Washington Latin
Minutes
WLPCS Board of Governors Spring Retreat - April 2025
Date and Time
Tuesday April 22, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Location
AJC Campus
711 Edgewood St NE
Washington DC 20017
Directors Present
A. Jesseman (remote), A. Zachariah, B. Caldwell, C. McFadgion (remote), E. Paisner, F. Perera, J. Osgood, K. Merritt, L. Ballenger, L. Rucker, M. Yeager
Directors Absent
A. Graham, B. Williams-Kief, G. Kautt, P. Jayachandran
Directors who arrived after the meeting opened
A. Jesseman, L. Ballenger
Directors who left before the meeting adjourned
A. Jesseman, C. McFadgion, J. Osgood
Guests Present
Alex Doyle, Ananda Massey-Pendergrass (student), C. Gifford, Christian Benton (student), D. Smith, Ella Holder (student), G. Izurieta, Jasmine Stewart, Jeffrey McCreight, L. Chia, P. Anderson, Penny Bermudez, T. Porter, Viticia Thames
I. The Latin Way Moment (OPTIONAL)
A.
Panel of students and faculty
II. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
C.
Welcome/Opening Remarks
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.
D.
Approve Minutes
Roll Call | |
---|---|
M. Yeager |
Aye
|
G. Kautt |
Absent
|
B. Williams-Kief |
Absent
|
C. McFadgion |
Aye
|
J. Osgood |
Aye
|
B. Caldwell |
Aye
|
L. Rucker |
Aye
|
F. Perera |
Aye
|
A. Zachariah |
Aye
|
P. Jayachandran |
Absent
|
L. Ballenger |
Absent
|
K. Merritt |
Aye
|
A. Graham |
Absent
|
E. Paisner |
Aye
|
A. Jesseman |
Absent
|
E.
Approve Minutes
Roll Call | |
---|---|
A. Zachariah |
Aye
|
P. Jayachandran |
Absent
|
B. Williams-Kief |
Absent
|
C. McFadgion |
Aye
|
E. Paisner |
Aye
|
M. Yeager |
Aye
|
F. Perera |
Aye
|
L. Ballenger |
Absent
|
K. Merritt |
Aye
|
L. Rucker |
Aye
|
A. Jesseman |
Absent
|
J. Osgood |
Aye
|
A. Graham |
Absent
|
B. Caldwell |
Aye
|
G. Kautt |
Absent
|
F.
Approve Minutes
Roll Call | |
---|---|
J. Osgood |
Aye
|
A. Jesseman |
Absent
|
K. Merritt |
Aye
|
B. Williams-Kief |
Absent
|
E. Paisner |
Aye
|
F. Perera |
Abstain
|
G. Kautt |
Absent
|
C. McFadgion |
Aye
|
L. Rucker |
Aye
|
A. Zachariah |
Aye
|
B. Caldwell |
Aye
|
P. Jayachandran |
Absent
|
A. Graham |
Absent
|
L. Ballenger |
Absent
|
M. Yeager |
Aye
|
III. Executive Report
A.
LEA Overview
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. She indicated that she and two other Latin faculty members will be helping to develop the middle school standards.
B.
TITLE VI
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 LEA's 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.
C.
CHARTER REVIEW
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.
IV. Deep Dive: Academic Performance and Accountability
A.
School Program and Performance Committee
Caroline Gifford shared details of the evaluations of our three schools (2nd St US, 2nd ST 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.
V. Finance
A.
February financials
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.
B.
990
Board members were requested to review the 990 documents and acknowledge receipt by May 15 Thu.
C.
Budget modeling
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.
VI. Other committee updates
A.
Fundraising in this Environment
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
B.
Facilities Committee
Currently, the HAREWOOD RD project is on time and on budget.
C.
Governance
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
VII. Executive Session
A.
HR and compensation matters
Roll Call | |
---|---|
L. Ballenger |
Aye
|
A. Graham |
Absent
|
B. Caldwell |
Aye
|
E. Paisner |
Aye
|
A. Jesseman |
Absent
|
B. Williams-Kief |
Absent
|
M. Yeager |
Aye
|
L. Rucker |
Aye
|
P. Jayachandran |
Absent
|
A. Zachariah |
Aye
|
G. Kautt |
Absent
|
C. McFadgion |
Absent
|
F. Perera |
Aye
|
J. Osgood |
Absent
|
K. Merritt |
Aye
|
Roll Call | |
---|---|
A. Jesseman |
Absent
|
M. Yeager |
Aye
|
A. Zachariah |
Aye
|
L. Ballenger |
Aye
|
C. McFadgion |
Absent
|
G. Kautt |
Absent
|
K. Merritt |
Aye
|
E. Paisner |
Aye
|
P. Jayachandran |
Absent
|
L. Rucker |
Aye
|
F. Perera |
Aye
|
B. Williams-Kief |
Absent
|
B. Caldwell |
Aye
|
A. Graham |
Absent
|
J. Osgood |
Absent
|
Roll Call | |
---|---|
B. Caldwell |
Aye
|
P. Jayachandran |
Absent
|
L. Rucker |
Aye
|
B. Williams-Kief |
Absent
|
M. Yeager |
Aye
|
A. Graham |
Absent
|
J. Osgood |
Absent
|
L. Ballenger |
Aye
|
E. Paisner |
Aye
|
G. Kautt |
Absent
|
K. Merritt |
Aye
|
A. Jesseman |
Absent
|
A. Zachariah |
Aye
|
C. McFadgion |
Absent
|
F. Perera |
Aye
|
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.