Nau Charter School – Governing Board

 

The Governing Board of Managers shall consist of five (5) Members comprised of two members appointed by Imagine Schools Non-Profit, Inc. and three members from the community (such as parents or other involved citizens of the community).   As such the Board of Managers will combine Imagine Schools Non-Profit, Inc.’s expertise in running schools with local knowledge and care for the community.   The Principal may attend as an ex-officio member.

Imagine Schools, Inc. and Nau Charter School affirm that neither entity will discriminate against any candidate on the basis of race, creed, color, gender, national origin, age or disability in its recruitment, selection, training, utilization, termination or other employment-related activities. 

All founding members may continue on the Board for a three year term.  Imagine Schools’ experience is that some remain, while other qualified individuals from the St. Lucie community will come forward to request to be on the Board.  The Board of Managers will also recruit for board membership, keeping in mind the need to have a balance of business and education expertise on the Board.  Each new board member will undergo an orientation to clarify the roles of each board member and establish board standards.

This structure provides the Nau Charter School with the best opportunity to fulfill our goal of providing a high-quality education to the children of the area.  The makeup and structure of our Board will reflect the interests of all community interests, including parents and other stakeholders.  We also believe that the school’s affiliation with Imagine Schools Non-Profit, Inc. enables us to run the Charter School in a way that is economically sustainable, thereby giving us the chance to guarantee a long-term impact in the community. Through its affiliate relationship with Imagine Schools Non-Profit Inc. the Board Managers the Nau Charter School shall have the responsibility of governing the Charter School as defined by the state laws of Florida for non-profits and charter schools.

Governing Board community representatives will serve staggered three year terms to further insure that the continuity of the vision of the petition is maintained as outlined in the operating agreement.  The Governing Board will serve as the governing body of the Nau Charter School.  Procedures for instituting and replacing Board members are set forth in the Articles of Incorporation of the organization and by resolutions adopted by the organization.  The Board members will elect a President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary.  Each member of the Board will be fingerprinted.  The Board of Managers will not receive compensation for their services. 

The Governing Board will focus on policy issues and entrust the day-to-day management of the school to the Principal who will in turn be accountable to the Governing Board for the performance of the school and the teachers.

The Board is responsible for:

Ø  Maintaining the mission and vision of the Nau Charter School

Ø  Management of the business, property, and affairs of the school;

Ø  Approval of the Principal to administer and operate the Charter School

Ø  Setting overall curricular policy (including veto control over all elements of the curriculum). Other curricular matters will be the responsibility of  the Principal, teachers and other staff members who may enlist assistance from ISNP

Ø  Approving any fund raising plan

Ø  Measuring accountability goals and objectives

Ø  Establishment of an overall policy for the Charter School;

Ø  Approval of the annual budget of anticipated income and expenditures, and the causing of the preparation of the annual financial audit report;

Ø  Filing of an annual report to the School Board, to be made available to all parents of all students of the Charter School;

Ø  Review of the annual School Climate Survey and assessment data to evaluate the effectiveness of the Charter School Improvement Plan;

Ø  Interaction with the School Advisory Council (see below) to address the concerns of teachers, parents, students, and community members with respect to Charter School affairs;

Ø  Communicate issues, concerns and suggestions to Imagine Schools’ regional and local school staff.

Ø  Maintenance of written records of attendance and minutes of its meetings.

Ø  Nominate community replacements when member terms expire

Ø  Reporting to chartering authority    

The Governing Board serves as the sole responsible fiscal agent for setting the policies guiding the financing and operations.  Imagine Schools serves as an important resource given their experience managing dozens of charter schools.  Policies are decided by the Board, and the principal ensures that those policies flow through the entire organization. 

The Governing Board reports its progress annually to St. Lucie County School District, which forwards the report to the Commissioner of Education at the same time as other annual school accountability reports. The Department of Education includes in its compilation a notation if a school failed to file its report by the deadline established by the department. The report includes at least the following components:

1.  Student achievement performance data, including the information required for the annual school report and the education accountability system governed by Florida Statues1008.31 and1008.345. Charter schools are subject to the same accountability requirements as other public schools, including reports of student achievement information that links baseline student data to the school's performance projections identified in the charter.  The Nau Charter School shall identify reasons for any difference between projected and actual student performance.

2.  Financial status of the charter school which include revenues and expenditures at a level of detail that allows for analysis of the ability to meet financial obligations.

3.  Documentation of the facilities in current use and any planned facilities for use by the charter school for instruction of students, administrative functions, or investment purposes. 

4.  Descriptive information about the charter school's personnel, including salary and benefit levels of charter school employees, the proportion of instructional personnel who hold professional or temporary certificates, and the proportion of instructional personnel teaching in-field or out-of-field.

The Governing Board holds the school administration responsible for the hiring and supervision of all staff, both instructional and non-instructional.