PTO News

Please see below a roster for all in attendance along with corresponding e-mail or phone numbers…

The meeting was called to order by Mrs. McElrath. There is to be no meeting agenda as we are following up from Mrs. Galloway’s presentation/discussion from the previous meeting regarding PTO/PTA guidelines, etc.

Mr. Tombrello opened the discussion, mentioning the hand outs that Mrs. Galloway left for our review. Specifically, “don’t become solely a fundraising organization”, “get more alumni involved”, “we are a support group”, “need more communication” and that the Principal is the CEO, CFO & COO.

There was some general discussion within the group with the entire group in agreement that we are a PTA NOT a PTO and should start referring to our group as such.

Mrs. Cortez stated she was a bit disappointed that it appeared our current group was not going to tackle the process of writing new goals and by-laws for the remained of this school year and would wait until the new PTA was elected at the end for next year. After, much discussion by the group and careful consideration of Mrs. Alford and Mrs. Hope’s belief that the ENTIRE group needed to start from a place of research and knowledge (not more of the same winging it). Mrs. McElrath agreed to make additional copies of the hand outs and will place them in blue military folders in the front office so that anyone may take a set home to review and bring back for others to do the same. We agreed to have an additional follow up meeting prior to our scheduled February time to address this. The group agreed to work on a “mission statement” and some specific ideas of how and what we would like to see our school’s PTA group accomplish and to think about by-laws. We agreed to meet Monday Jan 25^th @ 6 p.m. The February meeting will be to discuss the spring carnival or talent show, etc.

Mrs. Alford mentioned that the staff’s focus has got to shift more to math and the upcoming assessments for grades 3, 4 & 5 (which will be done on the computer for the first time). She asked if we could also check with teachers about parent and/or MUSCL volunteers helping during math lessons.

J.T. Enterprises raised $6,881.67 and virtually all is handled, unlike last year. Mrs. McElrath said she would continue to help spearhead that next year as well since the wrinkles are ironed out now. The PTA fund balance sits as $808.83 now, after the copier and smart board technology items have been purchased.

The prior November and December meeting minutes were motioned for approval by Mrs. Hope and Mr. Tombrello, the motion carried.

Please see below a roster for all in attendance along with corresponding e-mail or phone numbers…

Due to unforeseeable circumstances the PTA President and school Principal were unable to attend our additional meeting. The group still decided to stay part of the time to discuss next steps but no decisions or resolutions were made. PTA mission statements and objectives were not discussed other than a consensus by the entire group that we needed to change the PTA’s image and that the top priority needed to be getting more families involved and volunteering.

The meeting was called to order by Mrs. McElrath. There is to be no meeting agenda as we have Mrs. Galloway from the ISC Building visiting to better educate and inform our PTO group of the specific, official, guidelines within the district for operating as a PTO or a PTA.

Mrs. Galloway informed us that Buckner does have a family engagement site contact, Mrs. Buckner & Mrs. Travis, which are to bring back information to staff to help encourage parent involvement. There was also quite a description of “porch visits” and welcome packets that some schools do prior to the new school year starting, which does not apply to Buckner at this particular time.

Mrs. Galloway said she was asked to share information about how finances are handled within the district and the differences between PTO & PTA. She explained that initially PTO’s were started to pull away from the National level of PTA to “do its own thing” with no dues and would do other fund raisers. There became a question as to what the purpose of this organization was to be, there were no written by-laws, mission statements, etc. If the organization decided to remove itself from the district they would need a new federal tax I.D. number and pay for an annual audit and would be wise to have insurance on its officers, write their own by-laws, etc. (Therefore technically Buckner is/has been operating officially as a PTA regardless of what the group has called itself.) She also explained that the school’s secretary documents and receipts all transactions and that the PTO/PTA President must sign for EVERY expenditure.

Mrs. Galloway feels it’s most beneficial to go through the schools fund and that ultimately the school’s administration is the final deciding factor regardless of whether the group operates as a PTA or PTO. The administration has the best information on what the school, grades, teachers and students need and what has been asked for and turned down, etc. She forecasts that the next 2 years will be hit hard financially, esp. in staffing areas. There may not be enough lunch aides, clerk hours, etc.

Mrs. Galloway offered another solution to getting things accomplished and motions accepted by switching from the perception of a vote vs. a consensus and opinion held by all or most of the group (a general agreement). She believes it is a more agreeable way to reach decisions or resolutions. For example, the moderator might, at the end of the discussion, say “I think the majority of you …”

Mrs. Galloway advised our group that we would better serve if we established a vision or mission statement for the group. Her vision is one in which the group supports administration, staff and students with the presence of parent.

Mrs. Galloway also explained the significance of having our school volunteers “registered” within the district so we know who’s coming and going within the school building but these volunteer minutes and hours should be logged and tracked so that the school gets credit for them when they apply for grant funding, etc.

There was some general discussion within the group with additional input from the Principal, Mrs. Alford. Mrs. Alford supports and communicates that she expects to have an open door policy with parents to visit the school and their child’s classrooms any time. Mrs. Alford stated that she has many meetings with the staff and team leaders and made us aware that the staff is feeling anxious as well because we didn’t meet the yearly progress marks the last 2 years.

By the conclusion of the meeting everyone was in agreement that we needed to do some “thinking” and possibly further research at such places as www.PTOtoday.com so we would be prepared to make some decisions at our next meeting.

Please see below a roster for all in attendance along with corresponding e-mail or phone numbers…

The meeting was called to order by Mrs. McElrath and introductions were made around the room. Mr. Tombrello made a motion to accept the minutes from last meeting and the motion was seconded by Mrs. Smith, the motion carried. The Treasurer’s report showed a $10,616.34.

Mrs. McElrath will call JT Enterprises to extend pick up for Friday to collect orders. The products should be in by the end of the month. She requested that we get some volunteers to help with the disbursement. Mrs. McCollom & Mrs. Pack agreed to help, others to look at their schedules. Candy bars are still in the office to purchase for $1 each to help with the 5^th grade trip and Mr. Tombrello bought for the whole group!

Mrs. McElrath also reminded us that PTO usually pays for one of the teacher meals/treats during the parent/teacher conferences. Since Pin Pin will be cooking the meal by herself, a motion was made by Mrs. Hope and seconded by Mr. Carlton that PTO reimburse if requested and also pay for the drinks. The motion was approved. It was also suggested it might be good to have a PTO table set up.

Mrs. McElrath & Mrs. Smith reminded us that we need to have help coordinating a “Fall” party for those families who do not wish to participate in Halloween themed activities to have another option.

Mrs. McCollom, who’s coordinating the book fair, still needs some volunteers to help cashier on Tues. and Wed.

Mrs. Shanks, the Pre-K teacher, (at the direction of Mrs. Alford) made a short presentation to request the remaining money to fund their “Family Connection Activities” for the school year. (A detailed hand out was given at the meeting). Mrs. Cortez made a motion to approve the $111 and Mr. Cosloy seconded and the motion passed.

Mrs. Peshek updated us on the Box Tops fund raiser and said that we usually collect approximately $500-$600 each school year ($166.79 was deposited on 4/30/09). She asked for PTO to approve some funds to reimburse her for some of the prizes she will be awarding. It was mentioned that she would just need to fill out the new request form that Mr. Tombrello created for such requests.

On another note, Mrs. Cortez brought up the miscellaneous fund raisers we held last year such as CiCi’s Pizza Nights, ChuckECheese & adding a Baskin Robbins Ice Cream Social. It was agreed that she would get some additional information and possible dates prior to the next meeting. Mrs. Lacio, who’s helping with our student directory this year as well as the Buckner Brief, offered to help with the flyers and such this year.

This has been a sensitive issue for many. After many previous e-mails and discussion at the meeting, the following was laid out:

□ After researching and getting multiple quotes, Mrs. Phillips purchased a combo copier/printer for approximately $7,100. The district will not service this unit but we have a service agreement included for everything and Buckner will only pay .013 for B/W copies and .065 for color copies. This is also a network capable machine.

□ Since the Smart Boards and other such technology items were not purchased this past summer, PTO did have the funds in the account. Mrs. Alford proposed to eliminate the clickers for now and have the PTO and school accounts both purchase 1 Smart Board each for a total of 2 of 3 originally voted on last school year.

Please see below a roster for all in attendance along with corresponding e-mail or phone numbers…

The meeting was called to order by Mrs. McElrath and introductions were made around the room. Mrs. Shanks made a motion to accept the minutes from last meeting and the motion was seconded by Mr. Tombrello, the motion carried. The Treasurer’s report showed a $14,064.26.

Mrs. McElrath reported that t-shirt sales were over $1,000 so far. She also reported that the Helping Hands supplies had been purchased for $138.71. PTO also purchased the refreshments for our Open House for $123.18. JT Enterprises fund raiser kick off will be on 9/18 and this year money must be collected in advance. There will also be an “opt-out” option where you can just donate directly to the school in lieu of purchasing items.

Mrs. McElrath reminded us that we need to pay and collect the $3 PTO annual dues and she compiled a list of who paid tonight.

Mrs. Wilson, the school psychologist, (at the direction of Mrs. Alford) made a short presentation to state her case of wanting to attend the “Creative Arts Therapy for Behaviorally Disordered Youth/Enhancing Brain Function, Emotional Regulation Through the Creative Process” being held in Wichita on 10/7 for $159. Mr. Tombrello made a motion to approve (upon receipt of the formal written budget request) and Mr. Carlson seconded and the motion carried.

Mrs. Phillips, our school secretary, asked that people please inform the office of any functions or dates relevant to the school so that she can update the master calendar in the office.

Mrs. Worrell, thanked PTO for providing the “Weekly Readers” to the school and says that she’s continued to hear positive feedback from all grades and asked that we provide them again this year. The cost is $2,160.12. Mr. Carlson made a motion to approve and Mrs. McElrath seconded and the motion passed.

Mr. Cosloy, environmental technician for USD 259, reported about the foul smell was water leaking down by the back hallway by the art and music rooms. There’s some sulfur content but nothing hazardous or harmful, just bad smelling. He’s working to get people out to repair.

On another note, Mr. Cosloy will graciously donate paper for PTO use this school year!

Please see below a roster for all in attendance along with corresponding e-mail or phone numbers…

The meeting was called to order by Mrs. McElrath, Mrs. Smith made a motion to accept the minutes from last meeting and the motion was seconded by Mr. Tombrello, the motion carried. The Treasurer’s report showed a $14,064.26.

v Mrs. Cortez reported that Buckner’s May CiCi’s pizza night raised $57.18 for the school ChuckECheese check should have been received.

v Mrs. Calef updated everyone that the Carnival brought in $3,606 & that we had a profit of $2,294.66. Based on the leftovers we used only approx 240 hot dogs & buns. Brandy is to do a final itemization for Mrs. Alford.

v Mrs. McElrath told everyone she renewed the JT Enterprise contract for a 1 year term this time and that we will collect up front next year.

New business included information shared by Mrs. Schunk regarding additional fund raising opportunities such as River City, etc. for all to review and think about for next year.

We also discussed Teacher/Staff appreciation week. Mrs. Schunk has organized a breakfast (much of it home made). Mrs. Cortez will provide two ice cream cakes, one to be purchased and one to be donated. After some discussion, a motion was made by Mrs. Schunk and seconded by Mrs. Smith to purchase $25 gift cards for the entire staff (approx 44 people). Mr. Tombrello volunteered to purchase these without any processing fees.

A request for funding of the 2^nd grade class’s20/20 reading parties was denied due to issues such as fairness to other classes, etc. Mrs. McElrath will provide a written response to the teacher on the PTO’s behalf.

Mrs. Schunk made a request on behalf of the 5^th grade class’s of school field trip to Kansas City. There was much discussion and debate. UPDATE: After many e-mails it was decided to reimburse $450.

Mrs. Alford let everyone know that Mr. Lytle went home from the hospital today! Yeah good news! She also mentioned that she has a couple of positions to fill such as the clerk, Special Education and a new 5^th grade teacher.

Mrs. Alford made clear her need to purchase a significant portion of the remaining technology items our school is missing to include specifically, three sets of clickers for the 3^rd, 4^th & 5^th grade classes as well as the three sets of LCD projectors along with the Smart Boards. Mr. Trombello made a motion to approve approx. $9,000 for the purchase this summer, it was seconded by Mrs. Cortez and the motion carried.

It was agreed that we would try to make two meetings during the summer to follow through and plan for the next school year and enrollment in August.

Please see below a roster for all in attendance along with corresponding e-mail or phone numbers…

BUCKNER PERFORMING ARTS MAGNET

P.T.O MEETING MINUTES 8/4/09

Minutes provided by Mrs. McCollom in Mrs. Cortez’s absence. The meeting took place at Cheddar’s restaurant from 6 p.m. – 7:35.

Volunteers for the new year (where there is no name, is a need we have)

Volunteer Coordinator

Room Parent

Book Fair

Carnival

Box Tops-Michelle Peshek (checking with her)

Field Day

Parent Visitation-Teresa Fields (checking with her)

Picture Day-Sonya Smith and Kim Hope

Yearbook-Sara?

Directory-Sara?

Buckner Brief-Sara Lacio (Pin Pin to check with her on all 3 of these)

T-shirt order-Sonya Smith

Helping Hands-Pin Pin Schunk

It was suggested that with all the volunteer positions we should have co-chairs.

We are going with JT Enterprises for our main fund raiser again this year. Kickoff to be on Sept. 18^th. The 15 students/parents that still have balances due will receive a letter from Narvella saying they would be able to participate in the fund raiser after previous balances are paid. Also this year the fund raiser will be pre-paid only. We had discussion of Parent Link being used to help get the money turned in.

We had 2 pages of parents sign up for PTO during enrollment. There was discussion of staying consistent with start/end times of our meetings (6-7 pm) to help keep people coming. This would show them their time is valued. The meetings will be held on the 1^st Tuesday of every month from 6-7 pm.

There was discussion of using information from the school office computer for the Student directory and sending notes to parents asking them to let us know if they do not wish to have their information published. This would be a speedier way of getting the directory published than continually asking for them to send back the info.

Mr. Lytle has volunteered to continue updating the website. Mrs. Alford was to forward his e-mail.

Mrs. Alford presented the staffing update.

Our theme for the year is “Yes we can build character”. There will be 10 different character traits, one for each month with August’s being Leadership.

Specials will be on a 5 day rotation.

PTO to attend a staff meeting (Mrs. Alford will provide details later) so we can have a show of support going both ways; between PTO and staff.

PTO dues of $3 will be collected at the Sept 1^st meeting.

BUCKNER PERFORMING ARTS MAGNET

P.T.O MEETING ATTENDEES (ROSTER) 8/4/09

Christy McCollom christymccollom@att.net

Kim Hope hopesistas@yahoo.com

Lichelle Alford lalford@usd259.net

Narvella McElrath nmcelrath@usd259.net

PinPin Schunk pinpin@skbpub.com

Sonya Smith sonyaps01@hotmail.com