Westside Atlanta Charter School

Governing Board

Regular Meeting - Thursday March 14th, 2024 @7:00 AM

Meeting Minutes

Attendance Summary

Name Status Arrival Time Departure Time
Jessica Weissinger present member On Time At Adjournment
Jonathan Baker present member On Time At Adjournment
Alyson West present member On Time At Adjournment
Rebecca Ellis present member On Time At Adjournment
Ryan Lee-James not present member
Julius Farrington present vice-chair On Time At Adjournment
Douglas McRae present chair On Time At Adjournment
Hannah Heck present member On Time At Adjournment
Sumhr Giboney present secretary On Time At Adjournment
Ashley Pruitt present member On Time At Adjournment
Chris Tuten present member On Time At Adjournment

Welcome and Call to Order

The meeting will be called to the order.

Motion to begin the meeting.

By: Douglas McRae Seconded by: Sumhr Giboney

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

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 amended agenda to table the approval of Capital Assets & Accounting Fiscal Policy to the April meeting.

By: Douglas McRae Seconded by: Julius Farrington

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Vote on New Board Member

The Board votes on adding Katrina Mitchell to the Board of Directors.

Motion to reinstall Katrina Mitchell as a Board Member.

By: Douglas McRae Seconded by: Alyson West

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Public Comment

The WACS Board would like to welcome students, parents, staff and community members. In order to facilitate an efficient meeting, if you would like to offer comments please limit your remarks to the public comment period of the agenda. We would ask that sign up on the sign up sheet and limit your comments to 3 minutes. Finally, we ask that you not include comments that reference individual students (other than your own). If you need to reference a specific student, you may do so in writing to governance@wacs.us where the board can protect student privacy. We understand that after the public comment period, you may have questions/comments regarding topics that are discussed during the meeting. Please direct those questions to governance@wacs.us. The Board may not address comments/questions after the public comment period. However, we will work with the school administration to provide a prompt response to your email.


If you have a grievance, we would ask that you follow the board policy of starting first with the lowest level of authority as that is almost always the place where change can happen most effectively. Any grievance directed to the attention of the board, should be sent to governance@wacs.us. We thank you for your cooperation. At this time, we would like to open the floor to public comment.


  • 5th Grade mathematics instruction concerns.
  • Understanding of Board Recruitment process


Community Council Report

Community Council Co-Chair gives an update.


Council goal is to build community at WACS with families.

Upcoming events: Parent Party on March 28, 2024

School Leader Report

The school leader reports on the status of the school.


  • CCRPI review
  • Three New Hires (Board vote to affirm hires)
  • Lottery/enrollment update
  • Student attendance
  • 2024 Charter School of the Year Winner!

Motion to approve new hires; 5th/6th grade math Adelyn Lopez (24-25 school year), 7th/8th grade English/LA Sophia Scott (close 2024 school year), Special Ed, Lisa Clater. All open positions and within set budget for the school year.

By: Julius Farrington Seconded by: Chris Tuten

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Finance Committee Report

  • Monthly Financial Update


Governance Committee Report

Governance Committee gives monthly report.

Annual training hours reminder.

The Board votes on amendments to the following policies:

  1. Hiring Philosophy
  2. Capital Assets & Accounting (tabled to April meeting)
  3. Fiscal Policy (tabled to April meeting)


Motion to approve the amendments to the Hiring policy as outlined.

By: Sumhr Giboney Seconded by: Alyson West

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Development Committee Report

Development Committee gives monthly report.


No updates.


The Meeting was Adjourned

The meeting adjourned at approximately 8:02 am

Motion to adjourn

By: Douglas McRae Seconded by: Jessica Weissinger

There was no notable discussion on the motion.