Cannon River STEM School

“The bylaws were updated during the fiscal year to comply with minnesota charter school statutes. Specifically, the following sections were updated: section 3.3 - board makeup: the board makeup shall be accordance with ms 124e.07 such that the board shall be composed of at least 5 nonrelated members and include: a. At least one licensed teacher employed at the school or a licensed teacher providing instruction under contract between the charter school and a cooperative b. The parent or legal guardian of a student enrolled in the charter school who is not an employee of the charter school. C. An interested community member who is not employed by the charter school and who does not have a child enrolled in the school. Section 3.4 - board elections: all elections shall comply with ms charter 124e.04. At least 30 days prior to the election, eligible voters will be notified of the next board election, the number of positions open, the eligibility requirements and the application procedure. Whenever notice to eligible voters is given, such notice shall be sufficient if given by crss' normal means of communicating with parents. Crss shall have no obligation to notify separately, parents who, through no action of crss, lack access to or fail to receive such communications. The ultimate goal is the development of a board that addresses the needs of the school and is also representative of the school's diversity. The board will appoint an election committee. No election committee members shall be board candidates, spouses or relatives of board candidates, or current directors running for re-election. The election committee will conduct a pre-ballot interview process that will allow for development of a board with balanced capacity, which also preserves a parent voice. Section 3.17 board training: all board directors must attend required board training. The board training should fulfill minnesota department of education requirements regarding topics and timeline for completion to comply with m.s. 124e.07, subd. 7.”

“Associates of the school include parents/legal guardians of enrolled students, staff members employed by the school, and volunteers certified by the volunteer committee and approved by the board. Associates in good standing elect the board of directors at the annual meeting.”

“The school does not have any committees that have authority to act on behalf of the governing body.”

“The form 990 is prepared by the school accountant. The form 990 is made available for review by the finance committee once it is completed and a public disclosure copy will be forwared to the board before filing.”

“It is the policy of the board of directors to conform to statutory conflict of interest laws and, in addition, act in a manner that will avoid conflicts of interest or the appearance thereof in its members' official and private capacities. An interested director may be present for discussion to answer questions, but may not advocate for the contract or transaction. They must not be present while a vote is taken. The review of potential conflicts of final determination will be made by all remaining members of the board or directors. All proceedings related to conflicts of interst are documented in the meeting mintures in detail in accordance with the school's conflict of interst policy.”

“The board used the neighboring school districts' salary schedule as a base market rate for salaries. The process was last undertaken in august 2016 for nalani mccutcheon, executive director.”

“The school's governing documents, conflict of interst policy, and financial statements are available upon request.”

“Related board members per mn statute 124e.07, charter schools are required to have licensed teachers as members of the board of directors. Angela rosendahl and cheryl wendt are board members but received compensation for their services as teachers. Marilyn bongers is a board member but received compensation for her services as a substitute teacher.”

“Pension liabilities, net of pension deferred outflows & inflows: as a charter school in the state of minnesota, participation in two multiple-employer, cost-sharing defined benefit pension plans is statutorily required. The school's contributions to the plans are also regulated by statute and are based on a percentage of salaries and wages earned by current employees. Therefore, while the net pension liability is reported on the school's statement of net position, the school is not in a position to directly control the liability or the subsequent liquidation of the liability.”