Westside Atlanta Charter School

Governing Board

Regular Meeting - Thursday July 11th, 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
Rebecca Ellis not present member
Julius Farrington not present vice-chair
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
Katrina Mitchell present member On Time At Adjournment
Alyson West present member On Time At Adjournment

Welcome and Call to Order

The meeting will be called to the order.

Motion to call meeting to order

By: Douglas McRae Seconded by: Chris Tuten

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.

Motion to approve agenda

By: Sumhr Giboney Seconded by: Douglas McRae

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.


Finance Committee Report

  • Monthly financials review
  • Presentation of the 2024-2025 Budget (Budget hearing #2)

Board votes to affirm the budget for the 2024-2025 school year.



Motion to approve the 2024-25 SY budget

By: Jessica Weissinger Seconded by: Alyson West

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

School Leader Report

The school leader reports on the status of the school.


  • Enrollment update
  • Social studies curriculum for grades 7 and 8 (Board votes to approve purchase of curriculum materials)
  • i-Ready to support personalized literacy and math instruction for K-8(Board votes to approve purchase of literacy software)
  • MAP Data
  • New small group and intervention strategies
  • Summer program obstacles and opportunities





Motion to approve purchase of social studies curriculum

By: Douglas McRae Seconded by: Jonathan Baker

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Motion to approve literacy and math software

By: Alyson West Seconded by: Jessica Weissinger

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Governance Committee Report

  • Quarterly Policy Review - Discipline Policy, Admissions and Enrollment Policy
  • 2024 Board Retreat update

Approve changes to the policies as presented.

By: Douglas McRae Seconded by: Hannah Heck

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Development Committee Report

Development Committee gives monthly report.


  • Facilities update
  • 10-Year celebration
  • Business Partner Program 
  • Fundraising policy



Executive Session

Entering into executive session for purpose of discussing a periodic personnel evaluation.

Motion to enter into Executive session discuss a periodic personnel evaluation.

By: Douglas McRae Seconded by: Sumhr Giboney

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Motion to exit executive session

By: Douglas McRae Seconded by: Alyson West

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

The Meeting was Adjourned

The meeting adjourned at approximately 8:53 am

Motion to adjourn

By: Douglas McRae Seconded by: Jonathan Baker

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Community Council Report

Community Council Interim Co-Chair gives an update.

  • Prepping for Back to School Breakfast
  • Still seeking Co-chair
  • Still seeking room parents for 24-25 school year