Westside Atlanta Charter School

Governing Board

Regular Meeting - Thursday April 17th, 2025 @7:00 AM

Meeting Minutes

Attendance Summary

Name Status Arrival Time Departure Time
Jonathan Baker present member On Time At Adjournment
Hannah Heck present member On Time At Adjournment
Ashley Pruitt present member On Time At Adjournment
Chris Tuten present member On Time At Adjournment
Alyson West present secretary On Time At Adjournment
Julius Farrington present member On Time At Adjournment
Tiffany Chen present member On Time At Adjournment
Jessica Weissinger present chair On Time At Adjournment
Katrina Mitchell present vice-chair On Time At Adjournment
Susan Beckett-Mitchell present member On Time At Adjournment
Erika Williams present member On Time At Adjournment

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.

Approval of Minutes from Mar 13, 2025

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.



No public comments were made.

Community Council Report

Community Council Co-Chair Laura Spoo gave an update.


  • March programming and Staff lunch was excellent
  • Recruited volunteers for Book Fair
  • Planning for next year's committee structure and applying learnings from this year.
  • Facilitated final meeting of room parents
  • Events Committee will throw tomorrow's Glow Party
  • Teacher Appreciation Week is next week, Ms. Peek is leading the charge
  • New Co-Chairs for next year: Olivia Hollis and Natalie Grubbs

School Leader Report

The school leader reports on the status of the school.


  • Enrollment update: 346
  • Only have 13 vacant seats for next year
  • Approval of new staff hires for school counselor and Kindergarten teacher
  • Interviewing for 2 vacant positions: Kindergarten teacher and 5th & 6th grade science

Approve new staff hires for 2025-26 school counselor and Kindergarten teacher as presented by Dr. Tanner

By: Jessica Weissinger Seconded by: Julius Farrington

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

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 as submitted

By: Jessica Weissinger Seconded by: Alyson West

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Approval of Minutes from Mar 13, 2025

Approve the minutes as submitted

By: Jessica Weissinger Seconded by: Jonathan Baker

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

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.

Finance Committee Report

  • Monthly Financial Update given by Jessica Weissinger
  • Finished last month above budget expectations
  • Received significant donation from the organization that rented our space
  • Title I quarterly submission was approved
  • Donations received last month: $57k

Governance Committee Report

Governance Committee chair gave monthly report.


  • Reviewed student policies, no changes needed
  • Reminder on Board training hours

Development Committee Report

Development Committee co-chair gave monthly report.


  • New subcommittees in place
  • Preparing calendars for next year

The Meeting was Adjourned

The meeting adjourned at approximately 7:53 am

Motion to adjourn

By: Jessica Weissinger Seconded by: Ashley Pruitt

There was no notable discussion on the motion.