February 24, 2025
Board of Directors Minutes
Present: Alexis Smith, Alisha Crutchfield, Brian Kelahan, Carly Osborne, Clouds Mutale, Jeff Carter, Ky Andersson, Liz Cox, Peter Ludwig, Sarah Field.
Staff: Amanda Byam, Ana Rosa, Crystal Fernandez, Deborah Greig, Elena Augusewicz, Joel Tolman, Monique Frasier, Rebecca Holcombe.
Public: Margaret Randle
Welcome
Alexis called the meeting to order at 5:33 pm.
Public Comment (5:33): N/A
Business Requiring Approval (5:35)
Brian moved to approve the January meeting minutes. Liz seconded. All in favor.
Motion for Certified Resolution:
- Motion for this certified resolution for Genevive Walker to sign contracts, with authorization starting on March 17, 2025.
Jeff moved. Ky seconded. All in favor.
- Motion to add Genevive Walker as a signer on the bank accounts.
Jeff moved. Brian seconded. All in favor.
Invoices Needing Approval (5:39)
- 501c3 Trust: $11,605.82 – For 3 previous employees from Oct-Jan; already approved by Brian, Peter, *budgeted
- PKF O’Connor Davies $9,061.43 – Extra time spent on EFS, *not budgeted
- PKF O’Connor Davies $30,650 – Final Audit + Extra time spent on Audit, *partially budgeted
- This year the total for the audit was $54,711.43 ~$18,711.43 over budget due to additional hours spent by the head accountant on EFS and additional support needed by the business office to complete the audit *this has already been factored into the Jan. forecast (Elena Sent email to confirm all bill total on 2/20/25)
Brian moved to approve the above invoices. Jeff seconded. All in favor. Approved unanimously.
Brian asked if we need minutes from the emergency meeting.
Alexis answered that we will put those minutes on the March agenda to approve.
Executive Director Report (5:41)
Link to February Director Reports
Audrey stated that we had a lot of traction with the call to action to call our local elected officials. She expressed her gratitude for anyone that shared the posts and stated that it has been the most shared post that we’ve ever made on social media at Common Ground. Audrey encouraged everyone to make the calls and comment on the post when done. She shared that it resulted in a lot of direct phone calls from several elected officials that saw the posts and wanted to offer their support. Audrey stated that Crystal attended an event today, which took place largely because of the momentum that was built from the call to action, and shared her appreciation for Crystal being there.
Crystal explained that people did not get the opportunity to speak about what was happening at their organization, but she did get to meet briefly with Attorney General William Tong at the end and he asked them to forward the memo that was received, which they’ve already done. She also answered questions about Green Jobs Corps.
Ky asked about an email version of the social media call to action post to share.
Audrey answered that the same email she sent out with the text and call to action can be used, with her personal message to the board removed, and that the mayor’s office can be added as a recipient since there is room for more text in an email. She stated that all of these people have reached out directly to CG today, to try to get more information about this and support.
Brian asked if there is a reason why we shouldn’t contact Senator’s Blumenthal’s office.
Audrey stated that she was waiting to hear back from him, and he reached out directly today – so he already is getting the copy of the language that Crystal wrote in preparation for the press conference today, as well as the memo. She added that with each of these offices, it’s great to speak to someone directly to see how willing they are to support and now that they’ve started that conversation, they’ll see what the next steps should be with Blumenthal.
Peter expressed his gratitude for Crystal holding it down at today’s event, and to Audrey and her team for getting this together in a short period of time and making it easy to take action.
Liz mentioned that she shared the language included in the notification about the grant being terminated, and it elicited a lot of very strong responses from the people she emailed.
Audrey added how impacting the text directly from the Environmental Protection Agency could be, and advised everyone to read Crystal’s powerful language for today’s press conference – which will be posted online.
Committee Reports (5:49)
Minutes of all Committee Meetings will be posted on the Board of Directors Webpage by the end of each month.
Finance Committee (5:50) (Jeff/Elena)
The regular meeting of the finance committee was held on February 20th.
The meeting agenda and notes from the Finance Committee can be found HERE.
Jeff shared that they are still looking at the deficit, and that the management team has done a ton of work to find areas where we can save money and not spend money that was planned. He stated that they continue to get bills that were unplanned but are legitimate and have to be paid. The budget deficit is at $572,000 and the year-to-date revenue is at $3.7 million. Jeff shared that they are looking to the line of credit, which will be at $350,000 by April. They are also working with TD Bank to increase that line of credit, in addition to getting the additional people signed up.
Jeff explained that the finance team and the development team are both working to create better reporting and better monitoring for the grant process. They hope we’ll be able to do more reporting internally and not have to lean on our PKF O’Connor Davies for the EFS and some of the other audit reports. Jeff added that Margaret is looking at books and finances, making sure old debt is accounted for, to clean up the books and make the audits more streamlined.
Margaret noted that there has been a tremendous amount of work by the staff, and that the numbers in the report are much tighter and much more precise than before. She explained that it’s a dynamic system, and it will change, and the number shown now will not be the number next month or at the end of the year because changes are being made and the estimates get better as they get closer. Margaret pointed out that last year CG had a bigger loss than this year’s projection, the budget had projected a loss, and that she’s confident in this range of loss. She also noted that they are working step by step to put in better internal controls around accounts receivable, cash and ledgers, and that’s going very well – and that she’s happy with the work staff is doing on controlling grants a little better. She expressed her appreciation for all the help from a lot of people in the organization.
Jeff shared his gratitude for Margaret and YPTC, and the way they’re leading the staff and committee members in this work. He added how he is learning more about the roles and responsibilities of the finance and business office and acknowledged the amount of work that keeps finances coming in, including that of the development team and staff who tracks those grants.
Finance Report: CGHS January 2025 Financial Package.pdf – Google Drive
Brian asked if they are going to meet in executive session to talk about the management team’s plans for trying to address the deficit and Alexis confirmed they are.
Audrey asked if the management team is being invited into executive session and Alexis clarified that they are.
Governance Committee Report (5:59) (Ky)
The governance committee met on February 18th.
Ky shared that they had a brief discussion of the process for amending bylaws during our annual meeting; of guidelines around board roles and onboarding process; recusals, and abstentions during executive sessions and votes in meetings; and the historic role of teacher and student board seats in the NHEP organizational structure. She shared that the ED transition team, which is basically the governance committee, will be meeting every week and will be coordinating the ED transition. Due to this, they will be minimizing regular governance activities, like discussion of bylaws, but they are not pausing the search for new board members.
Ky stated that they have a new potential board member that they will be meeting with this month, who they hope to bring to the board as a nominee next month – along with several others. She shared that they will address urgent governance matters within their weekly transition meetings, as needed.
Peter asked for a reminder of who’s on the transition team.
Ky answered that it’s Alexis, Ky, Sarah, Sue McDonald – who has been on the committee for several years but is not a board member, and Shelly Hicks – who stepped down as a board member but agreed to be on the governance committee through the end of the year.
Elena asked if Ana Rosa, HR Manager, is included on the onboarding/transition planning.
Ky stated that she went to one of the management team meetings a few weeks ago and they plan on discussing plans with the team, especially to set up a schedule for the first couple of weeks for the ED. She shared that they have asked for management team feedback on anything that they’d like to see, and will be doing more of that.
Development Committee Report (6:03) (Brian + Committee)
The Development Committee met on Tuesday, February 18th.
Minutes of the meeting can be found HERE.
Board will review and discuss details of the Capital Campaign to be launched Mar 1, 2025.
Brian shared that they discussed the various responses that they need to have for the change in grants, Audrey’s outreach to government officials, and how the Capital Campaign will work. Audrey will guide the committee on the process of the campaign. Brian stated that they will need a list from each board member of at least 5 people who they can reach out to for significant gifts, as in anything over $1,000 – and they will also do a much broader, general request. He shared that they will focus their ask for these people on a specific aspect of CG – education and youth support, environmental justice, food & agriculture, etc. – they will draw up slightly different requests based on these categories. Brian asked that the board let the committee know which area they should target with the list of people, and he will send a spreadsheet where they can add names, contact info, along with the target area for each individual. He shared an email about a million dollar emergency capital campaign, and is still waiting to hear from a few board members. He expects 100% participation and so far they are at $64,750 board commitment for the campaign.
Audrey expressed her appreciation for Brian, Liz, and Peter for all the work they’ve been doing and their active involvement in this. She advised that everyone prepares for language that’s not as soft, since this is an emergency campaign, and shared that they have a lot of resources to support those who are not comfortable or confident with that ask.
Alexis asked about how it works with this campaign running simultaneously with Rock to Rock (R2R) and Great Give (GG).
Audrey answered that the approach is likely to have all campaign calls lead back to this ask. She explained that the campaign call will be the same across all the different platforms, so the messaging around R2R and the Great Give call to action will be around the same ask. Since R2R and GG profiles take a lot of time to build and the ROI is not beneficial to CG, in terms of staff time, Audrey emphasized that a 1:1 conversation would be much better given current capacity issues – but, if a board member really believes a profile is the best vehicle for them, then we can create one.
Brian added that a couple of board members indicated they will be pushing the R2R messaging, when they shared their commitment for the capital campaign, as a part of the process – which was helpful to know.
Ky asked about the new ED as a new voice for CG coming in, and how Genevive can contribute in this capacity.
Brian answered that the development committee has not discussed this yet, but will bring it up for the next meeting, now that we have an onboarding date.
Ky added that if there is anything that they feel needs to be communicated through the ED transition committee, to let them know.
Brian replied that letting her know about the capital campaign can be done right now. He highlighted some news to be shared about one foundation that has been a longtime supporter of CG.
Audrey announced the news about meeting with the ED of the Carolyn Foundation, where she shared about CG’s federal funding loss. In response to this emergency, the ED waived our application and gave us a rapid renewal of $23,000 instead of $20K, along with an emergency support of an additional $43,000.
Liz asked if Genevive is aware about what’s going on with CG financially.
Jeff answered that Genevive does know and she is still excited about working with us.
Elena added that Genevive also received the financials during the in-person interview, and they discussed the budget deficit during her meeting with the business office.
School Committee Report (6:18) (Liz) (43 mins in)
The School Committee met on February 19th. The Curriculum and Instruction (C&I) Subcommittee met on January 29th.
Minutes from the School Committee Meeting can be found HERE.
Liz shared that we are halfway through the school semester and reminded the board that Monique was hired three weeks prior to the start of the school year, and that she worked without some key positions filled throughout the semester. Liz stated her belief that Monique has been successful in getting her academic team going – developing teams and scheduling observations.
Liz discussed the concerns of the lead teacher for C&I, including the bell schedule and number of classes that are offered in the school year. They spoke through the pressures of the students having access to electives, like getting more environmental courses and higher level classes into the schedule. Liz shared that he will be presenting to the board, during school committee time, at the next monthly meeting about the schedule possibilities – which he has been discussing with some of the teachers in the school.
Monique discussed school-wide data in her mid-year follow up. She shared that CGHS enrollment is at 209, and they are in an aggressive recruiting season. Monique listed some strategies they discussed before the lottery closes on March 7th, including advertising in the inner-city news, sending out brochures and info to guidance counselors in suburban areas, and reaching out to families about sharing info on the school lottery and CGHS being open throughout the entire school year. Monique and the SLT are also sending follow up emails to parents who have already applied, to those who have expressed interest at the Open Houses, and are inviting students to come on campus for a day for an Open House experience. They’ve also scheduled three additional Open Houses in March and April, to gauge students who may not be happy with their first choice.
Monique shared that chronic absenteeism is at 40% right now, emphasizing that last month and December were high months due to illnesses and student vacations. She explained that they’re working through strategies to get that number down, like the ACE team – which makes phone calls to parents, and they are planning to do home visits. By grade level, the numbers are: 9th grade – 45%, 10th – 40%, 11th – 48%, and 12th – 27%. This time last year, chronic absenteeism was at 51%.
Monique discussed 9th grade and 12th grade data, which is part of the school’s score card based on who’s on track to graduate. She shared that 9th graders are at 73% and 12th graders are at 83%. For the entire school, the percentage of students failing two or more classes are at 25%, and the SLT is looking at that data and credit recovery – including sending letters home to parents indicating that those students have mandatory after school and Saturday academy. The ACE team and teachers are working with students to let them know that they are signed up for academic support, and the teachers will be providing projects to encourage them to get credit in Saturday academy.
Monique shared that the climate survey will be administered in the second or third week of March. She stated that the HS administered their first mock SAT on January 29th, with which the attendance and results were pretty positive. The second mock SAT is on February 26th, the last is March 12th, and then the official SATs will be on March 26th.
Jeff asked how the school is handling budget cutbacks and what’s being said by the federal government, and if the students are aware.
Monique answered that, for the most part, it’s mostly been a sense of fear – first with ICE and then future layoffs of some teachers, especially with the seniors’ memories of losing teachers in the past.
Sarah added that a number of students reported about previous support they had at home for their gender identities now being withdrawn by their parents, under the current national climate, so they are feeling less secure and safe at home – which has impacted how they’re feeling at school. She stated that a lot of students have talked about the grant funding affecting their paid work with GJC, and how they’re feeling concerned about that impact on their school experience, especially with the community they built through those programs. Sarah shared that they’re still concerned about ICE, as she’s still hearing conversations about immigration and fears for themselves, their teachers, and their families.
Liz explained that fear shows up in schools in so many ways, as we sit and talk about accountability measures on attendance and academic progress – knowing how this impacts how students show up for their classes. Liz emphasized the importance of making the school as safe and as welcoming as possible, where students have something they can depend on, through times like these.
Joel added that students seem eager to talk about what’s going on in the world and try to make sense of it together, and that feels like a healthy response to be in conversation with each other and figure out where they have control and agency around the budget cuts and how the world is right now. He gave an example of seniors thinking they had money from one of the EPA grants to support their senior project, so they are thinking of how to make the change that they wanted to make without the resources. Joel acknowledged and expressed appreciation for CGHS Student Rep, Clouds, also being in the meeting at this time.
Brian asked if there are spaces intentionally made for kids to share what they’re feeling or thinking, like through guidance, and if there are suggestions for ways that kids can respond to what’s happening in a meaningful way, similar to the call to action shared by Audrey.
Joel answered that the same call went out to students and families over the weekend and was part of daily announcements today to students. He added that classes and guidances are also spaces for that, as well as the new afterschool program in partnership with Sunrise Movement – where students can use the space to figure out what to do with their political anxiety in a positive way. Joel also shared that students have been invited to raise their voices for charter funding with the CT General Assembly, as the fight continues for fair funding for charter schools in this year’s state budget.
Sarah added that they’ve also been trying to connect students with community opportunities for empowerment, like the New Haven Pride Center’s 2-series workshop on how to raise your voice through legislative communication and testifying to the state. She’s also putting together a slide deck on how to submit written testimony, how to find the phone numbers or your local representatives, and to access information like that. She shared that there’s been student interest in making connections to local organizations, and how they are trying new student groups.
New Business (6:36)
N/A
Executive Session (6:37)
Peter moved to go into executive session. Jeff seconded.
Adjourn (7:49)
Adjourned at 7:49 (Peter moved and Sarah seconded).
Next Meeting: Monday, March 31st.
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 5:00 pm on the last business day before the meeting (Friday, March 21st) and will close at 5:00 pm on the day of the meeting (Monday, March 31st). 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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