The Academy of Alameda Charter School Board
Minutes
Special Board Meeting
Date and Time
Tuesday September 2, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Location
The Academy of Alameda
401 Pacific Ave
Alameda, CA 94501
Room 203
Directors Present
A. Price, C. Robie, D. Forbes, J. Laird, K. McCoy, R. Rentschler
Directors Absent
W. Schaff
Guests Present
C. Chilcott, N. Stewart (remote)
I. Opening Items
A.
Call the Meeting to Order
B.
Record Attendance
C.
The Board Reviews The Academy of Alameda's Mission and Envisioned Future Statements
II. Consent Agenda
A.
Approve Minutes from June Board Meeting
David requested these minutes, Item A, be pulled from the consent calendar due to the names and terms of the board members not being included for the board members voted on at the June 12, 2025 board meeting. These minutes were pulled and will be corrected and added to the September 25, 2025 Board Meeting Consent Calendar.
B.
Approve Draft Meeting Minutes
C.
Approve Draft Meeting Minutes
D.
Vote on Check Registers
E.
Vote on Credit Card Statement
F.
Vote on Consent Calendar
III. Board Communication
A.
Vote on the FY25 Unaudited Actuals
Naomi reviewed the FY 25 Unaudited Actuals for the board.
David asked if AoA still has an issue with a previous audit done by AoA's prior auditing firm Baker Tilly. Christine and Naomi verified that the 21-22 Audit had been rejected and returned twice. Each time AoA has sent it to Baker Tilly to fix the issue, Baker Tilly "fixes" the issue, resubmits it, and then AoA receives a letter a year later saying the audit has not been accepted. This has happened twice with the latest letter of rejection being received by AoA in June 2025 and resubmitted by Baker Tilly in July 2025.
B.
Vote on Suicide Prevention Policy
C.
Vote on the Instruction on Controversial Topics Policy
Christine explained this was a new policy which will be part of the employee handbook offering guidance to teachers/staff on delivering instruction (or having guest speakers who speak on) potentially controversial topics.
Carole suggested in section #9, there was a sentence needing revising from "When a guest speaker is invited to make a presentation related to a controversial issue, the School requires that the Executive Director, or designee be notified of this policy and the expectations and goals regarding the instruction." to "When a guest speaker is invited to make a presentation related to a controversial issue, the School requires that the Executive Director, or designee be notified of the speaker & issue and that they notify the speaker of this policy and the expectations and goals regarding the instruction."
IV. Closing Items
A.
Upcoming Board Meetings
The upcoming board meeting on September 25, 2025 will start at 5:30pm to accommodate an additional discussion on a draft of the school's identity sentence created by the school leadership team, and have Mike Mizzoni from Board on Track, who facilitated the AoA Board Retreat where this work began, in attendance. Due to this time adjustment, the Student Success Committee will meet from 4:00-5:15pm that day.
Amy and Randy will not be in attendance at the September 25 board meeting.
Jen Laird read the Mission and Envisioned Future Statements