JAMES ISLAND CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL

Governing Board

Board of Directors Meeting September 2021 - Monday September 20th, 2021 @5:30 PM

Meeting Minutes

Attendance Summary

Name Status Arrival Time Departure Time
Robert Woodall present member On Time At Adjournment
Greg Hays present member On Time At Adjournment
Tom Hatley present member On Time At Adjournment
Kathleen Beebe present secretary On Time At Adjournment
Timothy Thorn present ex-officio On Time At Adjournment
Melanie Millar present chair On Time At Adjournment
Carson Stewart present member On Time At Adjournment
Maggie Bennett present member On Time At Adjournment
Henry Meeuwse not present Treasurer
Jeff Hays not present vice-chair
Andrea Quinn not present secretary
Cathy Woodall not present secretary
Berry Anderson not present member

Welcome and Call to Order

The meeting will be called to the order, beginning with the pledge of allegiance and a moment of silence.

Motion to call meeting to order.

By: Melanie Millar Seconded by: Greg Hays

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Approval of Agenda

So that there is agreement between board members on the agenda, and the amount of time spent on the meeting, the board shall vote to approve an agenda for the meeting. To the best of its ability, it will follow that agenda, and allow for the chair to move the board through the agenda as specified.

Approve the agenda as submitted

By: Melanie Millar Seconded by: Greg Hays

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Approval of the Minutes from the August 16, 2021 JICHS Board Meeting

Motion to approve the minutes from the 9/16/2021 JICHS Board of Directors meeting.

By: Melanie Millar Seconded by: Greg Hays

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Approval of Minutes from Aug 30, 2021 JIHCS Board Meeting

Motion to approve the minutes from the 8/30/2021 JICHS Board of Directors meeting.

By: Greg Hays Seconded by: Kathleen Beebe

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Approve the minutes as submitted

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Public Comment

Our Public Comment period is for members of the public to address the board.


Information: A. Public Comments In Person according to Public Comment Policy There were 9 individuals signed up to speak in person for today's and addressed the Board:

Melanie King, Rebecca McKee, Kathy Moore, Sara McDonnell, John McDonnell, Emma A., Hadassah S., Chris Floyd, Trey Gannett.


B. Review of Online Public Comments Submitted via the link provided. There were 19 comments submitted by today's deadline.

General Operating Account to Student Activity Account

Transfer $60,000 from the General Operating Account to the Student Activity U10 Account. This is to make up for lost gate revenue from last year due to Covid-19. This was approved in the 913-2021 Finance Committee Meeting. 

Transfer $60,000 from the General Operating Account to the Student Activity U10 Account.

By: Carson Stewart Seconded by: Tom Hatley

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Prestige

Presenting JICHS monthly Financial Statement.

Leadership Team Report

Please look in your google folder for the Leadership Team Report prepared by Ms. Wakefield and all of the Department Chairs.

Revised JICHS 2021-22 Academic Calendar

October 13, 2021, is College Board testing day. Based on the number of staff members required to administer PSAT or SAT, this day needs to be an eLearning day for all students not testing. December 17, 2021, is currently half school day. We like to make this an eLearning day so students so staff can attend Restorative Practices professional development.

approve the revised 2021-2022 JICHS Academic Calendar. October 13, 2021, will be an asynchronous eLearning day for all students not testing. December 17, 2021, will be an asynchronous eLearning day for students.

By: Melanie Millar Seconded by: Tom Hatley

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Covid Update

Review JICHS Covid Connect Dashboard by Mr. Thorn. Discussed number of students out of school due to Covid in September and the number of quarantine cases and how our numbers are comparable with other area high schools in CCSD.

Mask Mandate Enforcement

CCSD Mask Mandate- Does not apply CCSD Sponsored Charter Schools.

The CCSD Board of Trustees has mandated and will now ENFORCE the wearing of facemasks in all CCSD schools and buildings. This mandate and enforcement are for ALL persons on district property or on district transportation.

It is our intent to enforce this policy without using funds appropriated by the 2021-2022 General Appropriations Act, which in our opinion, will keep us in compliance with State Budget Proviso 1.108. 

The mandate’s compliance will commence on September 20, 2021, and at this time, conclude on October 15, 2021. Accordingly, the Board will affirm the conclusion date before October 15 and reserves the opportunity to make changes depending on the COVID-19 transmission rate in our school communities.

It remains our collective opinion that wearing facemasks in school is an essential health and safety measure. Just that simple act of each of us will help prevent severe illness or death from COVID and reduce the number of students who are forced to quarantine.

The Board hopes that the COVID transmission rate will diminish between now and October 15. It is also our hope that everyone complies with the mask requirement for the greater good of all. 


@Thorn- CCSD has told JICHS that we are on our own if there should be any lawsuits or legal action taken against JICHS about mask wearing. There were some questions from the floor which prompted some discussion.


Our legal counsel, Wilson & Heyward came in the middle of our discussion and JICHS BoD talked about tabling discussion until they could speak to him in Executive Session.


Motion to table this discussion until we spoke to our JICHS counsel about the CCSD mask mandates.

By: Maggie Bennett Seconded by: Kathleen Beebe

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Athletic Report

Presented by Athletic Director Jeremy Holland.

Athletics Capital Improvements

Approve $1.3 million to install field turf in the back practice field and upgrade the current weight room facility.

By: Greg Hays Seconded by: Melanie Millar

This funding will go through procurement. 

Maintenance Report

Presented by Mr. Thorn submitted by Mr. Neal Monette.

School Leader Report

Presented by Mr. Thorn

JICHS BoD

Chairperson @Melanie Millar thanked Mr. Hatley, Mrs. Beebe, and Mr. Woodall for their two years of service on the JICHS Board of Directors.

Executive Session

  • Contracts- Personnel Contract
  • Personnel- Evaluation
  • Legal- Mask Mandate
  • Student Privacy-  Student Discipline

Come out of Executive Session

Motion to Come out of Executive Session

By: Melanie Millar Seconded by: Carson Stewart

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Agenda Item - Updated Mask Policy

To provide a virtual option on the school premise or at home until the October 18, 2021 JICHS Board of Directors meeting for those who do not feel safe sending students to school due to JICHS current mask policy.

By: Greg Hays Seconded by: Carson Stewart

The vote was unanimous. 

The Meeting was Adjourned

The meeting adjourned at approximately 8:20 am

Motion to adjourn

By: Melanie Millar Seconded by: Greg Hays

There was no notable discussion on the motion.