Prior to the board meeting, there was an optional "The Latin Way" session with several AJC students and faculty.

The students and faculty did not stay for the board meeting.

Ken Merritt announced that Glenn Kautt will be stepping down from the WLPCS board due to personal reasons.

Barry Caldwell gave a testimonial at a recent DC Council meeting about legislation that requires charter board members to get annual training in their governance roles.

Ken Merritt attended a charter school board chair focus group in March.

Peter Anderson informed the board about the following issues.

• SPED audit
• OSSE issue
• Concern from the family of a former student

Security issues at 4301 HAREWOOD were raised.

Caroline Gifford explained in detail the "Science of Reading" standards (for K-5) being implemented by OSSE starting SY25/26. Caroline Gifford and two other WLPCS faculty members will be helping to develop the middle school standards.

Schools are being asked to recertify their Title VI compliance by tomorrow on Apr 23 Wed. Peter Anderson mentioned OSSE has agreed to sign this recertification on behalf of the "state". Individual LEAs have the option to join OSSE. WLPCS plans to also sign and include an accompanying letter clarifying our understanding of the attestation. A board member commented that the letter attached to the signed attestation would be for context only.

Peter Anderson highlighted and elaborated on the charter review process that is due every 5 years. The next charter review for WLPCS is SY25/26.

Caroline Gifford shared details of the evaluations of our three schools (2nd St US and MS and AJC MS) according to the ASPIRE FRAMEWORK, and elaborated on how schools are scored/tiered.

For middle schools, the focus is on growth.

For high schools, the focus is on proficiency.

Geovanna Izurieta reported that WLPCS has been managing resources well so far. An increase in student enrollment is another factor contributing to a good year financially.

Board members were requested to review the 990 documents and acknowledge receipt by May 15 Thu. 

WLPCS received the DC FY25 Q4 payment from the DC government, despite the uncertainty about the DC budget. There has been no cuts in education so far.

The DC FY26 Q1 payment from the DC government might be in jeopardy.

Geovanna Izurieta presented a few budget scenarios in light of the uncertainty:

• Cautiously Optimistic
• Extremely Conservation (Per Pupil Funding at 0)
• Pessimistic
• Doomsday

For the "Extremely Conservative" scenario, WLPCS is looking at a significant cut in expenses to balance the budget.

The board was asked to consider ways to help with reducing costs. The following are a few suggestions.

• LEA retreat location (thanks to Laurie Ballenger)
• relaxation and vacation opportunities
• faculty appreciation events at special off site venues

Currently, the 4301 HAREWOOD project is on time and on budget.

For SY25/26, these are the nominations for the following positions.

president : Ken Merritt

vice president : Brendan Williams-Kief

treasurer : Elizabeth Paisner

secretary : Lisa Rucker

A few possible board candidates may be invited to attend the June board meeting.

WLPCS is looking for board candidates with the following criteria.

• with academic background
• with finance connections
• with law expertise