Welcome and Call to Order

The meeting will be called to the order.

Approval of Minutes from Jul 17, 2025

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.

Mission Statement

The meeting will begin with a reading of the school's mission statement:

Westside fosters a diverse, tight knit community of lifelong learners, giving each child an excellent academic experience that builds curiosity, critical thinking, and character.

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.

Public comment given by school parent and volunteer, Shane Tolbert. He asked about the RFQ process at WACS.

Community Council Report

Community Council Co-Chair, Natalie Grubbs gave an update.

Natalie Grubbs and Olivia Hollis are the Co-chairs for the 2025-26 school year.

• Kicked off the year strong with a well-attended Back to School Breakfast
• Planning is underway for a smooth year
• 5 committees with sub committees with a full plan of monthly and seasonal activities
• Focus: Build strong community connections through events
• Staff support events are underway, fueled by parent support (including a coffee bar and teacher breakfasts)
• Focus: Documentation that keeps programming sustainable for future years

School Leader Report

Executive Director, Dr. Tanner reported on the status of the school.

• Enrollment update for 25/26 school year is at 355, 12 offers will go out today
• Aug. 15th is district student count day
• GA Dept of Education and the Governor's Office of Student Achievement (GaDOE & GOSA) track attendance at the district and state level. We report out the average daily attendance. It's currently 98.21%.
• Attendance impacts our College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI) score. The GA insights dashboard from GaDOE offers public access to track that.
• Staff Highlights: Running the Course (this year's theme)
• This year has started very strong. Staff has been operating with the skill of an olympic team. The administration congratulates the staff on working together. Ms Andra administered a pulse survey this week to help position the entire team for success.

Finance Committee Report

• Monthly financial update given by William Arterberry
• APS is finalizing last payments to WACS for Title I and Title II
• Transferred reserve investment overage to operating budget at end of fiscal year, discussion on raising reserve
• New bonus structure added to budget to enable offering rubric-based staff incentives each semester across 5 categories that align with our core values
• The annual audit is in progress
• Budget hearing #2 for FY 25/26 and approval of budget

Governance Committee Report

Governance Committee chair, AshleyPruitt gave monthly report.

• COI and self-assessment forms will go out soon
• Board retreat details TBD

Development Committee Report

Development Committee gives monthly report.

• Boosterthon fundraiser set for fall- 10/1 - 10/10 with a goal of $14,000
• Business Partners - Led by Laquita Hardimon- Dev volunteers have been securing new and renewing partners for our program
• Community Partners - Led by Ebony Tolbert- She's been in contact with Atlanta Public Library, BestBuy, and other organizations to help support the school

Executive Session

Entering into executive session for the purpose of discussing records exempt from public inspection or disclosure pursuant to Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50.

The Meeting was Adjourned

The meeting adjourned at approximately 8:21 am