MA sibling and tracking MA’s responses by email or phone.

The team also created email template responses that they can customize and have coordinated on tour information. Polen said that the team does a pre-enrollment record request, and Kuhlmann added that they might meet with parents to discuss attendance issues and create an attendance contract. Polen said that the ParentSquare system has been very helpful in getting out information and ensuring they are not duplicating efforts. The team has exit interviews if a student leaves midyear, if they accept but don’t show up, or if they don’t send in their “intent to return” survey. They can generate reports on who intends to report, wait lists, and seat offers for daily review, Polen said.

Gross said the team focused on celebrating community and connectedness after reviewing data and performing a market analysis. Kuhlmann said they surveyed students and families on what they were looking for in a high school. The top words and phrases were community, safe, academics, and quality teachers. Gross said the team used SchoolMint to determine micro factors for choosing alternative education and found that top responses included student achievement, innovation and programs, customer service, and school safety. The team has made an effort to increase its availability. Other families’ opinions outweigh data. They noted that 26% of MA’s students come from out of district, which is more than other charter schools.

Finally, Kuhlmann said that MA has taken ownership of its Google sites for both campuses, which will allow it to ask for Google reviews and to leverage Google Analytics to understand how its website is being used. Gross emphasized that communication is key, and that MA should keep in touch with families who have been offered seats between February and August. The team suggests hosting a summer festival and facilitating a quarterly information night for prospective families. Gross also said they would initiate an incentive program for current families to bring in new families offering free dress passes for K-8 students or a preferred parking pass for high school students.

Fundraising plan

Dicus gave a presentation about the current state of fundraising as well as ideas for the future. He explained that there is a difference between fundraising and donations, with the former raising funds for specific programs or projects and the latter giving without expecting something in return. The annual gala is MA’s biggest fundraising event; Grandparents Day is a fundraiser and there is an opportunity to sponsor library book dedications. School sponsorships are another way to support MA at various levels; MA has a brochure that includes MA’s mission and vision. Finally, grants are another form of fundraising that includes the $400,000 connectivity grant already awarded, as well as a Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) grant, the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) program, and a school security grant that is in process.

For donations, the Lynx Fund has been a success, said Dicus. People can donate monthly or on a one-time basis or $1,996 (the year MA was founded) as Lynx Legacy donors or repeat donors. MA received a school furniture donation worth $99,000 for the cost of $5,000. A family donated track uniforms. Greater Grounds Landscaping redid the West Campus playground and is adding turf for a total value of $20,000.

Toward the end of the year, MA started offering facility rentals and has developed a pipeline.

For next year, Dicus expects to see some modifications to the gala, adding mobile bidding and early bird pricing. The gala already has some committed sponsors with more in the pipeline.

MA has an end-of-the-year matching campaign it is presenting on its Facebook and parent pages. It is trying to streamline using ParentSquare so that it can track communications and will use GiveSmart for all campaigns. He hopes to prepare new families with a packet that outlines the next year’s expectations and allows them to donate when paying school fees. Dicus said he should have focused more on the Giving Tuesday campaign but prefers to focus on progress over perfection.

New and updated policies

The MA board unanimously approved seven policies related to finances. Buczkowski said these were the easiest to approve since they don’t conflict with any existing policy. The policies are DK Annual Budget, DC Borrowing, DD Grants, DID General Fixed Assets & Inventories, DIE Audits/Financial Monitoring, DK Payroll Procedures, and DKD Travel. Gustafson noted that DK is the one non-standard policy that covers rules on who can authorize permanent employees, stipends, and extra duty pay. It lays out how to manage any payroll mistakes. He modeled this policy after a D11 policy he wrote when he worked there. Only the board can approve compensation, he noted, and this puts structure around that process.

The board also discussed at length modifications to policy JG MA Enrollment and Placement, which replaces 1511 Admissions Policy. The policy has been updated with the current version of the MA vision statement and adds a section on enrollment restrictions for kindergarten and first grade. The new section requires students to turn 5 years old on or before Aug. 25 to start kindergarten. Students who have been added to MA’s waitlist via a Letter of Interest before Jan. 1, 2024 or who have successfully completed pre-k at MA for the 2023-24 school year will be grandfathered. Similarly, students must turn 6 before Aug. 25 to enroll in first grade.

The policy also clarifies the wait list procedures required by parents and suggests that the Placement Test section could be covered in the Student/Parent Handbook. McClelland said the changes should be messaged to families since it’s enrollment season with the caveat that is pending approval of the board. Graham said it would be wise to have legal review the policy. Vice President Lindsay Clinton said that 11 families would be impacted by the modified policy and that this might affect some incoming siblings. McClelland said that the age requirement changes had been discussed at the curriculum meeting, where they said they have very young kids. She said that since the state had approved fully funding kindergarten, it is becoming more of a daycare, and MA is a school of excellence. Gross noted that choice enrollment starts on Jan. 2, and board President Ryan Graham said it should be reviewed by legal and brought to a special meeting on Jan. 5 for approval, so it would only be a few days.

Highlights

Board meeting highlights include:

  • Board member Craig Carle spotlighted Athletic Director Mike Svendsen and parent Kristy Davis. He said Svendsen had done a great job with the athletic program and got MA’s high school membership in the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA). Davis was recognized for her help with the West Campus shade structure, which will be completed next year.
  • Kim McClelland said she would bring a possible homeschool proposal to the board at the January or February meeting.
  • The board unanimously approved the 2024-25 elementary and secondary school calendars.
  • Gustafson reported that the audit for the 2022-23 schoolyear was finalized, which is about 2 1/2 months earlier than the previous year. MA has submitted all the information on the ERTC to the lawyer for due diligence, but he noted that the IRS has suspended accepting applications due to the level of fraudulent claims.
  • Graham reported that the Knollwood roundabout might be ready by the time MA returns from break. The road on the south side by the retaining wall would not be ready until summer.
  • Board member Emily Belisle thanked the teachers who served on the Curriculum Committee and noted that it looked like the favorite might be Reveal Math, but it would be presented to the board for approval and to the community for review and would not be in place for the next academic year.
  • Board member Matt Ross reported on midyear survey results for the Student Accountability and Advisory Committee (SAAC) of West Campus. He said that 95% of respondents were likely to recommend MA but that high-level learners needed more challenges and that the math curriculum needed to be updated. Most respondents feel that ParentSquare is working for improved communication and want the board to incentivize teachers to attend community events.
  • Clinton said SAAC East had not met in December but would meet in January to review survey results.
  • Buczkowski said the governance committee met multiple times and would be prioritizing policies a charter school should have in batches of six or so for reading and approval following a framework for how and when to update policies in the Colorado Association of School Boards format.
  • Graham noted that the upcoming election would fill two vacancies and is normally conducted by the vice president. Since Clinton is running for re-election, she has a conflict, so the board voted to appoint Ross to conduct the election.
Above: At its Dec. 14 meeting, board member Craig Carle spotlighted Athletic Director Mike Svendsen for his success with the athletic program at Monument Academy including his achievement of getting MA’s high school membership in the Colorado High School Activities Association. He also highlighted parent Kristy Davis who heads the West Campus PTO for her help with the new shade structure which will be completed by next year. From left are board President Ryan Graham, parent Kristy Davis, board member Carle, and Athletic Director Mike Svendsen. Photo by Jackie Burhans.

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The MA School Board meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month. The next regular board meeting will be on Thursday, Jan. 11, at 6:30 p.m. at the East Campus. See more information at bit.ly/ma-boe.

Jackie Burhans can be reached at jackieburhans@ocn.me.

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