Westside Communities Alliance

A partnership between Atlanta's westside communities and institutions of higher education.

Archives for April 2015

APS Board passes FY16 budget of $685.6 million

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At 6:26 pm in the Mays Conference Room at CLL, the room was split into two factions. “Team Matt” that consisted of APS Board members and “Team Meria” consisting of the APS Superintendent’s staff members. “We’re all Team Kid” chimes in Cynthia Briscoe-Brown, APS Board Member At-Large, Seat 7. In a FY16 budget meeting scheduled to end at 6 pm (starting at 4 pm), the people around the table have yet to come to any decisions. They then divided up to take additional looks at the proposed budget scenarios to see what else could be done to pick and choose.

The general conversation over the past 2 hours centered around whether funds need to be prioritized for custodial services or an IB-level education. Meria complains about “prehistoric spiders” and urine-stained walls that create a low-quality learning/teaching environment for students/teachers. Board members are persistent on the need for an IB-baseline. Briscoe-Brown jokes (or maybe she is serious) that she will muster an army of parents to clean the bathrooms and Westmoreland quips about a “Board Service Day” setting rat traps.

During this break, several board members seem more concerned with what is being said about them or about APS on Twitter than what is happening in the room. After reconvening, the conversation turns to a focus on the arts and the overall lack of arts access in APS schools.

At the end of the evening, all board members agreed on the budget, except one: Byron Amos, District 2 Board Member. The following Monday, the General Fund Budget passed at $685.6 million. See Superintendent Meria Carstarphen’s thoughts here: http://atlsuper.com/2015/04/20/board-approves-fy16-general-fund-budget-for-aps/

Full notes from the meeting are attached.

A slide deck from a previous APS Board budget meeting is attached as well, however it is not the one used at the meeting, as it had still not been made public as of April 29, 2015.

APS Budget Meeting Notes

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FY16 Board Meeting – Budget Discussion

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OurGirls @ Tech – Spring 2015 visit

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On a surprisingly cold spring day, 22 Brown Middle School females and their chaperones stepped onto Georgia Tech’s campus for a visit. While the drive only took them 12 minutes, Georgia Tech was a place they had never been before even though the majority of them have lived close by their entire lives. Part of a larger mission the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts has to expose more local Atlanta Public Schools students to the possibility of attending Georgia Tech for college, this was the third time the Westside Communities Alliance has hosted such an OurGirls event. In previous years, Sylvan and Kennedy middle schools also attended.

This year, the girls, escorted by current Georgia Tech students that served as volunteers, got a unique view of the campus. They stopped by the Clough Undergraduate Learning Center (CULC) to see the Urban Honey Bee Project led by Dr. Jennifer Leavey and toured the Invention Studio at the Manufacturing Related Disciplines Complex (MRDC) to see the 3D printer. They also got to see a residence hall for the first time. The photo scavenger hunt took them to the water slide, a dining hall, the radio station, and several popular student hang-out spots on campus.

Catered lunch took place overlooking Historic Grant Field at Bobby Dodd Stadium in the Student Success Center. They heard from current senior and Public Policy major, Katharine Mitchell about self-identity and maneuvering through college as a woman of color. Andre Dickens, Assistant Director of the Office of Minority Educational Development, spoke about the resources available as a minority student at Tech, including unlimited tutoring and new activity and social groups. Jade Sims from the Office of Admissions spoke about what it takes to get into college, particularly Georgia Tech, and how to make changes now that can will prepare you to not only get in, but succeed in college.

The students left with swag to remember their trip and the WCA looks forwards to its next group of girls in 2016.

OurGirls @ Tech - Spring 2015 visit

NCA Homelessness in Atlanta

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On Wednesday, March 18th, the Northwest Community Alliance (NCA) presented their first panel on the issue of Homelessness in Atlanta. NCA Chair Mike Koblentz wrote in the event invitation that “One can not talk about smart growth or all the great strides that are now happening in this city-from the Beltline, to increased job growth, to impending infrastructure improvements, to streetcars, active and involved neighborhoods, a corporate culture that is civic minded, and a civil and human rights legacy and way of life, without dealing with people who struggle daily without the most basic of needs.”

The panel consisted of 5 speakers listed below and in the attachment you can find out more about them and their organizations:

  1. Vince Smith – Executive Director – Gateway Center
  2. Jack Hardin – Chairman – United Way Regional Commission on Homelessness
  3. Bill McGahan – Founder and Chairman – Georgia Works!
  4. Ed Powers – Executive Director – Hope Atlanta: Programs of Travelers Aid
  5. Stacy Horn Koch – Interim Executive Director, Atlanta Homeless Continuum of Care

Two main topics emerged throughout the conversation: an increased supply of affordable housing in the city as a tool to end homelessness and an over-arching disagreement on the disjointed approach to homelessness in Atlanta (i.e. the current situation at Peachtree and Pine).

WCA Graduate Assistant, Jeshua Pringle, was left pondering a few questions:

  • Can tax breaks on property taxes to offset the cost of affordable housing be provided at a local level? Can the City of Atlanta mandate affordable housing on the front end and give development incentives with lower property taxes over time?
  • Can the City of Atlanta create an ordinance requiring developers to have a unit or two dedicated to homelessness? Alignment with a program like Georgia Works could be a requirement for housing.
  • How can Georgia Works or other training programs be paired with the new bond referendum? Could this be an opportunity to decrease Atlanta’s homeless population while funding low skill jobs?
  • What are the joint metrics of these programs? How many people do they serve and how do they impact the number of homeless persons in Atlanta. How do the numbers mentioned compare to the whole? Evaluating the total impact would be helpful to understanding the role these organizations play.

 NCA Panelist Profile

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