Being a charter school board member is no small task! You have been asked to volunteer your time in an educational environment that becomes more complex by the minute. At least that’s how it feels. Yet your commitment is crucial for students. After all, isn’t that why you agreed to serve? Board engagement is more important now than ever. Below you will find some resources we thought might be helpful as you continue to pursue excellence for the students, staff, and community you serve. 

How to Boost Board Member Engagement

Charter School Board Playbook

Board Resources, Tools & Model Documents

Please ensure EDDIE is updated and accurate. This is the authoritative source for DPI communications. If it’s not current, you may be missing important information. Not sure if it’s updated? Check with the person designated as the EDDIE administrator to verify EDDIE is updated. Still not sure? Contact Shannon Miller at DPI. shannon.miller@ocs.nc.gov

The sections that follow are good reminders for your board. Please share this newsletter with your board to maximize the impact of this information. If you have any suggestions or feedback to improve this newsletter, please email Nicky Niewinski at nicole.niewinski@dpi.nc.gov 

Section 1: The Charter Agreement 

• Did you know…… there are several sections of the charter application that, prior to making changes, must receive approval by OCS or CSRB?  The amendment process is governed by administrative code and statute 115C-218.7, 16 NCAC 06G.0519, 16 NCAC 06G.0511. If you have made any changes to the charter application, please reach out to OCS for guidance. Some common amendments specific to boards include:

Bylaws

Article of Incorporation filed with the NC Secretary of State

• Charter schools must clearly indicate to vendors and other entities and individuals that the obligations of the agreement or contract are solely the responsibility of the charter school by including the “No Indebtedness” clause in every contract and lease you enter. See Charter Agreement Section 19.

“No indebtedness of any kind incurred or created by the Public Charter School shall constitute an indebtedness of the State or its political subdivisions, and no indebtedness of the Public Charter School shall involve or be secured by the faith, credit, or taxing power of the State or its political subdivisions.”  

Section 2: Fiscal Oversight

• School Business held a conference on Jul 22, 2025. Linked here is the website where you can find presentations that may be helpful as you begin the annual budget process. At this time, we have not been given information for the July 2026 conference. 
• It’s time to develop, discuss and approve your school’s annual budget for the 26-27 school year. Check out this article, Charter School Budget Overview: Best Practices and Processes, which states the process consists of five fundamental activities:
• Revenue Estimation
• Expenditure Distribution
• Contingency Allocation
• Budget Balancing and
• Budget Approval

Section 3: Governance Tips & Tricks

• What does the evaluation process look like for your school’s leader? BoardOnTrack has a great article on the Top 10 Mistakes to Avoid When Evaluating Your School Leader which includes:

• You just don’t do it.
• The board is unclear about what you’re measuring performance against. 
• The board doesn’t speak with one voice.
• Misusing parent and teacher satisfaction surveys. 
• The board doesn’t complete a parallel evaluation process.

Section 4: Academic Monitoring 

• Although the board is not directly involved in the academics of the school, you are tasked with oversight of ensuring adequate academic performance. Understanding adequate academic performance is essential when determining charter renewal terms. SBE Policy CHTR-007: Charter School Renewal Process provides guidance for renewal terms including comparability data.
• What questions can I ask when the school leader is presenting academic information?

1. What is the plan of action for students who are struggling academically and those who are excelling and need to be challenged? 
2. Do teachers have adequate time to analyze student data? If not, why not? If so, how is the data used to move academic achievement forward? 
3. Are students aware of how they are doing academically? If not, why not? If so, how do they hold themselves accountable for improving? 
4. Based on the data, what are the projected proficiency levels for end of grade (EOG), end of course (EOC), and/or end of the year (EOY) benchmark assessments? 

Section 5: Operation

• Charter schools must verify that their background checks align with their local LEA in order to comply with the statutory requirement regarding background checks. See G.S. 115C-218.90 (b)

• Licensed Employees
• 50% of teachers must be licensed
• 100% of EC teachers must be licensed
• Before hiring an unlicensed teacher or allowing someone to volunteer, the school must check the SBE revoked license list. No person shall be hired or allowed to volunteer whose name is on this list.  

Section 6: Resources & Professional Development

• National Charter Schools Institute
• Resources & Tools
• Ashley Logue’s Fiscal Governance presentation
• EDDIE is the authoritative source for NC public school numbers and demographic information, is used by multiple NCDPI technology systems including Accountability, Infinite Campus, NC School Report Cards, and is used to meet federal reporting requirements. LEAs and charter schools are responsible for ensuring their data in EDDIE are complete, accurate, and current. EDDIE is located at: http://apps.schools.nc.gov/eddie
• NC School Board Association 
• Website
• Podcast - “The Board Table”
• Non-ProfitReady.org
• Courses that you may find useful, some are free and some for a fee.
• Previous OCS Board Newsletters