1. Call to Order, Roll Call and Recognition of Visitors and Board Co-Chairs
   1. Yelena Hardcopf: Present
   2. Oksana Cox:Present
   3. Natalia Kormina:Present
   4. Elizaveta Lindman: Present
   5. Christian Schmidt: Present
   6. Ben Wallace: Present (Late 7:10pm)
   7. Alex Brusilovsky: Present
   8. Paul Kinsey, Executive Director, ex officio board member.: Present
   9. Visitors in attendance: Gedaly Meerovich, Sher Tischner of BDKA, James Redfield of Quality Schools, Branko Stevanovic
2. Approval of the Agenda for this meeting
   The board moves to approve the agenda for this meeting.
   Motion by: Christian Schmidt
   Second: Okasana Cox
   6-0-0
3. Read the Nasha Shkola Mission and Vision
4. Open Forum for members of the public wishing to address the board
   Gedaly Meerovich addressed the board regarding a planned community meeting about youth issues such as drug abuse. Mr. Meerovich would like to use the school as a meeting place on Saturday January 23rd, 2016.

   The board moves to make an amendment to the agenda to add discussion of use of the school for a community meeting on youth issues such as drug abuse on Saturday January, 23rd 2015.

   Motion by: Natalia Kormina
   Second by: Christian Schmidt
   6-0-0
   

5. Reports
   1. Co-Chairs Executive Report- Yelena Hardcopf and Oksana Cox.
      1. The co-chairs reported that the board has an open seat for a parent candidate.
   2. Executive Director report, Executive Director Paul Kinsley
      1. Current Enrollment: 127 Students
      2. Present Challenges
         1. Enrollment at the school has leveled off and this will present a challenge as rent for the building increases based on past projections of enrollment that expected our school to have 200 or more students by the 2015-2016 school year.
         2. Rent appropriations
            1. The board discussed rent increases and the recent meeting with MCA representatives and Director Kinsley.
            2. MCA has requested that our school present MCA officials with a strategic plan for the school and a marketing plan before MCA negotiates with Nasha Shkola about changes to the lease.
            3. MCA is resistant to making any changes to the current lease.
         3. Roof inspection – What does this mean? – Lease
            1. MCA has hired a consulting firm to create a report on the state of the building occupied by Nasha Shkola
            2. Nasha Shkola needs to get a copy of this report.
      3. Student Achievement (Yelena Hardcopf)
         1. Conferences were held in November. 70% of parents attended conferences.
         2. A student has received unsatisfactory scores in all areas during the fall quarter. This student has been referred to intervention.
         3. The school’s title program will be inspected by the state.
         4. Thirty four students are enrolled in middle school. Of the thirty four eleven are not meeting standards for grade level reading. A part-time title teacher will assist these students in building academic skills beginning in January.
      4. Staff Update: A new ESL teacher has been hired named Karen Pribula and Whitney Nash has been hired to teach second grade. Whitney comes from Teachers ASAP.
      5. LIT (Yelena Hardcopf)
         1. The team has continued observations, teachers are submitting lesson plans, and team members are set to begin coaching colleagues.
         2. Molly Ruhr and Karen Pribula have joined the team since the last board meeting.
   3. Financial Report
      1. Monthly Finance Report Sher Tischner, BDKA.
         1. Ms. Tischner gave a summary of the monthly finance report and explained that the school had a $201,000 cash balance.
         2. Substitute teaching costs and designs for learning costs maybe areas to examine.
         3. Food service has seen an increase in revenues.
         4. The before/after care service is $600 in deficit for the 2015-2016 school year.
      2. FY 16 Cash Flow Update
      3. Monthly cash flow as estimated for January and February appear to indicate that the school will exceed revenue in expenses.
      4. However, the school may need to borrow for a line of credit.
      5. Venture Bank could be approached for such a transaction.
      6. The school will initiate a line of credit beginning in January 2016.
6. Consent Agenda
   1. Minutes of November 12, 2015 Board meeting
   2. Financials November 2015
      The board moves to approve the consent agenda.
      Motion by: Ben Wallace
      Second: Christian Schmidt
      7-0-0
7. Old Business
   1. Before/after school care program
      1. Income – $
         1. Before and after care expenses for the current school year are $1,100 dollars.
         2. Before and after care revenue is $ 502.50.
         3. The board discussed the imbalance in revenue versus expenses.
         4. The board discussed solutions such as having parents pre-pay for service, discontinuing the program, or hiring a parent volunteer to supervise children.
      2. Nasha Shkola 2015-2016 programming
         1. The board needs to form a committee to meet to discuss the feasibility of opening a high school starting with a ninth grade for the 2016-2017 school years.
         2. The board discussed the need for this committee to produce a report to present to the public on the feasibility of opening a high school in the 2016-2017 school.
         3. This committee or task group should survey eighth grade parents for interest in high school as well as gather information on costs and how other schools have started high school instruction.
         4. Christian Schmidt, Oksana Cox, Paul Kinsley and Elizaveta Lindman volunteered to join the committee to investigate the feasibility of high school for the 2016-2017 school years.
         5. The board determined the report should be ready by February.
         6. Parent survey should be distributed before winter break.
      3. Discussions with Minnetonka Christian Academy on cost reductions and building upkeep
         1. The board discussed the meeting between MCA representatives and Director Kinsley.
         2. The board discussed the importance of getting a copy of the report being done on the building structure occupied by Nasha Shkola and rented from MCA.
         3. Since MCA is conducting the report and may refuse to provide their tenant Nasha Shkola, with a copy of the report, the board discussed the possibility of having the schools attorney formally request a copy of the report.
         4. The board discussed the possibility of finding an interested party to sublease the building and property for the remainder of Nasha Shkola’s lease if MCA refuses to make the changes needed to the structure of the building.
      4. Develop Strategic Plan of action 5 years
         1. The board discussed the need to develop a strategic plan that would include four parts: 1. Facility, 2. Curriculum, 3. Fund Balance, and 4. Increasing Enrollment.
         2. The board discussed the need to revise the strategic plan to reflect current needs.
         3. The board discussed the need to meet for a working session to discuss changes to the strategic plan and set up action items for the year.
         4. The board should send revision ideas for the strategic plan to Director Kinsley by the end of December.
         5. The board decided to set a tentative date for a meeting for January 13th 7-9pm.
      5. Curriculum development
         1. Director Kinsley asked the board to explain expectations for curriculum development.
         2. The founding board determined the current curriculum including core knowledge instruction, Russian studies and Singapore Math.
         3. IQS our schools authorizer checks our school to ensure we are abiding by the expectations set out in our schools charter authorized by IQS.
         4. The director reported that some teachers have chosen not to teach required curriculum.

            The board moves to reaffirm Nasha Shkola’s founding base curriculum of Singapore Math, Core Knowledge for English and Social Studies and Russian Language and Culture/History instruction to support meeting the Minnesota State Standards for academic achievement. Any variation from the must be approved by the school board.

            Motion by: Ben Wallace
            Second: Liza Lindman
            6-0-0
            One abstention, Yelena Hardcopf

      6. PTO day’s vs sick/personal
         1. The board discussed the need to revise the policy on sick days to 7 paid time off days for the year with nothing mentioned with regards to sick versus personal days.

            The board moves to change the wording of the sick or personal day’s policy to 7 days of paid time off for staff.
            Motion by: Elizaveta Lindman
            Second: Christian Schmidt
            7-0-0

8. New Business
   1. Annual Report – States who we are/are we living up to it?
      1. The board discussed the report.
   2. World’s Best Workforce Report
      1. The board discussed the report.
   3. Approval of MACS Chapter 4 policies The board moves to approve the MACS Chapter 4 policies with updates to title blocks and revision blocks.
      Motion by: Ben Wallace
      Second: Oksana Cox
      7-0-0
   4. Afternoon supervision
      1. On most days we do not have an administrator on duty to deal with unexpected events. The board moves to authorize the executive director to appoint a staff person or persons to supervise the school when an administrator is absent.
         Motion by: Christian Schmidt
         Second Ben Wallace
         7-0-0
   5. Discussion of the request to use school for a community event on your issues including drug abuse.
      1. The board discussed the availability of the school as MCA has written into the lease that the school is off limits to Nasha Shkola on Saturday’s due to religious services conducted at the school.
      2. The board discussed the possibility of communicating with MCA to see if a later time on Saturday would accommodate the school and allow for a community event to be held.
9. Other
   1. New Year’s Eve Program on the 19th of December.
      1. The school expects 200 people.
      2. The board discussed the possibility of an open house for January or February for parents and teachers to talk.
10. Adjourn
    The board moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:59pm.
    Motion by Christian Schmidt
    Second Ben Wallace
    7-0-0
    

Action items:

1. Membership on the curriculum committee.
2. Revise polices in the staff handbook and policy book with regards to two weeks of plans for departing staff and the retention of students.
3. The board should have a working session on ways to develop the brand of our school.