Westside Atlanta Charter School

Governing Board

Regular Meeting- Virtual - Thursday August 13th, 2020 @7:00 PM

Meeting Minutes

Attendance Summary

Name Status Arrival Time Departure Time
Julius Farrington present secretary On Time At Adjournment
Donovan Potter present member On Time At Adjournment
Kim Day present member 5 Minutes Late At Adjournment
Monica Allen present member On Time At Adjournment
John Phelps present member 5 Minutes Late At Adjournment
Terrell Gilbert present chair On Time At Adjournment
Douglas McRae present member On Time At Adjournment
David Davis present member On Time At Adjournment
Hannah Heck present vice-chair On Time At Adjournment
Jessica Weissinger present member On Time At Adjournment
Jonathan Baker present member On Time At Adjournment
Sumhr Giboney present member On Time At Adjournment
Alyson West not present member

Welcome and Call to Order

The meeting will be called to the order.

Approval of Agenda

So that there is agreement between board members on the agenda, and the amount of time spent on the meeting, the board shall vote to approve an agenda for the meeting. To the best of its ability, it will follow that agenda, and allow for the chair to move the board through the agenda as specified.

Approve the agenda, with the amendment of the addition of Executive Session

By: Terrell Gilbert Seconded by: Donovan Potter

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Approval of Minutes from Jul 29, 2020

Approve the minutes as submitted

By: Terrell Gilbert Seconded by: Jessica Weissinger

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Approval of Minutes from Jul 9, 2020

Approve the minutes as submitted

By: Terrell Gilbert Seconded by: Jessica Weissinger

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Approval of Minutes from Jun 11, 2020

Approve the minutes as submitted

By: Terrell Gilbert Seconded by: Jessica Weissinger

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Approval of Minutes from May 14, 2020

Approve the minutes as submitted

By: Terrell Gilbert Seconded by: Jessica Weissinger

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Public Comment

No public comment


Community Council Report

Community Council Co-Chair gave an update on the following:


  1. Attended the school technology pick up and the Meet the Teacher event
  2. Introduced a new logo and Instagram page

School Leader Report

  • Monthly Dashboard
  • Discussion on enrollment
  • Current enrollment 332 against a projection of 337
  • 86% of students returned, primary reasons for others not returning included moving out of state, out of district, or to a private school
  • Virtual Instruction Update
  • Discussion of first week of school including MAP testing, attendance, tech issues, etc.
  • (CED) - Counseling and Equity Department Update
  • 640 group sessions held last school year
  • 1000 individual sessions with students held last year
  • 440 parent contacts last year
  • 20 staff members sent to Equity training last year
  • Discussion of current services provided for students and staff

Finance Committee Report

  • Monthly Financial Update
  • Monthly variance to budget primarily due to timing and technology orders that have been delayed by the vendor due to COVID-19
  • Added an additional $100k to our principal balance, bringing our total to approximately $900k
  • Second Public Hearing 2020-2021 Budget
  • Received final allocation from APS, which was more favorable than we've projected
  • Finance committee has approved the budget at this month's committee meeting
  • Audit Engagement
  • Currently being review, we are awaiting the results of the audit

Approve 2020-2021 Budget

By: Douglas McRae Seconded by: Jessica Weissinger

None opposed 

Governance Committee Report

Governance Committee gives monthly report.

  • Annual Code of Ethics and Conflict of Interest policies circulated via email to the Board. Board members are to sign and return by 8/31/20.

Training hours due by the end of next month

Board Candidacy Discussion of Alyson West, (Former Community Council Co-Chair 2018-2020) to be voted on during the September board meeting

Development Committee Report

Development Committee gives monthly report.

  • Upcoming meeting to discuss next steps since the lease amendment.


Motion to amend the agenda to add a vote on changing the title of our Principal.

By: Terrell Gilbert Seconded by: Hannah Heck

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Motion to change the title of our Principal to Executive Director and Principal.

By: Terrell Gilbert Seconded by: Donovan Potter

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Executive Session

For the purpose of discussing lease negotiations.

Columbia Residential lease has recently expired, discussion of next steps.

Motion to move into executive session for the purposes of lease negotiation

By: Terrell Gilbert Seconded by: Julius Farrington

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Motion to move into executive session for the purposes of lease negotiation

By: Terrell Gilbert Seconded by: Julius Farrington

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

The Meeting was Adjourned

The meeting adjourned at approximately 9:06 pm

Motion to adjourn

By: Terrell Gilbert Seconded by: Julius Farrington

There was no notable discussion on the motion.