Odyssey Academy
Board of Directors
Regular Meeting
6201 Noble Avenue North
Brooklyn Center, MN 55429
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 25, 2009
6:00 P.M.
Odyssey Board Mission:
The purpose of the Board, on behalf of Odyssey Academy membership, is to
create sustainable conditions in which Odyssey Academy achieves desired
results for students, parents and staff in a financially responsible manner.
Membership in Attendance: Rochelle Gredvig, John Sedey, Roshelle Amundson,
Heather Wincek, Tim Hedberg, Mike Auld, Jodi Hardenbrook, Jessica Driscoll.
Meeting Notetaker: Sheila Prokott
Absent Members: Dorothy Washington
Community Members in Attendance: Paul Zondo, school staff; Ann Harhaj and
Usamah Hayes, parents.
1. Call to order and roll call at 6:10 p.m. by Mike Auld.
2. Additions to agenda made at Board Meeting. One addition was made by Mike
Auld
to part 10, “New Business” portion of the meeting.
10.2 School Calendar was added to meeting agenda.
3. Approval of Agenda: Jessica Driscoll approved the proposed meeting agenda
and Jodi
Hardenbrook seconded the approval. All Board Members agreed with the motion
to
accept Board Meeting Agenda with additions.
4. Approval of minutes from January 12, 2009 Board Meeting.
A motion to accept submitted Board Meeting Minutes with no changes was made
by
Rochelle Gredvig. The motion was seconded by Heather Wincek. All Board
Members
agreed with the motion.
5. Community comments: Three community members attended the School Board
Meeting.
These community members presented the following questions and comments to
the
Board.
Paul Zondo, school staff member expressed concerns about communications
going home
to parents. He indicated that information about days we don’t have school
hasn’t been
reaching some parents in enough time. He indicated that communication needs
to be
clear and timely to help retain students and families at Odyssey. Roshelle
Amundson
asked Mr. Zondo if the concern for him is insufficient number of school days
or lack of
communication about days off from school. Mr. Zondo responded that
timeliness of
communication was the issue.
Mr. Zondo indicated concerns about programs and services promised and being
offered to
families as part of last year’s enrollment and recruitment process and not
having
sufficient staff and follow-through to make those programs and services
happen.
Jodi Hardenbrook asked Mr. Zondo if part of his concern is not enough hours
of school
in a school day or school year. His response to this Board Member question
were
concerns and problems with the following: homework (communication about it,
and
amount given), bus issues, particularly bullying on busses, dealing with
behavior
problems and teaching students seems to be two things that are happening
separately
during the school day and too much time is being spend on dealing with
student behavior
instead of teaching and learning. Mr. Zondo did indicate that he has had one
parent of
a student he encouraged to come to Odyssey and that parent felt their child
was
improving their skills by being at Odyssey.
Mike Auld, School Board Chairperson, asked Mr. Zondo to present and address
his
concerns about homework, tardies, behavior and other issues with the current
School
Leadership Team.
Ann Harjal, parent of students attending Odyssey: This parent asked whether
we have
been having an increase in bus issues this school year. Jodi Hardenbrook
responded that
the number of bus write-ups have gone down from last year according to
information
she has gotten from Dean of Students, Jeoffrey Reed, who handles bus
behavior issues.
Ms. Hardenbrook stated that Mr. Reed has seen an improvement in bus behavior
for the
current school year.
This parent stated that they came on campus in the last few school days and
saw students
roughhousing and noticed that one student almost got hit.
Concerns by community members were stated about how there is no punishment
or
consequences for students coming to class late. Jodi Hardenbrook responded
by stating
that Middle School students (gr. 6-8) are given detentions by teachers for
arriving late to
class and that the wall clocks in the building aren’t fully accurate, but
teachers are making
efforts to be aware of class start times using the clocks on their desktop
computers and
own watches. Ms. Hardenbrook stated she’d bring the issues of students
arriving late to
class and consequences for arriving late to the Middle School teaching team
6. Closed Meeting as needed. No Closed Meeting items were presented or
discussed.
7. Reports:
7.1 Annual Report Review:
All Board Members received a printed copy of Odyssey’s current Annual Report
to
review. This report was prepared by Kari Mitchell, Odyssey’s Director of
Operations.
Sections of importance were reviewed and briefly discussed including the
“Academic
Goals” portion of the report.
John Sedey, Interim Transition Director, suggested that at the next Board
Meeting
members from the current Leadership Team from each grade level team (K-2,
3-5, and
6-8) come to share with the School Board how the academic goals in the
Annual Report
are being addressed.
7.2 Odyssey School Building Organization (OSBO):
Jessica Driscoll reported for OSBO. She stated there was no new information
or update
to provide to the Board. Ms. Driscoll stated OSBO is currently at a
stalemate. Tim
Hedberg asked about status of OSBO getting help from the Colorado
Corporation OSBO
has been working with during the past year or so. Ms. Driscoll stated that
information
that organization needs is still being gathered in order to move forward
with them.
John Sedey stated that he is still working on developing a new 5 year
projected school
budget to assist OSBO and long-range school planning.
Brief discussion was held about school facilities planning. Jessica Driscoll
stated that at
another charter school (Chinese Immersion School) fundraising is happening
for
facilities, but they like other charter schools are having bond acquisition
and availability
issues similar to ones Odyssey is currently experiencing. It was stated that
the bond
market is bad at this time.
A need to get another purchase agreement going was discussed so purchase of
the
current building doesn’t slip under Odyssey. The need to look at other
options including
a new lease agreement was discussed.
7.2 Community Action Committee (CAC):
Mike Auld reported for this group and read from the last CAC Meeting Notes.
Winter Carnival: This event was held on February 6, 2009 and was successful.
The projected profit from this fundraising event is $2700 and will be used
by classroom
teachers for purchase of materials and supplies. Mike Auld stated profit
from Winter
Carnival 2009 was a little more than Winter Carnival 2008, but was unable to
state the
exact amount of profit increase at this time.
Variety Show and Festival of Nations Fashion Show: This event is scheduled
for Friday
March 20, 2009 starting at 7 p.m. Roshelle Amundson and Amy Burge are
co-chairing
and co-directing this event.
Parents Night Out: This event is scheduled for Thursday February 12, 2009.
Black History Day: Event is being planned for late February 2009.
Special activities have been planned for the day including a potential guest
speaker
to visit. Classroom teachers will be decorating classroom doors with
information, art,
and pictures about well-known African Americans.
Project Demonstration Night for Trimester 2: This event is scheduled for
Tuesday March
2, 2009. Projects displayed will focus on Science. Jodi Hardenbrook stated
that
Middle School students experienced significant computer issues as part of
working
to finish Science Projects during the week of February 17 to February 20,
2009. Ms.
Hardenbrook stated that Dave Rand, Odyssey’s on-call, part-time Technology
Coordinator
was able to solve the computer issues so students could complete their
Science Fair
Projects.
7.3 Finance:
Profit and Loss Reports were given to all Board members to read and refer to
during
presentation and discussion. Tim Hedberg reported for this committee.
Mr. Hedberg stated that balances are good for now. Odyssey’s checking
balance starts as
negative at the start of next month (March) due to building lease payments
being paid and
sent out. A deposit will be made to the bank to cover the lease payment
expense.
John Sedey stated the following information about Odyssey’s lease payment
bills:
Odyssey has paid the lease fees through July/August 2008. Odyssey received a
lease bill in
January 2009 and we have money set aside for lease payment bills.
Balance Sheet presentation and discussion was conducted. Tim Hedberg stated
that the
Finance Committee is projecting a loss of $94,000 for the current school
year due to
expenses already locked in from September to October 2008 before leadership
changes
were put in place. Mr. Hedberg stated Odyssey currently has a $50,000 line
of credit and
next month he will be recommending to the School Board on behalf of the
Finance
Committee to expand Odyssey’s line of credit in April 2009. Mr. Hedberg
suggested that
Odyssey make the credit line expansion as large as we can and stated to the
Board
consideration of a credit line increase up to $180,000 to ride up the
financial shortfall
anticipated by the end of the current 2008-2009 school year.
Tim Hedberg stated the Finance Committee will continue to convene and meet
before and
on the same day School Board Meetings are scheduled.
Financial Journal Entries were discussed. Mr. Hedberg recommended these be
approved by
the School Board. Mr. Hedberg recommended he review the financial journal
entries and
share recommendations to the School Board for approval. Financial Journal
Entries are
expenditures made monthly and are at the detail level of expenses. According
to Mr.
Hedberg, financial journal entries are provided to the Finance Committee by
the School’s
Business Manage, Lorrie Semmelink , for review and approval.
A motion was made by Tim Hedberg to have the School Board Treasurer
(currently Mr.
Hedberg) to review financial journal entry report copies, make
recommendations to the
School Board, sign-off on the financial journal entry report at the end of
School Board
Meetings and return the financial journal entry report to the School
Business Manager
(currently Lorrie Semmelink). Mike Auld seconded this motion. There was no
opposition
to this motion. The motion carried and was approved by Odyssey’s School
Board.
A follow-up motion was made by Tim Hedberg. Mr. Hedberg moved to have this
month’s
financial journal entries approved. Jodi Hardenbrook seconded this motion.
The motion
carried and was approved by Odyssey’s School Board.
8. Interim Director Report: John Sedey made a verbal report to the School
Board.
8.1 School Assessment: Student enrollment and attendance update was
presented.
There are 24 Kindergarten students enrolled for the next school year
(2009-2010). An
Open House for potential Kindergarten students and their parents is
scheduled in March
2009.
A Re-enrollment letter to current student’s families has gone out. Not much
response
has been received back from parents at this time.
Odyssey’s Annual School Improvement Plan has been completed and sent to the
MN
Department of Education. Odyssey’s Annual School Improvement Plan includes
the
Professional Learning Communities (PLC) experience with teachers that were
started at
Odyssey Fall of 2008. Odyssey’s Annual School Improvement Plan has been
approved
by the Minnesota Department of Education.
John Sedey asked current Board Members who are in PLC’s to report on what
their
teacher PLC is working on during the 2008-2009 school year. Jessica Driscoll
reported
that the K-2 PLC is focusing on improving students’ phonics and decoding
skills with a
goal of having 98% of students know basic phonics skills by the end of their
Kindergarten or current school year. Jodi Hardenbrook reported for the
Middle School
(gr. 6-8) PLC. She stated that Middle School Teachers are working on
improving
students vocabulary understanding and reading comprehension skills with a
goal of
bringing up student Northwest Educational Assessment scores (NWEA) to a
level of
at least 6% growth in student scores. Roshelle Amundson reported for the
Specialists
PLC (Art, Music, Spanish, Physical Education) She stated that teachers in
this group are
targeting phonemic awareness skills with students in grades K-2 with
particular focus of
working with the West African student population. Teachers in this PLC are
making sure
students are using correct letter/sound pronunciation and sound blending
skills when
speaking and reading aloud. Jeni Holm, Odyssey’s Title I Teacher, is working
with the
Specialists PLC team. A staff member from the Grade 3-5 PLC is not currently
a School
Board member and a representative from this PLC was not present to report on
what this
grade level teacher PLC is working on with students at this time.
Marketing: John Sedey reported that the current School Leadership Team met
on Monday
February 23, 2009 and discussed ways to improve marketing Odyssey in the
community.
John reported the following ideas were discussed: (1) preparing and sending
out targeted
mailings to households, (2) poster distribution in the community. Jessica
Driscoll shared
with the School Board that in April 2009, a reporter and camera person from
KARE-11
will be coming to check out Odyssey’s “Family Groups” program as part of
this local
television station’s weekly feature “What’s Cool in Our School”.
8.2 Special Education: John Sedey reported that Kari Mitchell, Director of
Operations;
Linda Bladine-Hageseth, Special Education Teacher; and Bonnie Carlson, our
Special
Education Director contracted from Innovative Special Education Services of
MN (ISES
of MN) were at the Minnesota Department of Education to review and monitor a
sampling
of Odyssey’s Special Education records. John stated the Minnesota Department
of
Education will not be coming on-site to do more records reviews according to
verbal
reporting made to him on February 25, 2009 by Linda Bladine-Hageseth.
John Sedey reported there are still some issues with salaries in the Special
Education
budget that might not be reimbursed through federal and state dollars.
Discussion followed after Mike Auld asked: “How do the issues of promised
services and
programs such as the Accelerated Transition Program (ATP), After-School
Programs, etc.
get addressed?” Jessica Driscoll commented that many promises were made to
new
families that have spread staff thin. She stated that next year
consideration should be made
regarding what Odyssey can focus on doing more for students and families.
Jodi
Hardenbrook commented that she has heard concerns about not having After
School
and Sports Programs. Tim Hedberg commented that after-school sports are a
biggie in other
schools. Jodi Hardenbrook responded that sports were promised as being
provided for free at
Odyssey and that many of the students and families who attend Odyssey
couldn’t afford
community sports fees. Transportation for sports and after-school activities
was mentioned
as another issue.
Even though the “Community Comment” time had passed, visiting community
members
were permitted to join in discussion about after-school and sports programs.
Ann Harjal,
school parent, commented that there are grants available to get monies for
activities. She
stated concern about after-school programs being cut. Paul Zondo, school
staff member,
commented that he has felt like a liar at times to some new families because
he made
promises to people as part of the recruitment process based on information
he was given
by former administrative leadership that haven’t been followed up on. Mr.
Zondo stated
he is most concerned about after-school activities programs. Mr. Zondo said
he has not
been given a clear reason why after-school activities stopped. He also
stated he continues
to help some students after school on his own.
Board members commented and responded to the community member concerns about
programs offered at Odyssey. Jessica Driscoll stated that Odyssey needs to
get back to use of
Project-Based Learning and Responsive Classroom Management that have been
part of
Odyssey since its founding. She stated she would bring discussion points
about school
programming and services from this Board Meeting to the School Leadership
Team. Jodi
Hardenbrook commented that Kari Mitchell, the school’s Director of
Operations,
continues to look for food service that is quality for a reasonable cost to
improve the
school breakfast and lunch programs.
8.3 Budget Revisions and Adoption:
John Sedey stated that enrollment hasn’t changed significantly during this
current school
year. Current number of students enrolled at Odyssey is 276 as of February
25, 2009.
John stated the school budget is adjusted for 278 students and Odyssey has
been getting
school aid based on 299 students. It was stated that at the end of the last
school year
(2007-2008), the budget balance was about $90,000. Currently we have a
$94,000
budget deficit even with the financial cut backs that have been made and put
in place
during the current school year (2008-2009).
John Sedey presented and discussed budget information with the School Board
based on
December 2008 information. He stated the following points in his budget
overview
presentation during viewing of a budget spreadsheet by School Board members.
(1) School aid is based on the number of students we have enrolled.
(2) School aid is given to Odyssey per student and comes from the State of
Minnesota.
(3) Lease aid is provided to Odyssey based on a specific formula.
(4) Special Education gets expenses reimbursed back that we spend and the
expense
amount returned is the exact amount spent.
(5) Title I monies are based on Odyssey’s free and reduced lunch student
enrollment.
Title I monies are a wash like Special Education funds, Odyssey receives
exactly
what we spend for Title I.
Mr. Sedey reviewed various specific categories on budget report with the
School Board.
Areas to look at for potential cut backs in budget to reduce deficit for the
current school
year were identified and discussed. The budget areas specifically discussed
were
“Supplies”, and “Winter Carnival” profits—how do we use these monies?
Current problem according to John Sedey is that Odyssey cannot adopt a
balanced budget because of the amount of deficit that currently exists.
Elimination
of the Accelerated Transition Program (ATP) which was a stand-alone program
in the
budget at the beginning of the current school year has been done. Operations
and
Maintenance expenses were discussed. All monies for maintaining the school
grounds,
lawn, etc. have been pulled out of the budget. John Sedey reported that
utilities costs have
been coming in at expected cost levels. Mr. Sedey also stated Odyssey has
received a
bus reimbursement because the costs of gas for the bus company we contract
with have
been less and our transportation provider is giving the savings back to
Odyssey. Brief
discussion was held about the number of buses we really need and existing
special
education bus services. Concerns were discussed about the school’s Food
Service Budget.
John Sedey stated that even with cutbacks and financial savings in all of
the mentioned
budget items, Odyssey will still have a difficult time ending the current
school year without
a budget deficit.
8.4 2009-2010 Budget Discussion:
John Sedey presented a 5 year enrollment projection. The enrollment
projections were
also shared with Greg Gredvig, from OSBO, prior to this Board Meeting. John
stated he
would email a copy of a proposed budget to Board Members following this
meeting. Mr.
Sedey stated that salaries for the next two years would remain at the levels
they
were before the 3% salary reduction occurred in January 2009. The “General
Salary”
expenditures total in the budget would remain the same the next two years.
Roshelle
Amundson asked whether the line of credit helps Odyssey deal with current
deficit. John
Sedey and Tim Hedberg responded by stating the line of credit Odyssey has is
a bridge to
deal with the budget deficit issue, not a solution.
Issues the School Board determined they need to deal with as part of
planning for 2009-2010
were named and briefly discussed. Issues identified were: (1) School
Director /Leadership, (2) Instructional Support Staff, (3) Contracted
Services.
Discussion by Board Members followed identification of these issues.
-- Jodi Hardenbrook asked about monies for computer technology. John Sedey
indicated a need to look at hiring a Media Specialist. Jessica Driscoll gave
John Sedey a printed list of suggested resources for consideration.
--Mike Auld stated a need for the School Board to deal with leasing costs if
we don’t buy the building before the start of the next school year. He
proposed the idea of approaching
Robbinsdale Schools about what they would charge to lease Sandberg School
which has been
closed and Osseo for lease options and costs. Jessica Driscoll commented
that OSBO couldn’t do that type of research because of the scope of the work
that group is permitted to
do by law, but another group could do that type of research for the School
Board. Mike Auld
brought up for consideration the question of whether Odyssey needs to look
at a 4 day school
week to save money like some other school districts have done. Mr. Auld also
stated that school staffing should be reviewed to determine who and what
services do we need from
school staff?
--Roshelle Amundson stated concern about salaries paid being commensurate
with
effectiveness and ability of teacher to assist and move students forward
rather than just having salaries based on experience. She stated that
Odyssey should be sure what is paid out in salaries is matching what we are
getting.
--Jessica Driscoll posed this question for discussion and consideration: “Do
we have
enough enrollment at each grade level to support current staff levels?
Board Members had group discussion about the Dean of Students position.
Consensus
agreement was reached about the fact that the Dean of Students position is a
key role at
Odyssey and the current Dean of Students, Mr. Jeoffrey Reed, works well with
students and staff and is a good match for Odyssey’s student population
demographics. The issue of having enough money to hire a full-time School
Director was discussed and consensus agreement was indicated that Odyssey
will need to operate with a Leadership Team rather than a single Director
due to financial resources and history of having difficulty with one person
as School Director, having an overwhelming number of duties and
responsibilities to carry out at Odyssey. Mike Auld stated that without a
School Director, the Dean of Student position is critical at Odyssey. He
also stated that Odyssey should consider pushing the Leadership Team Model
and that there is training involved with using this type of model that has
to be received by those involved in a Leadership Team.
--Jessica Driscoll commented about the Leadership Team Model approach and
stated she and Kari Mitchell, Director of Operations, have done some
research about use of Leadership Team Models by schools. Ms. Driscoll stated
she and Ms. Mitchell would be putting together information packets about
Leadership Team Model for the current Transition Leadership Team to discuss.
Ms. Driscoll reported she has received some information from Rod Haenke
about Leadership Team Models Odyssey can consider. Jessica Driscoll also
stated she was willing to set up a possible meeting with an organization
called EdVisions which works with schools using Leadership Team Models. Ms.
Driscoll recommended that more input from the current Transition Leadership
Team needs to be gathered and that Odyssey’s School Board needs to discuss
the issue of leadership more.
--Jessica Driscoll stated that Jeoffrey Reed, the current Dean of Students,
has collected from
each Professional Learning Community (PLC) data and ideas about what they
would like to have happen and in place for the next school year (2009-2010).
Ms. Driscoll stated that Mr. Reed will be sharing that input with the
current School Leadership Team on Monday March 2, 2009.
--Tim Hedberg stated concern that if Odyssey’s School Board decides to go to
a four day
school week for 2009-2010, that an announcement about that type of change
needs to
be made to the Odyssey community by April 2009.
Discussion about lease expenses and agreements was conducted. Tim Hedberg
stated interest in finding an answer to Mike Auld’s question about how to
negotiate better leasing costs. Clarification was made by John Sedey and
Jessica Driscoll that OSBO doesn’t negotiate lease agreements for Odyssey,
but the School Director does this. Jessica Driscoll suggested Odyssey look
at building purchase and lease agreement costs for next school year to
negotiate with Osseo and to check out other lease options available. Tim
Hedberg agreed with this suggestion and stated that someone should research
lease options without getting in the way of OSBO’s work.
Through group discussion it was stated that purchase of the current school
building will probably not happen for the next school year (2009-2010.) John
Sedey indicated he knew of people who could help investigate lease costs
available from Robbinsdale and Osseo School Districts.
--Mike Auld asked Jessica Driscoll how quickly Transition Leadership Team
could bring their recommendations about Odyssey’s leadership model to the
School Board. Ms. Driscoll stated those recommendations could be brought to
Odyssey’s School Board by the next scheduled Board Meeting on March 25,
2009.
Consensus decision was made that Board Members can email ideas and thoughts
about Leadership Team Model and School Budget to John Sedey. It was agreed
that ideas from the current Transition Leadership Team about leadership and
budget needs at Odyssey for the 2009-2010 school year would be brought to
the Board at the next Board Meeting in March.
9. Consent Agenda:
9.1 Payment of bills, including payroll. Tim Hedberg motioned for payment of
bills
including payroll to occur. Roshelle Gredvig seconded this motion. All Board
members
were in favor of the motion, none opposed and motion carried.
9.2 Psychologist contract for services.
John Sedey stated that a part-time School Psychologist has been hired for
the
remainder of the school year. Tim Hedberg motioned to approve the contract
for employment with Odyssey. Heather Wincek seconded the motion. All Board
members agreed, none opposed and motion carried.
10. New Business:
10.1 Board Training.
Mike Auld stated that he has talked with Steve Dess about providing Board
Training
to Odyssey’s School Board members. Mr. Auld stated that the Board Training
he
discussed with Mr. Dess would include the following:
(1) Review of policies and meet with the School Board as a group
(2) Mr. Dess attending two Board Meetings to observe and assist with helping
Board Members learn more about school finance.
(3) Assess the Board and advise on improvements for the Board to consider.
Mr. Dess would charge $100 for a session and anticipated a need to do three
training sessions with Odyssey’s School Board for a total cost of $300.
Jessica Driscoll shared information she had about Steve Dess and his
experience.
She stated that Mr. Dess is a former member of the Minnesota Association of
Charter
Schools, works at the Audobon Center as a consultant with their Charter
School Center,
and his is involved with his wife in the administration and leadership of
another
charter school in the Twin Cities named “Leadership for Learning”.
Jessica Driscoll stated she has a Board Membership with the Audobon Center
and
mentioned this group has a two year grant related to “Healthy Organization
Partnership”. As part of that grant, the Audobon Center provides
information.
Ms. Driscoll distributed copies of two brochures to every Board Member.
The brochures titles are: “Responsibilities of Non-Profit Boards and Board
Members”
and “Fiduciary Duties of Directors of Charitable Organizations”. In
presenting these
published brochures to each Board Member, Ms. Driscoll commented that
proactive
conversation is what Boards do and should look to the future. She stated
that a Board of
a non-profit organization is to govern, not to micromanage their
organization.
Ms. Driscoll stated that reactive conversation is not best practice for
Boards. Ms.
Driscoll highlighted some key points in each of the brochures for Board
Members to be
aware of when reading these documents.
Mike Auld commented that the Minnesota Legislature will be focusing on
Charter
Schools to be sure Charter School Boards are trained and functioning well
and legally.
10.2 School Calendar: Proposals for 2009-2010.
Jessica Driscoll presented two printed calendar options to each School Board
member
to review. Ms. Driscoll reported that at the after-school staff meeting on
February
25, 2009, discussion about which calendar proposal was preferred was split.
Some
school staff like the idea of starting the school year early so the school
year can end
sooner. Some staff expressed concerns that starting the school year earlier
may make
it hard for some families to start the school year and have their children
here the first
days and weeks of the school year.
Discussion was held about the number of school days. School Board members
asked whether the proposed calendar for 2009-2010 has the same number of
school
days or one more than Osseo (Odyssey’s resident and sponsoring school
district).
School Board members were not certain what Odyssey’s charter agreement
states about
number of school days required in a year. Jessica Driscoll agreed to get
clarification
from Kari Mitchell, Director of Operations, about what Odyssey’s Charter
Agreement
states about number of required school days in an academic year.
Board Members noted that one proposed calendar gives 173 days of school and
one
proposed calendar gives 172 days. It was noted that if the calendar with 172
days was
adopted, one extended weekend for February would have to be kept as a three
day
weekend for Odyssey to have 173 school days. Spring Break on both proposed
calendars is lined up with when Osseo Schools has their Spring Break
scheduled.
Neither School Calendar proposal was approved during this meeting.
Discussion about
both proposed calendars was conducted. Key points brought up during calendar
discussion were:
(1) August 17 start date with students is early.
Tim Hedberg commented that he was aware that PACT Charter School will be
starting the 2009-2010 school year the same date as one of the two proposed
Odyssey
calendars. He also commented that PACT Charter School has longer school days
and
a four day school week. He indicated Odyssey’s Sample Calendar #1 was
closest
to the calendar being set up by PACT Charter School in Anoka, MN.
(2) Many students arrive at Odyssey at 7:30 a.m. right now. The question of
whether
Odyssey should change its start time for 2009-2010 was proposed.
(3) August is a time of year when the school building can be very hot with
no
air conditioning. Concern about this school environment factor when the
school
year begins early was presented.
10.2 April Board Meeting Date:
Currently the April 2009 Board Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday April 22,
2009.
Parent-Teacher Conferences are scheduled for that evening. The Board
discussed moving
the April 2009 School Board Meeting to Wednesday April 29 starting at 6 p.m.
Jessica Driscoll motioned for the April 2009 School Board Meeting to be
moved to
April 29, 2009. Roshelle Amundson seconded the motion. All Board members
agreed
and the motion carried, none opposed.
11. Action to adjourn meeting was made by Mike Auld at 8:43 p.m. Jodi
Hardenbrook
motioned the adjournment of the meeting and Heather Wincek seconded the
motion.
The motion was voted on and passed.