The Board Brief November 14, 2024

The Board Brief will be published by the central office following each regular meeting of the OPA Board of Directors. The Brief is designed as a reasonable summary of meeting content to keep the OPA community informed and is not an official record of meetings. To view official meeting minutes, please visit BoardDocs and click on the specific meetings of interest. Each meeting's minutes are presented to the Board for approval at the following meeting. For questions or comments about this Brief, please contact communications@opaschools.org

Mrs. Merlette provided updates and highlights of events and activities at the South Orange County School site.

Highlights included a video produced by Mrs. Shipp, School Counselor, for You Belong Day. At OPA, we believe that all children are gifted and all children can learn. This mission reflects that all champions belong and have a place here at OPA. Click the image of the gratitude tree to watch the video on OPA's YouTube channel.

As previously announced to the OPA community, the OPA Board of Directors currently has an opening for a new member. Two finalists were interviewed for the opening during the Board meeting. Additional information regarding filling the open seat will be provided at the next regular Board meeting.

For additional information on the role of the Board of Directors and the recruitment process, including the timeline, please visit our website here: https://www.opaschools.org/apps/pages/board-member-search

Dr. Fricker presented highlights of the policies and procedures that will be used during the upcoming Open Enrollment period. These ensure that all admissions policies and practices are consistent with Education Code Section 47605 subdivision (e). Additionally, they standardize admission procedures and registration processing across all sites, allowing for a consistent experience for all OPA applicants.

2025-2026 Open Enrollment runs January 27, 2025 - February 28, 2025. The Lottery will be held on March 14, 2025 via Zoom. For additional information, please visit our website: https://www.opaschools.org/apps/pages/admission

Dr. Amy Smith was re-appointed to the Board of Directors. Her new term will end in June 2027. Although Board terms run two years in length, the Board voted to appoint Dr. Smith to a 30-month term to align all Board member terms to begin and end in the month of June. This alignment allows for better organization of training, committee assignments, and the conducting of Board annual work.

Delite Travis was selected as a member of the Finance and Audit Committee.

The Finance and Audit Committee assists the Board of Directors in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities related to income and expenses consistent with the Board's long-term goals.

The Academic Excellence Committee presented a recommendation for how Oxford Preparatory Academy defines Academic Excellence. The Board approved the definition as:

OPA believes that all children are unique and gifted individuals. We support our Champions’ ability to academically grow, achieve, and excel. Academic Excellence at OPA is defined as:

• Champions meeting or exceeding standard metrics on required and organizationally adopted academic assessments
• Champions showing growth on local diagnostic assessments in literacy and mathematics
• Champions showing growth and outperforming comparison district and charter schools on required statewide metrics, including English/Language Arts, mathematics, and science
• Champions demonstrating understanding and excellence in the six competencies outlined in the Champion Profile: Critical Thinking, Creativity, Collaboration, Communication, Character, and Civic Learning.
• Champions understanding, cultivating, and applying their Multiple Intelligences

Interim budgets are a snapshot of OPA's financial position as of October 31, 2024. They compare the budget adoption for each school site presented in June 2024 to a snapshot taken on October 31. While both OPA-SOC ($249,767) and OPA-SV ($459,873) reflected surpluses, OPA-MS reflected a deficit ($253,889).

Mr. Michael Lauro, Chief Business Officer, discussed the mitigating strategies that the Executive Team continues to utilize to reduce the OPA-MS deficit in the multi-year projection. It is important to note that this is the second year for the Middle School and the current financial position is normal and to be expected in any new school. The interim budget should be viewed as an indicator of areas that may need realignment during the spring budget planning process. In the coming years, OPA will continue to identify opportunities to grow capacity, repay start-up costs, and build a surplus.

The location of meetings rotates between the school sites. Meetings can be attended in person, viewed via Zoom, and live-streamed on our District YouTube channel.

• January 9, 2025 - Regular Meeting - Saddleback Valley - 6:00 p.m.
• February 20, 2025 - Regular Meeting - South Orange County - 6:00 p.m.
• March 20, 2025 - Regular Meeting - Saddleback Valley - 6:00 p.m.