CHARTER SCHOOL REVIEW COMMITTEE

200 E. Wells Street City of Milwaukee Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202 Meeting Minutes CHARTER SCHOOL REVIEW COMMITTEE KEVIN INGRAM, CHAIR Joyce Mallory, Vice-Chair Desiree Pointer-Mace, Raynetta Hill, Aycha Sawa and Cynthia Gonzalez Staff Assistant: Linda Elmer, (414) 286-2231 Fax: 286-3456, lelmer@milwaukee.gov Gayle Peay, 288-1540 Wednesday, February 22, 2023 5:00 PM Virtual This is also a virtual meeting. Those wishing to view the proceedings are able to do so via the City Channel - Channel 25 on Spectrum Cable or on the Internet at www.milwaukee.gov/channel25 Please join this meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone. https://meet.goto.com/228935357 You can also dial in using your phone. Access Code: 228-935-357 United States: +1 (872) 240-3412 1. Roll Call. Meeting convened: 5:02 P.M. Members present: Joyce Mallory, Kevin Ingram, Aycha Sawa, Cynthia Gonzalez, Desiree Pointer-Mace and Raynetta Hill (5:06 P.M.) 2. Review and approval of the minutes of the Oct. 17th meeting. Ms. Pointer-Mace moved for approval, seconded by Ms. Sawa, for approval of the minutes. There were no objections. 3. 210574 Communication relating to administrative matters of the Charter School Review Committee for the 2021-23 school years. Sponsors: THE CHAIR Mr. Rupesh Gupta presented this report, joined by Mary Goetter. Downtown Montessori Academy - this school completed its 24th year of operation and has continued to show positive financial reserves. Expenses decreased by $124,000 resulting in a surplus of $200,000. The expenses decreased due to fewer students. Their cash position is solid with $1.7 million in cash. The school has $3.8 City of Milwaukee Page 1 CHARTER SCHOOL REVIEW Meeting Minutes February 22, 2023 COMMITTEE million owed in loans. The annual audit was completed on time and they were in compliance with all reporting requirements. They have a score of 96. He cautions they may need to keep an eye on the declining enrollment. Central City Cyberschool - this school completed its 23rd year of operation and its revenues increased by $880,000. The operating expenses increased by $920,000 and they have total net assets of $351,000. The increased expenses were due to being back in-person (increased staff and lunch food expenses). The school maintains a year-end cash balance of $816,000 and total liabilities decreased by $275,000 (primarily due to paycheck protection loan forgiveness). The annual audit was completed on time ; there was an issue with matching the number of school lunches to the invoiced amount. There are no concerns with the school's ability to continue and it did comply with the reporting requirements. The score decreased from 94 to 93 (due to the school lunch finding). DL Hines - this school completed its 20th year of operation and revenues increased by $70,000 while expenses increased by $318,000 primarily due to salary and benefits as well as providing after-care as they are no longer providing transportation, so increased teacher salary costs. The school has a very solid cash position with $1.6 million and the audit was completed on time and there are no on-going concerns. They also complied with the city reporting requirements and their scorecard is 95. Ms. Mallory noted this school has the highest per-pupil cost and this school lost students, which means they lost revenue. Their pupil count went from 220 to 186 and they do not get reimbursed for summer school. Ms. Mallory noted if the per-pupil costs are increasing, they'll need to increase enrollment. Mr. Gupta noted all of the schools are having increased per-pupil costs. Ms. Mallory would like any special revenue or expenses to be highlighted in future reports. Milwaukee Academy of Science - this school completed its 22nd year of operation and has $2.6 million in revenues, primarily due to state and federal grants, an increase in enrollment and an increase in food revenue as well as other revenue released from restrictions that were added to this year's revenue. Per-pupil costs increased by about $3,000 and they have a solid cash position, with $6.3 million in cash. They have a $10.3 million loan balance to RACM, which is a 30-year loan that began in 2013. The audit was completed late due to a change in management at the school, but there were no significant findings. The school complied with the city reporting requirements and had a scorecard of 94, which is the same as the prior year. The school is in excellent financial position. Dr. Howard Fuller Colllegiate Academy - This school completed its 11th year and had revenues of $9.5 million, up from $4.5 million from the prior year, primarily due to additional ESSER and Title 1 funding. Their expenses increased by $1.1 million. The average per-pupil cost is at $16,400, which is an increase of $3,000 from the prior year. The school has $4.2 million in cash and has a $5.2 million pledge for a new building. The audit was completed timely and there were no issues. The school complied with the city reporting requirements. Ms. Mallory commended the school for not losing a single student between first and second semester, which she found to be very impressive. Milwaukee Math and Science Academy - this school completed its 11th year and has a deficit of $47, 000 (it had a surplus in the prior year). Expenses increased by $980,000. Their per-pupil cost was $17,300, an increase of $5,000. They have assets of $741,000 and total liabilities decreased by $239,000, primarily due to the forgiven payroll protection loan. The audit was submitted late; there were no issues, except for two issues, that were one-time issues and rectified. The school has complied with the city reporting requirements. Mr. Ingram asked why the audit was City of Milwaukee Page 2 CHARTER SCHOOL REVIEW Meeting Minutes February 22, 2023 COMMITTEE submitted late (ended up doing more work than they had originally planned on doing, per Ms. Goetter). Mr. Ingram noted they no longer have an outstanding debt with their companion school. Ms. Mallory noted they need to take a critical look at their expenses. Maestro, out of Chicago, assists them financially and Ms. Mallory noted that might be one of their reasons their expenses are high (either hire someone local or gain their own expertise). Ms. Goetter agreed and Mr. Gupta thought the school should hire a local accountant. ML Tharps will discuss this more with the school based upon members' concerns. Escuela Verde - this school has been in operation 10 years and has very good financial reserves, despite a low enrollment. They have $199,000 in reserves and revenues increased by $257,000 primarily due to DPI and ESSER grants. The average per-pupil cost is $13,700, which is an increase of about $1,000 from the prior year. The Transcenter for Youth is in good financial shape. The annual audit was completed on time and there were no issues. It complied with all the city reporting requirements. The school is in a good financial position. The revenue from the coffee shop ($35,000) goes back to the school. Mr. Ingram asked if this school would be in a similar financial situation to MMSA if it weren't affiliated with the Transcenter for Youth, which is hard for Mr. Gupta to say. He asked the question since he considers the Transcenter to be a charter management company, which MMSA also operates with. Ms. Mallory didn't see them as comparable as Transcenter isn't a management company. For Central City Cyberschool, there is one error in the report - expenses increased by $921,000 (not by $855,000). Milwaukee Academy of Science, on Christmas Eve, had a fire sprinkler that caused water damage and all the high school students had to be moved to a different location; estimated damage of $7.2 million (they are insured up to $30 million). Their brand-new gym, offices and high school were flooded out. Ms. Peay is notified if any school's insurance payments are late. Ms. Mallory moved, seconded by Ms. Sawa, to accept the report. There were no objections. 4. 210567 Communication relating to the 2021-23 activities of Dr. Howard Fuller Collegiate Academy. Sponsors: THE CHAIR Dr. Marcus Robinson said the school's mission is not solely for college acceptance, but college completion. This school is working on a new Bronzeville location to be operating in August 2024 for high school students. United Way also gave the school its current facility, so they would like to use this facility for middle school. This was also done in Indianapolis - adding grades 6-8 to a school. Judith Parker, principal, is very excited about transforming into a larger school and serving students for a longer phase of their lives. Ms. Pointer-Mace asked how the school will be working with the families as they extend down to the lower levels. Mr. Robinson wanted to note that the college search would be targeted and that, at larger schools, their students would need to be supported. He noted that the access to quality teachers has gotten worse over the past 10 years as baby boomers retire, and COVID resulted in many teachers quitting. They plan on nurturing their own alums and accessing different pools of potential teachers. Ms. Pointer-Mace suggested trying to connect with retired teachers who are still licensed. Mr. Ingram had suggestions on how the school could recruit additional licensed teachers. Ms. Hill thinks this is very exciting. City of Milwaukee Page 3 CHARTER SCHOOL REVIEW Meeting Minutes February 22, 2023 COMMITTEE Ms. Gonzalez noted that adding 135 students is a lot. Mr. Robinson noted they will be enhancing their recruitment team and also be talking to families about the collegiate experience. They anticipate having waiting lists with their outreach efforts. They will begin outreach once this is approved. Aza Baylor, Evident Change, thought this expansion was a good idea. Mr. Robinson noted that the Milwaukee community is supportive of brick and mortar buildings and they should be able to have $32-$35 million for this expansion. He is confident this can be attained fiscally. Ms. Mallory noted that Milwaukee needs a 21st century building as Milwaukee doesn't have one. Mr. Ingram asked if there is a drop-dead number at which they will not open the middle school. Mr. Robinson said his greater worry is access to construction labor and timing between having the high school open and students moved to the new school. He doesn't think it will be an issue finding 60 families for the middle school. If need be, they will start with 6th grade, then add 7th grade, then 8th grade. Ms. Mallory would encourage them to find a research partner to track their 6th graders through 9th grade so they have documentation to replicate this nationwide if it's successful. Ms. Mallory moved to approve the request for expansion for 6th-8th grade, seconded by Ms. Pointer-Mace. There were no objections. Meeting adjourned: 6:55 P.M. Linda M. Elmer Staff Assistant City of Milwaukee Page 4