Alma del Mar
Minutes
October Board Meeting
Date and Time
Friday October 30, 2020 at 9:30 AM
Location
Trustees Present
A. Cortez (remote), B. Cunningham (remote), C. Arnold (remote), C. Bator (remote), J. Baptist (remote), M. Kay (remote), M. Rosario (remote), V. Brown (remote)
Trustees Absent
G. Fortes, L. Hicks
Guests Present
A. Teevens (remote), E. Darrow (remote), New Bedford Cable Access (remote), W. Gardner (remote)
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
J. Baptist called a meeting of the board of trustees of Alma del Mar to order on Friday Oct 30, 2020 at 9:37 AM.
C.
Approve Minutes
C. Bator made a motion to approve the minutes from Board of Trustes on 09-25-20.
C. Arnold seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| M. Rosario |
Aye
|
| A. Cortez |
Aye
|
| G. Fortes |
Absent
|
| J. Baptist |
Aye
|
| B. Cunningham |
Aye
|
| M. Kay |
Aye
|
| C. Arnold |
Aye
|
| C. Bator |
Aye
|
| V. Brown |
Aye
|
| L. Hicks |
Absent
|
II. Executive Director Report
A.
Executive Director Report
III. Finance
A.
Audit
B. Cunningham reported that the audit had no findings.
B. Cunningham pointed out the audit had an amendment of the interest rate from 3.9% to 3.5% on page 27.
B. Cunningham pointed out the audit had an amendment of the interest rate from 3.9% to 3.5% on page 27.
B. Cunningham made a motion to approve the audit with the amendment of the interest rate from 3.9% to 3.5% on page 27.
C. Bator seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| C. Bator |
Aye
|
| L. Hicks |
Absent
|
| G. Fortes |
Absent
|
| M. Rosario |
Aye
|
| M. Kay |
Aye
|
| C. Arnold |
Aye
|
| J. Baptist |
Aye
|
| B. Cunningham |
Aye
|
| V. Brown |
Aye
|
| A. Cortez |
Aye
|
B.
Q1 Financials
B. Cunningham reported that the loan was deposited into the Foundation account.
B. Cunningham reported that we may need to look at additional temporary space if the building is not ready in time.
B. Cunningham reported that we are still awaiting a final tuition budget from the state but we do not expect tuition to go down.
W. Gardner reported that the Board will likely review an updated budget, perhaps several times this year, as the remote setting is causing us to spend money differently than in an in person school year.
B. Cunningham reported that we may need to look at additional temporary space if the building is not ready in time.
B. Cunningham reported that we are still awaiting a final tuition budget from the state but we do not expect tuition to go down.
W. Gardner reported that the Board will likely review an updated budget, perhaps several times this year, as the remote setting is causing us to spend money differently than in an in person school year.
J. Baptist asked C. Arnold to share a development update.
C. Arnold reports that we have raised $150,000 toward our $200,000 goal for a matching challenge from a donor.
W. Gardner reports that we are on track to meet our goal.
C. Arnold reports that we have raised $150,000 toward our $200,000 goal for a matching challenge from a donor.
W. Gardner reports that we are on track to meet our goal.
IV. Closing Items
A.
Adjourn Meeting
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 9:53 AM.
Respectfully Submitted,
E. Darrow
W. Gardner reported that COVID-19 infection rates in New Bedford increased significantly in the last week.
DESE guidance continues to be that if we are in the red, which we are, that we should be mostly remote except for our small group of high needs scholars who are currently learning in person.
At this time, we are continuing to keep this group of scholars learning in person. However, we are notifying families that we need to take this day by day and week by week and there may come a time that we need to shift to remote instruction, even for this very small group of scholars.
W. Gardner reported that we are hoping to get testing on site if possible. Staff currently working in person are permitted to choose to work remotely if they would prefer. Alma also is starting to compensate staff for testing.