Regular Board Meeting on September 21, 2023 at 4:00 PM in room C-15.
BOARD & COMMITTEE ANNOUNCEMENTS:
The School Board meets on the third Thursday of the month at 4 pm either on the school campus, on Zoom, or both. Sometimes the Board needs to call a special meeting to address a matter prior to the regularly scheduled meeting.
The School Board will provide notice of this at least 48 hours beforehand.
The regular meeting agenda will be linked here prior to the monthly meeting.
Governance Committee Zoom Meeting Link
Risk Management Oversight Committee Meeting Dates
Monday, Nov.6th at 9:30 AM
Monday, Jan. 8th at 9:30 AM
Monday, March 4th at 9:30 AM
Monday, May 6th at 9:30 AM
Monday, June 3rd at 9:30 AM
ABOUT CLOSED SESSIONS:
It is always the intent of the LLCA School Board of Directors to be as transparent as possible with Raptor Families and members of the public. There are times, however, when school boards are permitted to adjourn to a closed session.
The mission of the Lake Lure Classical Academy Board is to provide oversight of school management, not to be a participant in it. We will focus our work on ensuring that the school accomplishes the student outcomes we were chartered to produce, and ensuring that the school operates at all times within all required parameters.
The board performs these duties through many oversight functions including, but not limited to, approving items such as budgets, calendars, policies, and programs, as well as through the operation of several board committees created to assist the board in its oversight of financial management, risk management, and other matters.
We welcome members of the public to attend all regular meetings. The meeting schedule is continuously updated on the school’s website, as well as regular meeting agendas and regular meeting minutes.
To sign up to speak during a meeting, please email the school office at
gyoungblood@llcharter.org or call 625-9292 and press 1.
QUICK LINKS:
Board Members:
Dr. Kate Sloss
CHAIR BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Dr. Katherine "Kate" Sloss. Kate Sloss grew up in Cleveland Ohio where she attended a public high school with an innovative curriculum developed by parents and teachers that fostered creativity, self-directed learning, and the curiosity to explore new ideas.
She attended the University of Colorado, Boulder for undergraduate studies and CWRU for medical school. She completed a three-year residency in Family Practice in Columbia Missouri.
Her summers were spent as a counselor at a Quaker summer camp in Vermont and participating in outdoor adventures. Read more
She eventually resettled to Western North Carolina residing in Henderson County and practiced as a primary care physician in Hickory Nut Gorge for over 30 years.
She and her husband Steve Crane, MD raised three children and she was a founding board member of The Mountain Community Charter School in Henderson County.
“ I am excited to reconnect with the learning community and to be part of the effort to educate and nurture the children of our area”
Mark Hamann
VICE-CHAIR BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Mark Hamann was born and raised in Toledo OH. He is a graduate of the University of Toledo where he played varsity baseball and earned his Bachelor of Education degree. He earned his Master’s Degree in the Art of Education from Marygrove College in Detroit MI.
A history teacher for 32 years at the secondary level, Mark also was the head varsity girls’ fastpitch softball coach for two Toledo area high schools, earning a state championship with each. Read more
While with Perrysburg Exempted Village Schools, Mark was gratified to be named Junior High Teacher of the Year in 1994, the George Munger District Teacher of the Year in 1996, the Perrysburg Education Association Teacher of the Year in 2009, and a nominee for Ohio State Teacher of the Year in 2010.
Mark sincerely appreciates the opportunity here in Lake Lure to continue his career-long commitment to education. He hopes to contribute to our effort of creating, maintaining, and enhancing a community-based educational institution that offers an effective and challenging learning program for any and all students who attend.
Mark served as Chairman of the Board from 2019-August 2021.
Randy Nelson
TREASURER: Randy Nelson and his wife, Nancy, bought their home in Lake Lure in 2014 and moved here permanently from West Tennessee in 2020. Randy retired from his consulting business in 2020. He has over 35 years of experience in planning and community development, working for cities, nonprofits, and for-profit businesses. Read more
Randy's education consists of a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science from the University of Arkansas and a master’s degree in City/Regional Planning from the University of Tennessee. Randy has always had an interest in the relationship between public education and the quality of life and economic development of a community. He seeks to maximize these relationships for the benefit of the Town of Lake Lure and the Lake Lure Classical Academy. Randy and Nancy love their new home and are looking forward to retirement living in Lake Lure!
Kelli Bragdon
Board Member: Kelli Bragdon was born and raised on a cotton farm in West Texas. Her love for children and families led her to seek a Degree in English with a Secondary Teacher Certification from Hardin Simmons University in Abilene, TX. She has worked alongside her husband at several camps across the US serving military families in Pennsylvania, churches and families in California, and now students and families in North Carolina. Kelli enjoyed classically homeschooling her 4 children for 8 years. Read more
During that time she taught a Classical Conversations Challenge A class for 7th graders for 3 years. Since moving to Lake Lure in 2018, where her husband is now the Director of Camp Lurecrest, her kids have been blessed to be a part of the LLCA community. Kelli served on the School Improvement Team for 2 years where she grew a deeper appreciation for the faculty and staff at LLCA. The Bragdons have 2 students currently enrolled at LLCA and 2 previous LLCA graduates. She is deeply invested in the success of each family represented at LLCA.
Beth Gordon
Board Member: Beth Gordon and her husband, Brian, moved to Lake Lure in March of 2019. Beth was raised in central Oklahoma and is a graduate of the University of Central Oklahoma with a B.S. Degree in Health and Physical Education. She continued at UCO earning 30 hours of accounting credits to qualify to take the exam for Certified Public Accountancy. She became a CPA in 1989 and was licensed in Oklahoma. Read more
Beth owned and operated a veterinary clinic with her husband, for ten years in Oklahoma, before beginning her career in non-profit and private accounting for various organizations including St. Paul Medical Center in Dallas, TX, and Communities In Schools in Charlotte, NC. Beth has spent time volunteering in schools for over 40 years while raising her 3 children in Oklahoma, Texas, and North Carolina. Beth is an avid reader and immediately upon moving to Lake Lure became involved with the local library and now serves on the board of the Friends of Mountains Branch Library. Meeting the wonderful people through the library has inspired her to become more involved in the community. She is passionate about education and firmly believes quality education should be accessible to all.
Joan Lange
BOARD MEMBER: Joan Lange, as an educator, has long been an advocate for school choice. Formally the National Schools Director for a charitable trust she identified and recommended grant support to start up charter schools and was paramount in creating a national network of charter schools. Her work has included researching and identifying communities in need of a high-quality charter school that offers a rigorous K-12 curriculum, including the Core Knowledge curriculum in grades K-8 and a college preparatory or STEM high school model. She has also served as a Board member on numerous charter schools. Ms. Lange’s work contributed to the support of over 200 charter schools in the nation and provided more than fifty million dollars in grants. Read More
Ms. Lange has written charter school applications in several states and has assisted in grant writing on behalf of schools. She assisted in the formation of school boards and implemented training that included long range planning, fiscal responsibility, and academic best practices (including school policy, procedures, and assessment). In addition, she developed and managed a leadership program that produced ten successful school leaders and schools.
Ms. Lange’s commitment continues as a consultant assisting schools with development and implementation of curriculum and professional development.
Art Montandon
BOARD MEMBER: Arther Montandon has a son and granddaughter who attend LLCA. He and his wife of 37 years, Lynn, are the parents of twelve children, a blended family, including step-children, adopted children, and biological children. He was an honor graduate of San Diego State University with a degree in business management and has a law degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. Read More
His law practice focused on the representation of local government. He was counsel for
numerous boards, commissions, and city councils. In that capacity, he drafted laws,
regulations, policies, resolutions, contracts, and represented these bodies in a wide
variety of litigation. He was on the original editorial board for the California Municipal
Law Handbook.