January 2025 School Board Meeting

Hey there, fellow parents and education enthusiasts! 🌟 

With all the legislative talk around school funding reform, it was refreshing to kick off the new year with some exciting updates from the Empower school board. On January 23, 2025, the monthly virtual school board meeting was held, and let’s just say it was packed with information in just 37 minutes.

First up, the academic report. As you can imagine, parents aren't the only ones still carrying heavy concerns after receiving student and school test scores and state letter grades this past fall. The Board Secretary didn't waste any time and directly asked, "What's being done about internal leadership given the students' post-test scores?" He even questioned if surveys had been sent home to parents and teachers to gather their input on permanent leadership at the school. Unfortunately, no surveys have been sent out yet, but leadership plans to keep current leaders in place to avoid causing any panic. 

Now, let's talk finances. During the board narrative, the Director of Operations spoke about rising energy costs for both water and gas bills, as well as staffing cost increases. But here's some good news: the school received a $50k grant that should cover the costs used to purchase last month's property acquisition, with only $2k out of pocket for demolition. Excitingly, the Charter School Growth Fund granted Empower a whopping $536k! As a parent, I'm eager to see how these funds will be applied towards extracurricular activities, student enrichment, tutoring, and more. And guess what? This Growth Fund Grant is in addition to the $1 million dollars in funding Empower received just before Christmas! 

On the facilities front, the purchase of the property near the lower campus is now complete. The expenses to purchase and demolish range between $40k-$50k, according to the Executive Director. There are plans to purchase modular school buildings to hold classes in, and Empower is also planning to open a high school campus. No surveys have been sent home to parents at this time, but stay tuned for more updates. 

Lastly, the Executive Director Search and Updates. Leadership noted that they are currently juggling the work of 5-6 jobs at one time. The Board Secretary emphasized that the board is there to support the school in any way needed, but they need to be made aware of what those needs are. The Director of Operations explained that school leaders are working on a proposed work model to alleviate certain responsibilities.