Cedars International Academy

Governing Board

Regular Meeting - Thursday March 27th, 2025 @12:00 PM

Meeting Minutes

Attendance Summary

Name Status Arrival Time Departure Time
Chorbishop Donald J. Sawyer, DMin present member On Time At Adjournment
Sidne Campbell not present member
Enrique Suarez present member On Time At Adjournment
Dr. Michael G. Blalock, Board President present chair On Time At Adjournment
Giacomo Leone present secretary On Time At Adjournment
Kerry Parker present member On Time At Adjournment

Call To Order/Approval of Minutes

Approval of February 20, 2024 Minutes submitted.

The meeting was called to order by Board President, Michael Blalock at 12:03 pm.

By: Dr. Michael G. Blalock, Board President Seconded by: Enrique Suarez

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Consent Agenda

  1. Approval of use of grant funds to replace the Crowley campus walk-in cooler. It will be done in June after the food inventory is used.
  2. Resignation of Board Member LaTresa Accepted.
  3. Annual Instructional Materials approval.

Recommendation by Board President, Michael Blalock. Expand minutes to reflect the meeting change of meeting date.

Michael Blalock asked for a motion to approve the consent agenda

A motion by Kerry Parker (New Board Member also Attending), to accept the consent agenda. Seconded by Giacomo Leone. PASSED.

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Report Items

  1. Superintendent Report: Dr. Leslie Sparacello reported as follows

a. The TSA has awarded PTECH, and now Cedars is officially a college and career readiness school.

b. We have a good relationship with ACC that involves and enhances this program.

c, Attendance has been good for financials and students. Enrollment is 508, and next year is looking good. We should exceed our historically highest enrollment of 551 this coming year.

d. Officially part of the Texas Workforce Commission. This enables us to apply for additional funds for PreK3, which means an additional 22 students.

e. Current enrollment is about 508, Next year is expected to be around 541. Marketing items are in place.

f. We are applying for the Texas Rising Star School.

g. There is too much food in the cooler to fix it at this time.

h. A Co Op is looking at the parking lot.

i. We need to repair roofs in the portables.

j. The Safety and Security plan was approved by TEA.

k. STAR is coming up

l. Expansion update - Brady Hutchins reported, and a co-worker from Washington joined us via video - Iliya Krutko.

  1. Finance Report: Summary of Finance in the Board Packet. Money is drawn over the year. The budget and income have about a $30,000 deficit. We are working on maintaining the minimum. We are looking at IT programs to ensure they are reasonable. We have cut the costs in half.




Upcoming Meeting

April 17, 2025 at Cedars International Academy-Crowley Campus via Zoom

Discuss and Possible Action Items


  1. Discussion and possible approval of items discussed in closed session.
  2. Discussion and possible approval of PK3 Business Plan.
  3. Discussion and possible approval to share parent list with TPSCA for Charter School Advocacy.















It was moved to approve the PreK-3 business plan.

By: Dr. Michael G. Blalock, Board President Seconded by: Giacomo Leone

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Moved to send out message to ask the parents to give permission to include their email to receive updates and information from TSCA, including advocacy items. Seconded by Kerry Parker.

By: Giacomo Leone

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

The Meeting was Adjourned

The meeting adjourned at approximately 1:03 pm

Motion to adjourn was made at 1:03 pm.

By: Enrique Suarez Seconded by: Giacomo Leone

There was no notable discussion on the motion.