Rocky Mountain Academy of Evergreen

Board Meeting Minutes

Page 1

Meeting Date: April 07, 2009

Meeting Location: RMAE Middle School Building - Spanish Classroom
Meeting called to order at: 06:36 PM by President John Morrill
Board members in attendance:
John Morrill (President) Bill Tomasi Seanna Mulligan
Jeff Wilhite Nancy Fiore Jeff Robertson
Karen Hines Mike Novick Jon Tesseo
Ryan Lucas (non-voting)

Others in attendance (from sign in sheet):

Dina Walton Stacey Sparks Kim Cox
Sandra Albert Linda Neilander Wendy Roth
Ann Lane Kendra Novick Doug Kittelson
Jim Petterson Nora Flood Roland Luce

A Quorum is reached with those present and on the phone.

Meeting notification requirements have been met.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all in attendance.

Board and Public Comment:

• Stacey Sparks – Stacey stated that she has one child at RMAE in 8th grade. She states that
she has had recurring problems for last 3 years with Mrs. Litchfield and she hopes her
comments tonight will help other and future school students. She states that she likes Amber
but questions if she is teaching the students. Her concerns and comments revolve around the
following:
o Amber fails to provide feedback in a timely manner.
o Homework is graded as 100% or 0%
o Homework is graded sporadic at best.
o Homework grades are posted very late in the process and doesn’t allow students time
to reflect on responses before end of quarter test.
o Quizzes are done in bulk and not spread throughout the quarter and this doesn’t allow
the student time to learn from the quizzes before the end of quarter exams.
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Board Meeting Minutes
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o That RMAE is sending children to high school without basic math skills and they are
failing.
• Sandra Albert – 3 kids here at RMAE and wants to contradict Mrs. Sparks. She and her kids
love Mrs. Litchfield and she doesn’t have an issue with her “homework trail”. She states that
her kids are thriving in math. She sees a teacher who goes above and beyond and instills a
love for math in her students. If Amber is not here she would have to decide if her kids
would stay here. She would be devastated to see Amber go.
• Sharon Simmons (via letter read by Sandra) –Sharon states that she and her kids love Amber
as a teacher as well.
• Linda Neilander – She has seen a lot of math teachers come and go. 150% support for Amber
and reflects that her daughter excels in math because of Amber. Amber is teaching 5 different
levels of math here at RMAE (above grade, at grade, and below grade). She sees that
teaching 2 levels up (10th grade math for some of our 8th grade AP students) is not required
and Amber offers it anyway. Amber is at a disadvantage schedule wise due to this. Amber
gives the kids her home and cell numbers so that every kid has the ability to get help if they
need it. She feels that the teachers who stand out in RMAE are: Karen Hines, Ann Hushen,
and Amber. Amber cares more about the kids and works more with the kids than almost any
other teacher in the school.
• Wendy Roth – first year parent. Ditto with Linda and Sandra. She has a child who came
from foothills and Amber had to start from ground zero because of the lack of math teaching
at foothills. Amber offers additional tutoring to students 1 day a week at each level.
• Kendra Novick – Ditto with Linda & Sandra. Kids feel that they can approach Amber with
any problem they may be having. Also, she wanted to note that the Washington DC trip is
not being attended by Ryan? She urges the Bard to please reconsider this because the kids
love Ryan and the kids look up to him and his expertise in DC.
• Doug Kittleson – Ditto pro Amber. Daughter was frustrated with math before she had Amber
but now she loves it. Amber is the most overloaded teacher at RMAE and he wonders if the
Board can do anything to help relieve this burden so that she can address some of the items
brought up by Stacey? Also, as a former Board member, RMAE needs to do a better job of
recognizing previous Board members who have served at least a year Board.
• Bill Tomasi – Bill Tomasi informed the Board that he has found a local (Denver) company
that has some used modular building that may suit our needs for a lunch room and an indoor
gym space (albeit a bit smaller than ideal). These modular units are 14 x 70 and we can build
out as many side by side as we need (3 would provide a good sized space (42 x 70) and
would fit in the upper parking lot). The modulars have no internal walls or support beams so
it would be one large open space that we could divide in half to provide a 1,400 sq ft lunch
room and a 1,500 sq ft “gym” space. The costs for the modulars are reasonable (about
$8,000 per 14x70 modular unit), the costs to move up to our school and secure them are
reasonable (about $5,000), and he feels confident that our parents would be willing to
provide the labor necessary to finish out the units over the summer. He commented that while
not ideal because of the removal of the parking spaces, the upper parking lot would provide a
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Board Meeting Minutes
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location that could be readied quickly and cheaper than a location farther back on our
property because:
o The site doesn’t need to be graded
o Access to the site is easier for the delivery trucks
o ADA access would consist of a short (about 5 foot) concrete path connecting the
parking lot to the traffic circle sidewalk.
o Electricity conduit is already in place for the parking lot lighting. More research
would need to be done to determine if we have enough space in the pipe to pull
additional wiring.

Meet the Board / Candidates:

• Nora Flood – Nora moved to Evergreen last year and currently holds the position of VP
School Services with Colorado League of Charter Schools (CLCS). Nora’s background is
teaching math (middle and high) 15 years. She was also a Charter School Principle for a k-
12 school in California for 15 years. Nora states that she misses being around kids and
schools and is very interested in being the community representative for RMAE.
• Ann Lane – Ann has 2 kids at RMAE (4th grade and preschool). Ann is an attorney and is
interested in participating more with the school and the Board.
• Jim Peterson – Jim has 2 kids at RMAE (2nd and 1st grades). He states that he has lived in
Evergreen for 7 years and currently resides in Tanoa. He is currently employed as the Chief
Communications Officer for the Nature Conservancy in Denver. His background is in
strategic communications and marketing communications. He also advised President
Clinton’s cabinet on strategic communication. He is on the Tanoa HOA and states that he
will help build bridge between RMAE and Tanoa.
• Seanna Mulligan – Seanna has a 6th grader here at RMAE and a 3rd grader at Bergen. She
states that she is very involved in both schools and the community and has held the position
of PTA president of Evergreen. She was involved in the Jefferson County 3a and 3b Bond
initiatives. Her background is in Board training and Not for Profits. She wants to support the
school and see being on the Board as an ideal way to do this.
• Bill Tomasi – Bill has one child at RMAE (3rd grade). He states that he and his wife are both
very involved in the school and the entire family sees volunteering as a responsibility. Bill
was assigned to the RMAE Board last year to fill a vacancy and assumed the duties of
Secretary at that time. Bill stated that is currently the Secretary of his Summit County
condominium complex HOA.
• Jon Tesseo – Jon filled a Board vacancy in February. Jon was part of the Director hiring
committee 2 years ago and also served on the math committee (twice). Jon is a professionally
trained Board Member and feels he can add a lot of value to the RMAE Board. Jon is also
involved with the Mile High Youth Corp in Denver. Professionally, Jon is an equity
portfolio manager.
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• Jeff Wilhite asks each new person if they are willing to make the large time commitment
necessary to fulfill a Board seat? Plan on 20 hours a week…sometimes more…sometimes
less.
• Jeff Wilhite asks each new school parent “Why did you bring your kids to RMAE?”
o Jim – Wanted a more involved school, curriculum, after school program, and can
walk to school.
• Karen Hines – Karen stated that Kim Cox is our new teacher rep for next year.
• Jeff Robertson – Timeline: Letter Of Interest is going out in the GG this week. Ballots will
be distributed on April 17th. Candidates are welcome to campaign as you want, carpool, etc.
Ballots are due back the following Thursday (April 23rd) and the Elections Committee will
release the results on April 24th.
• Mike Novick – Mike urged each candidate to please stay involved by attending Board
meeting, etc if you are not elected to the Board in this election.
• Kendra Novick – Kendra asks if voting ballots are one per family or one per parent? Also, if
voting is anonymous, how do we know that people are not voting more than once?
o Jeff Robertson stated that the ballots are one per parent / legal guardian.
o Jeff Robertson indicated that he is going to need to take the anonymous balloting
question back to the committee and needs to evaluate the By Laws and established
processes since this is the first year the ballots were going to be sent electronically
instead of printed and distributed.

Consent Agenda:
• Minutes from the 3/19/09 meeting were NOT read and approved.
• Motion: John Morrill motioned to accept the 3/19/09 minutes; Jon Tesseo seconded the
motion.
• Discussion: Seanna and Mike stated that they have not read the minutes enough to approve
them.
• Motion: Jeff Robertson motioned to table the Minute Approval; Mike Novick seconded the
motion.
• MOTION TABLED.

DB Development
• John informed the Board and the audience about the existing agreement between RMAE and
DB Development regarding the fee due to RMAE when lots are sold. Discussions around the
details about money going to RMAE, PTO, Foundation, etc. Dina stated that she is waiting
to hear back from the attorney. Lengthy discussions held around the verbiage in the release,
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the sequence required to transfer a contract over to the foundation, and the state of the
creation of the new foundation.

Motion: Mike Novick motioned that the Board approve the wording of the release with the
corrections of misspellings (RMAR, etc) be corrected prior to execution; Jon Tesseo
seconded the motion.
Discussion: Mike stated that he wants to satisfy the partners as this has been a long term
topic for them. Seanna wants the Board to move
Vote: 2-6 (Mike Novick and Karen Hines For; Seanna Mulligan, Jon Tesseo, John Morrill,
Nancy Fiore, Jeff Wilhite, Jeff R against; Bill Tomasi abstained)

CBE / RMAE PATH

• Ann Lane informed the Board that she has drafted some verbiage to address the granting of
access to each others property, construction costs, RMAE designs the path, CBE approves the
design, that we will use volunteers to construct the path, that both RMAE and CBE will split the
costs of construction, the legal descriptions of the property. Lengthy discussions ensued around
who owns which property (RMAE, JeffCo, CBE, others?) that the path must go through and the
approvals and language we would need.

Business Manager and HR manager organizational structure

• Dina Walton informed the Board that this topic has come up on a couple of occasions and
suggested that the Business Manager have a line of reporting to the Board and a dotted line to the
Director because there are occasions where the Business Manager has to say “No” to their boss
or having to go around their boss in situations where the Business Manager and the Director do
not see eye to eye on financial issues all the time.
• Dina Walton informed the Board that she is undergoing HR training and certification. She also
stated that putting the HR manager as a direct report to the Director enables a situation where HR
issues could arise where the HR manger needs to make HR decisions that are not supported or
endorsed by the Director. She also stated that the current Director brought this up and is in favor
of having all 3 positions (Director, Assistant Director, HR, and Business) should all report to the
Board in order to avoid having situations arise where 2 can gang up on the third. Dina also
stated that the teachers have stated that they can not speak freely to the HR director because the
HR director reports to the Director.
o Mike Novick reported that he emailed John Perry and John’s statements were that this is
not the normal organizational pattern of Charter Schools and that the Board hires a
Director to run the day to day operation of the school. Mike states that he does not feel
that this proposed organization is not in the best interest of the school.
o Nora Flood stated that these types of issues (Business Manager) could have been avoided
if RMAE had a stronger Finance committee. Also, the HR aspect could be addressed by
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having a employment committee, a grievance committee, etc. Also, she worries that this
could drive a wedge between the Director and the HR Director or the Business Manager.
o Lengthy discussions ensued around the signing authorization levels required at other
schools and institutions.

2009 / 2010 Budget

• Jeff Wilhite handed out new versions of the budget spreadsheets to the Board and members in
attendance. Some of the highlights of the new budget include:
o Hitting the projected 410 FTE count is not as assured as it was. Without this level,
getting the funding for the AD and/or the SPC position is in jeopardy
o The Master Schedule committee researched the planning periods stated in the Policy
Handbook and found statements for a duty free lunch and one planning period instead of
the two that were proposed.
o Tech Cart is now removed from the budget.
o The two teacher aides that presented at the last Board meeting have finalized a negotiated
settlement that saved RMAE about $8k.
o Aides will be at 7 hours not 6 as proposed and will work for 179 days.
o The teacher that requested benefits will be allowed to go full time and receive benefits
but no increase in base pay. She will be used in other capacities as needed.

Mike Novick questions if this is setting a policy that could be construed as
discriminatory if another teacher requests this same benefit and we don’t offer it
to them. Dina Walton agrees from an HR viewpoint.
o Mike Novick asked Nora Flood her opinion about a school of our size having a full time
AD. Nora stated that she feels it depends on the job description of the Director and how
much activities the Director has to have outside of the school, students, and staff (parents,
community, etc).

Motion: John Morrill motioned to approve the 2nd column of the budget spreadsheet as prepared
(Projected 09-10 Budget) showing a projected cumulative cash flow of $106,670; Karen Hines
seconded the motion.
Discussion: Mike does not feel that we should approve without the stipends for the elementary
and middle school coordinators.
Vote: 8-1 (no abstain, Mike Novick against)

Motion: John Morrill motioned to approve the purchase services as presented; Jon Tesseo
seconded the motion.
Discussion: None.
Vote: 9-0 (no one abstained, no one against)

Motion: Bill Tomasi motioned to approve the charter contract as written; have the Board
President sign 2 copies; and have the Board Secretary attest to the President’s signature; Mike
Novick seconded the motion.
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Discussion: None.
Vote: 9-0 (no one abstained, no one against)

Next board meeting scheduled for: April 16th, 2009 at: 7:00 pm
Long Range Planning meeting scheduled for: April 23rd, 2009 at: 7:00 pm

Executive Sessions:
Motion: Bill Tomasi motioned that the Board move into Executive Session pursuant to
section C.R.S. 24-6-402(4)(f) and to invite Nora Flood, Dina Walton, Marie Lynch, Cheryl
Hadsell, Jean Wilson into the executive session discussions; Jeff Robertson seconded.
Discussions: None.
Vote: 9-0, approved (no one abstained).

• Pursuant to Colorado Revised Statues section 24-6-402(4)(f), the Board is going into
executive session at 9:34pm for the discussion of Personnel matters except if the employee
who is the subject of the session has requested an open meeting, or if the personnel matter
involves more than one employee, all of the employees have requested an open meeting. The
Board is inviting Nora Flood and Dina Walton into the Executive Session discussions.

Motion: John Morrill motioned to come out of executive session at 12:45 AM; Jeff
Robertson seconded the motion.
Discussion: None.
Vote: 9-0, approved (no one abstained).

Action Items to be Completed Before Next Board Meeting -

• None.

Board and Public Comment:

• None.

With no further business, this meeting was adjourned at: 12:45 AM

Motion: John Morrill moved to adjourn the meeting; Bill Tomasi seconded the motion.
Discussions: None.
Vote: 9-0, approved (No one against, No one abstained)

Respectfully submitted
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William Tomasi
Secretary