September 29th, 5:30pm
In person at Common Ground – Hilltop Room 109
Present: Alexis Smith, Brian Kelahan, Carly Osborne, Clouds Mutale, Jeff Carter, Ky Andersson, Lauren Caplan, Liz Cox, Sarah Field.
Staff: Amanda Byam, Deborah Greig, Genevive Walker, Monique Frasier, Rebecca Holcombe.
Public: Frank Ward, Margaret Randle, Wayne Nadorf
Welcome
The meeting was called to order at 5:38 PM.
Public Comment: N/A
Introductions:
All present members introduced themselves.
Business Requiring Approval
Brian moved to approve the minutes of the August 25th Board meeting. Jeff seconded the motion. All in favor.
Carly moved to approve the student handbook. Lauren seconded the motion. All in favor, 1 abstention. None opposed. The motion to approve the student handbook passed.
Motion for Certified Resolution: N/A
Invoices Needing Approval
- Larosa – DoAg
- Edmentum
- Facilities / Compressor
- NRCS Grant / Tractor Purchase
- PKF O’Connor Audit Invoice
- Zangari Invoice
Brian moved to approve all the invoices. Liz seconded the motion. All in favor, 1 abstention. None opposed. The motion to approve all invoices passed.
Benefits Architects Presentation
Click HERE to view the Benefits Architects Presentation
Brian asked about the administration fee that the Benefits Architects collects and renewal rates.
Wayne answered stating that this renewal is lower than they had in the past.
Brian asked why they suggested we go from 30K to 50K on the stop-loss insurance.
Wayne answered that they were told not to raise to 40K-45K and mentioned a law that passed in CT for the 50K.
Jeff and Genevive explained that some claims last year pushed the organization well over the budget.
Wayne explained how misuse could cause costs to go up as well.
Genevive asked for an explanation on how “the group is doing good.”
Frank explained that the group is still between 60% and 70% of usage.
Brian asked Frank if he was sitting on the Board, how would he go about the budgeting process.
Frank said he would make sure they budget about 60-80% of this amount and then have an emergency budget just in case.
Jeff and Brian asked if they would budget 80% of the $1,098,802 and Frank confirmed that that is the correct number, then went over the fixed cost that pays Benefits Architects and Meritain.
Sarah asked about best practices that Frank and Wayne may have seen other companies implement to support employee health and wellness, and if there are proven strategies or programs we can use at Common Ground to support employees that, in turn, supports all of us keeping costs down while having access to quality healthcare when needed
Frank stated that the cost is , increased employer contribution a little to help with the employees. To help, there are also certain programs by Pareto. These make sure that their care is cost effective and that the employee is receiving the right care. A prescription management program also helps with the prescription.
Genevive suggested that board members and attendees go over the presentation closely on their own and send questions to share with Frank and Wayne to address all concerns.
Frank explained that they added the HSA plan to give employees another option and lower costs.
Frank added that he is not sure if the law was considered when adding the part-time eligible and ACA compliance, plus it does not help those employees. Genevive and Frank explained that this blocks them from better, more affordable options. He recommended that they offer just dental, vision, and ancillary benefits.
Nomination of New Board Member(s)
- Almut Zieher
Ky shared that the governance/nominating committee is putting forward a second Parent Representative nomination, as the by-laws say they must nominate at least one.
Ky motioned to nominate Almut Zieher to be a second Parent Rep for the Board. Jeff seconded. All in favor. None opposed. The motion passes unanimously.
Executive Director Report
Link to September Directors Reports
Committee Reports
Minutes of all Committee Meetings will be posted on the Board of Directors Webpage by the end of each month.
Development Committee Report (Brian)
The Development Committee met on September 16th.
Minutes from the Development Committee Meetings can be found HERE.
Finance Committee (Jeff)
The finance committee met on September 18th.
The meeting agenda and minutes from the Finance Committee can be found HERE.
- Review of the monthly financial report:
- August Finance Report can be found HERE.
Governance Committee Report (Kyeen)
The governance committee met on September 16th.
Minutes from the Governance Committee Meetings can be found HERE.
Ky urged all Board members to sign the Conflict of Interest form, which Genevive printed for members’ convenience.
School Committee Report (Liz)
The School Committee met on September 17th.
Minutes from the School Committee Meetings can be found HERE.
To be approved by the Board: DRAFT 2025-2026 Student Handbook
Liz shared a document about the “Next Generation Accountability System.” Liz explained that these indicators will drive the charter renewal process and the number of years needed for renewal. She emphasized some of the big indicators including academic achievement – ELA, Math & Science; attendance, preparation & readiness for postsecondary, and more.
Monique shared the SY 2025-2026 SIP Presentation. She explained that academic achievement and chronic absenteeism are the focus and discussed some goals, strategies, and indicators that are part of the SIP.
Liz included that there are a lot of correspondence and resources in the student improvement grant.
Alexis asked about teacher chronic absenteeism.
Monique explained that this is just the start of the year, and some teachers have been hit with COVID, injuries, and tragedy.
Brian asked about the special education (SPED) teachers from New Haven.
Monique shared that there are two SPED teachers from New Haven and one Spanish teacher.
New Business
- Approve and update TD Bank Signatories
Jeff motioned to approve the signatory updates. Carly seconded. All in favor. None opposed.
Alexis specified that the Executive Committee can meet during a Board meeting for urgent business that cannot wait for a special Board meeting or the next Board meeting.
Executive Session
Jeff motioned to move into executive session and Ky seconded the motion.
No votes were taken during the executive session.
Adjourn
Next Meeting: Monday, October 27th on Microsoft Teams.
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 pm on the last business day before the meeting (Friday, October 24th) and will close at 5:00 pm on the day of the meeting (Monday, October 27th) 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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