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Home / Meetings /February 25, 2026
River Valley Charter School Board of Trustees · February 25, 2026 · 7:00 PM

RVCS Board Meeting

Board accepted Chair Denise Herrera's resignation and elected Tanya Murdy as Chair; Jonathan Nickerson was elected Vice Chair and Chris Getz Secretary. The board voted to retain school counsel Marc Terry and declined to approve updated Document Retention, Complaint, Public Access to Records, and Whistleblower policies, as well as updated bylaws.

occurred Agenda PDF Minutes AI Summary
Key decisions
Accepted the resignation of Denise Herrera as Board Chair.
Approved (roll call recorded; all present Aye)
Elected Tanya Murdy as Board Chair through the end of the current term.
Approved (roll call recorded; one abstain)
Elected Jonathan Nickerson as Vice Chair for the remainder of the term.
Approved (roll call recorded; one abstain)
Elected Chris Getz as Secretary for the remainder of the term.
Approved (roll call recorded; one abstain)
Continue to retain Marc Terry as school lawyer under his new firm affiliation.
Approved
Did not approve the proposed Document Retention Policy (motion did not carry).
Did not carry
Did not approve the proposed Complaint Policy (motion did not carry).
Did not carry
Did not approve the proposed Public Access to Records Policy (motion did not carry).
Did not carry
Did not approve the proposed Whistleblower Policy (motion did not carry).
Did not carry
Did not approve the updated bylaws for submission to DESE (motion did not carry).
Did not carry
AI SUMMARY · DRAWN FROM THE MINUTES

The board meeting opened with public comment from multiple staff and a parent expressing concern about school culture, leadership, staff retention, and whether staff voices are being heard. Trustees addressed governance and personnel matters, notably accepting the resignation of Board Chair Denise Herrera and electing Tanya Murdy as the new Chair for the remainder of the term; Jonathan Nickerson was elected Vice Chair and Chris Getz Secretary. The board also voted to continue retaining school lawyer Marc Terry under his new firm.

A series of proposed governance documents — the Document Retention Policy, Complaint Policy, Public Access to Records Policy, Whistleblower Policy — and updated bylaws were reviewed but none were approved; trustees requested further revisions, clearer definitions, alignment with the school handbook, and improved procedural detail before reconsideration. The Executive Director reported on staffing and enrollment (225 applications received for 2026–27 and Kinderhaus seat offers), facilities easement progress, upcoming DESE reviews (virtual visit March 12 and 6‑Year Integrated Monitoring Review week March 16), and presented a draft 30–60–90+ Day Plan focused on stabilizing systems, instructional coherence, and DESE readiness. Development updates noted the Read‑A‑Thon raised approximately $23,000 and committee succession planning is underway.

Generated by an LLM. Verify against the official record before quoting.

Motions & votes

AI-generated summaries of each motion's substance — not the official record. Verify against the meeting minutes or video before quoting.

APPROVE
Approved (roll call recorded; all present Aye)
Motion to Accept the resignation of the Denise Herrara as Board Chair.
MOVED · D. HERRERA · SECONDED · C. GETZ
APPROVE
Approved
Motion to continue to retain Marc Terry as school lawyer.
MOVED · E. RANKIN · SECONDED · D. HERRERA
DENY
Did not carry
Motion to approve the Document Retention Policy.
MOVED · J. NICKERSON
DENY
Did not carry
Motion to approve the updated Complaint Policy.
MOVED · J. NICKERSON
DENY
Did not carry
Motion to approve the Public Access to Records Policy.
MOVED · J. NICKERSON
DENY
Did not carry
Motion to approve the Whistleblower Policy.
MOVED · J. NICKERSON
DENY
Did not carry
Approve the updated bylaws and pass along for review by DESE.
MOVED · J. NICKERSON