Chris Arnold made the motion and it was seconded to approve the minutes taken at the Board meeting on 9-25-15. All board members present VOTED unanimously to accept the minutes.

Chris Arnold made the motion and it was seconded to approve the minutes of the Executive Session held on 8-28-15. The motion was accepted by a unanimous VOTE.

Will Gardner reviewed his Executive Director's report. He has hired a Development Manager, Becca Kurie, who will be starting November 2nd. The first round of Math interim exams has taken place; scholars have completed a number of fieldwork outings; our teacher managers have completed over 200 observations of teachers; our 4th grade classes are about to visit URI and Lasell College; and Ms. Stainer, Ms. Sousa and Ms. Leiwant just completed training in "real time" coaching and will be piloting this tool in the coming weeks. Upcoming events of high priority are our Charter Renewal visit and onboarding our new Development Manager as soon as possible to tackle the Annual Fundraising as well as the Capital Campaign

Our Leadership Team has created a new computer Dashboard to track quarterly progress toward school-wide goals this year.

The Governance Committee presented a slate of officers for the next year. Chris Arnold, Chair; Jan Baptist, Vice-Chair; Bronwen Cunningham, Treasurer; Mary Jean Blasdale, Secretary. Bob Unger made the motion, it was seconded and VOTED unanimously to accept this slate of officers.

It was with great regret that we accepted the resignation of Kris Tomlinson from the board. A VOTE was taken and unanimously passed to accept her wishes and offer her many thanks for her years of service on the Board.

Jan Baptist presented the Draft Governance Committee Goals for 2015-16. (1) Trustee Recruitment: Recruit at least two more trustees to the Board. Engage the Advisory Council through regular communication. (2) Bylaws Review: Review bylaws and present the Board with bylaws amendments that reflect current Board practice and charter school Board best practices. (3) E.D. Evaluation: Review and revise the E.D. evaluation process for the 2015-16 school year to ensure that trustees have a more informed and comprehensive understanding of the E.D.'s responsibilities and performance. A motion was made and seconded to support the goals presented by the Governance Committee for the school year 2015-16. The VOTE was unanimous to accept these goals.

Jan Baptist reported that the Governance committee will be working on our bylaws and will keep the Board informed of proposals.

Will Gardner told of the upcoming Charter Renewal visit that will take place on Tuesday, October 27th and Wednesday, October 28th. The inspection team will meet with Board members for a focus group on Tuesday afternoon at 3:15 until 4:00.

Bronwen Cunningham presented Alma's Financial Audit for 2014-15. Will mentioned that the school successfully operated within public funding this past year. Dave Cabral made the motion and it was seconded and VOTED unanimously to accept the Financial Audit as presented.

Jeanne Eagle reported on the work of the Capital Plan Working Group. The Development Committee leads the effort in developing a deeper level of focus and creativity in plans for fundraising to be carried out by all members of the Board. There is a list of the structure of the committee and the responsibilities of the trustees. The Capital Committee Highlights are construction is 4% complete and the budget is 1%spent. A financial closing is scheduled for 10-29-15 and Alma has contracted with an independent auditor (Daniel Dennis and Company, LLC) to review the closing documents and help Central Source set-up the disbursement accounts after the closing.

Jeanne presented a paper on the list of Development Committee Goals for 2015-16. They follow the theme of "Open the Door" to build a support base for introducing new investors and retention of current and past donors.

Jeanne presented a paper delineating the "Board of Trustees Individual Development Plan". This is a tool for helping Board members to assist in the development efforts on behalf of Alma del Mar. Members are ambassadors of the school and are encouraged to develop interesting stories to cultivate donors and community leaders. Members should also invite friends to events or tours at the school and if possible, introduce Will to a community group by inviting him to speak to tell the story of Alma and all its successes. Trustees should remember to support both the Capital Campaign as well as the annual fund needed for general operations which benefit the scholars.

Will Gardner passed out note cards decorated with whales created by the scholars of the class of 2029 so that trustees might write a personalized thank you note to a known previous donor encouraging another gift this year. These notes will accompany the Annual Report that the donor will receive in the mail.

Will Gardner presented an Alma del Mar Capital Campaign Pledge Schedule and Contribution Totals as of September 30, 2015.

David Cabral made the motion and Bob Unger seconded it to adjourn the meeting. It was VOTED unanimously to adjourn at 10:00 AM.