PTA Meeting Minutes 5.16.17
Campbell PTA Meeting
May 16, 2017
6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Approximate
# of Attendees: 17
I. Welcome
and Introductions: Nathan Zee, President
- Nathan
welcomed everyone to the meeting; noted that Ms. Nesselrode was unable to
attend due to a schedule conflict (countywide APS awards ceremony), so Ms.
Anselmo attended in her place - Nathan
read a Thank You letter from Ms. Boni and Ms. Al Majeed - They
were very thankful for all the teacher appreciation gifts, meals, and
activities from the PTA; felt celebrated and appreciated and offered
their gratitude - Nathan
presented a package full of letter from Ms. McAleer’s students thanking
the PTA for funding the purchase of bean bag chairs for their classroom - Nathan
read a letter of congratulations from Dr. Murphy for increasing our PTA
membership by 5% - Campbell
received a certificate from the NOVA district PTA at the last CCPTA
meeting; Katherine Novello, CCPTA rep, will bring it in to the school - Q:
Given our increased membership, do we have a quorum here this evening to
vote? A: Yes, we only need 10 members, and we have 17 present tonight. - This
evening’s speaking topic has been rescheduled for the June PTA meeting,
6/13, when Ms. Nesselrode will be present; topic will be: changes that
occurred this past year, and soliciting feedback on some of those changes
and possible tweaks as we move into a new academic year.
II. Vote
on Slate for 2017-2018 PTA Officers: Chandi Krohl, Nomination Committee
- Call
for nominations from the floor; no nominations offered from the floor - Chandi
presented the proposed slate for a vote: - President:
Nathan Zee - VP
Programming: Paige Hamrick - VP
Fundraising: Sean Doyle - VP
Communications/Outreach: Barbara Martinez - Treasurer:
Jenny Morris - Secretary:
Katherine Novello
- Motion
to confirm the slate. Motion seconded. Motion approved unanimously. - Nathan:
Congratulations to our new officers. The by-laws that were updated and
approved last year included moving the timing of the vote to elect PTA
officers to May (moved timing of vote up from June to allow one month of
transition time for a smoother turnover of responsibilities), however
terms officially commence in June.
III. Treasurer’s
Report: Jenny Morris, Treasurer
- For
the year, we’ve been doing great on our fundraising goals; we are about $15,000
above projected fundraising goals, and expenses have been a little lower
than expected as well - Made
approximately $15,000 at the Wetlands Festival; had budgeted $13,000 - Made
approximately $8,000 at the Fun Run; had budgeted $3,000 - Made
approximately $7,000 from the Fall Pledge Drive; had budgeted $5,000 - Made
approximately $1,000 from Penny Wars; had budgeted no income - Square
One Art made more than anticipated - Amazon
sales made more than anticipated, so all those things add up - Highlights
for the month: - Approximately
$8,000 from Fun Run with very low expenses - $1,700
from Square One Art - This
month we had the following expenses - First
Grade Field Trip to National Geographic Museum - Spent
money we approved at our last meeting for Special Ed resources - Paid
for work that was done on the Wetlands area; the updated balance in the
Wetlands Capital Improvement Fund is now $3,763.40 - Any
questions? - Q:
Is the $200 for Community Building Other the budget that the popsicles
for Campbell Olympics comes from? A: Yes. - Q:
And what is that $90 of expenses for? A: The apple tasting event in the
fall. - Comment:
(Ms. Hill) In their writing unit, my Kindergarten students are writing
persuasive letters, and we’re focusing on “water” for our expedition, so
we have been talking about the Pond. I’m using the concept of the pond
re-do that the PTA debated and ultimately funded last year to inspire
their persuasive letters, so don’t be alarmed if your students talk about
the pond update as if it hasn’t happened yet, or if you hear rumors that
the Pond is going to be filled in, this is probably the reason.
IV. Funding
Requests: Nathan Zee, President
·
We put out a call to teachers for additional
funding requests, and here’s what came in since our last meeting:
o
Ms. Johnson: $47.96 for hard case
pencil cases
§
Q: Why does she need them? A: To
organize communal table supplies
§
Motion to approve funding; seconded;
approved unanimously
o
Ms. Brown: $113 for supplies to create
scenery and costumes for 4th/5th grade play
§
Q: Has she already spent the money? A:
Yes, this is for reimbursement.
§
Q: What would happen if we didn’t
approve? A: She’d just be out of pocket for the items.
·
Executive Board will be discussing
putting a mechanism into place for next year (funding built into the budget,
separated by grade level), that would be available to teachers for items such
as this
§
Motion to approve funding; seconded;
approved unanimously
o
Ms. Norwood: $250 to support Field
Trip for Third Grade classes to visit the Torpedo Factory to follow up on printing-making
by artist Veronica Kelly
§
Motion to approve funding; seconded;
approved unanimously
o
Ms. Oviedo: $619 from SpEd Team for math classroom
resources: Touch Math Kits 1,2, and 3 for grades K-2, downloadable “green”
version
§
Q: Is the “green” version for the
iPad? A: No, it’s printable, not digital
§
Q: Does the Department of Instruction
not provide adequate funds to SpEd Department? Where does the school’s SpEd
budget go? A: Most of budget goes toward testing protocols
§
Q: Any consistency issues with using
this program? A: No, it’s a widely used program within APS, but the county
hasn’t adopted it officially due to its expense
§
Motion to approve funding; seconded;
approved unanimously
o
$247.06 x 2 for FloorTex polycarbonate
carpet covers for Trailer Classrooms (for the areas under the art center tables)
§
Motion to approve funding; seconded;
approved unanimously
o
Ms. Kim: $54.99 for Shark speaker portable
boom box with wireless speakers (to replace broken one)
§
Motion to approve funding; seconded;
approved unanimously
o
Ms. Brewer: approval to spend up to $400
for an area rug (she may not want to buy it this year, but IF she does decide
to purchase it now rather than waiting another year, I’m asking us to
provisionally approve the amount, for this year only, in case she decides to
move forward before the end of the school year)
§
Q: Does Ms. Kim also need new carpet?
A: No, Ms. Brewer is only requesting a new area rug to be used for Morning
Meeting
§
Motion to approve funding; seconded;
approved unanimously
·
Big Picture Item that we’ve been
researching: Sound System upgrade, not to exceed $10,000; we’re not voting on
this item tonight, but laying the groundwork for a vote at the June meeting
o
Current Sound System is 10 years old
(installed in 2007), and not optimal for all our various needs
o
Ms. Anselmo and Ms. Nesselrode met
with two gentlemen from APS to talk about what our school needs are from a
Sound System: mics for Community Meeting, Weather Bugs, school play, etc., (7-8
wireless mics); ability to play sound through speakers for movie night and
other similar events, like Multicultural Night
o
APS reached out to an outside expert about
upgrading to system to include those capabilities; we think it might be in the
ballpark of $7,000-$8,000 to start but don’t have a quote from an expert yet
§
Sound System could be customized based
on our budget and needs; based on our budget and what we’re hoping to achieve,
we feel it would be reasonable to set aside $5,000-$10,000 for this, but we
need a hard number from a subject matter expert before we take it to a vote
§
When we do vote, it will be
“not-to-exceed” an amount that is slightly higher than quote we’re given, in
case there are some unforeseen circumstances (this is how we handled the Pond
Re-do last year)
§
Ideally, work will be done over the
summer, so we’ll need to approve in June
o
Questions and comments?
§
Q: Will APS help with maintenance? A: Maybe,
to some extent, as they are able, such as by doing minor maintenance, but
probably not with bigger issues.
·
Comment: In that case, we should
earmark some of the budget for annual system maintenance.
§
Q: Would APS say that they wouldn’t
help with maintenance if the PTA paid for the system to be installed? A: No,
once it’s installed they don’t ask who paid to have it installed before fixing
it.
§
Q: Have any other school done this
recently? A: Yes.
§
Q: Will drywall repair be needed after
installation? A: No, the system is in a box that is already installed behind
the curtain on the stage, this would just be an upgrade/addition to current (box)
system.
o
Nathan: before we go any further, does
anyone have a stringent objection to this idea?
§
Q: Is this the priority for spending? If
we weren’t spending the money on this, what would we be doing instead? Could we
get all new carpeting installed for the school? A (Ms. Anselmo): That isn’t a
PTA expense—that’s for APS to fund. We’re in line to get new paint and carpet
installed; it was not approved in last year’s budget, but we’re a top priority
for this year and we’re just waiting for final word as to whether it’s in the final
budget.
§
Nathan: We’ve had multiple meetings
and calls for suggestions, but the upgraded sound system is the one large
near-term expense that keeps bubbling up. Given our successful fundraising this
year, we thought it would be a good time for a project like this.
§
Comment: I’ve observed that the fence
in front of school is an eyesore, and it’s broken and might be a safety issues
as well. Can we get that fixed? Or remove it? Can we also concentrate on beautifying
and maintaining the front of the school, or getting a marquee? Response (Ms.
Anselmo): APS has an approval process for these items. We have requested a marquee
sign for the front of the school in our MCMM requests, but it has yet to be
funded. We can ask about the fence, and about either removal or replacement, but
even if the PTA were committing the money and/or manpower, we’d have to wait
for approval from APS Facilities to move forward.
·
Nathan: Assuming we do move forward
with the Sound System upgrade, the idea is that we could look forward over the
next 2-3 years, to what the next big project may be that we’ll need to save up
for. The executive board would like to establish a long-term strategic funding
plan for these, and other, items that are appropriate for the PTA to fund in
coming years.
§
Comment: I think the Sound System
upgrade is needed. I’d also really like to see a marquee installed because it
would be such a great communications tool.
§
Comment: I’d like us to consider an
alternative to the fence: a rock wall. Maybe it could incorporate an art
project and students could paint the rocks.
§
Comment: The PTA has talked, over the
years, about this area, but has chosen to focus more on the other entrance as
it’s the one more frequently used. This area is a more neglected area of
the school that we could turn our attention towards.
§
Comment: I’d like us to focus on
what’s sustainable and realistic to maintain in this area, should we move
forward with any changes to the front of the school.
§
Comment: I support the upgraded Sound
System because I think it would more directly benefit our kids and support
their education. Beautification projects, while not discounting them, to me,
don’t have as much direct impact on students or learning.
o
Nathan: So what I’m hearing is that we’re
in agreement on prioritizing the Sound System upgrade, and that we’d like to
discuss improvements to the front of the school, not in lieu of the Sound
System upgrade, but rather as the next item we take on.
§
Q: So how much do we have to spend
this year, setting aside money for all of next year’s needs, given our
excellent fundraising? A (Nathan): So to answer that question, the first draft
of the budget that Jenny and I put together has us planning to spend $20,000, including
the $10,000 set aside for the Sound System, based on what we’ve raised this
year. This is a first cut of the budget and neither the Executive Board nor Ms.
Nesselrode has had an opportunity to weigh in.
§
Comment: So that leaves us with
$10,000 after the Sound System? I’d love for us to consider doing both the
Sound System upgrade and front entrance beautification in that case.
§
Comment: While I’ve enjoyed this
discussion, I think we need to shelve it for now until Ms. Anselmo has some
answers for us from Facilities.
§
Comment: I like the idea of the
Marquee and beautifying the entrance, but I’d also like us to look at the
experiences we’re funding for students and looking at how much we spend on
funding field trips and at which grade levels and seeing how we might want to
make sure there’s equity in terms of how we’re spending those funds and also
talk to teachers about experiences we’d want Campbell students to have (such as
seeing an orchestra, or going to Mt. Vernon)
§
Comment: I don’t know who funded it,
but the Summer Reading/Library program is great and I’d like to see that
continue or even be expanded. Response: That was not funded by the PTA. I think
it should be happening again this summer.
§
Q: Are the wireless mics handheld or
lapel mics? A: Wireless lapel mics, but we’ll still have jack for handheld
mics, so it will be a combination of mic types.
·
Nathan: Thank you for approving all the
short-term funding requests and thank you all for a lively discussion around
the Sound System and potential other big-picture items down the road, while
remembering that we don’t want to lose track of experiences and equity.
V. Upcoming
Events/PTA Survey: Nathan Zee, President
·
Upcoming events:
o
Reminder: No Community Meeting for the
next 3 weeks; Community Meeting will resume on Friday, 6/9, and we’re hoping to
have it outdoors. And it will be Pajama Day.
o
DC United Game this Saturday, 5/20
o
Executive Board Meeting on 6/6
o
Next PTA Meeting on Tuesday, 6/13
o
Campbell Olympics on 6/14
o
PTA Survey re. Programming/Fundraising:
please complete it online by 5/25; paper copies will be available in the office
if you need one
VI. New
Business: Nathan Zee, President
·
We’re updating our Volunteer form
prior to New Family Orientation on 6/13; will capture email addresses from new
families at Orientation (we’ll have a table set up)
·
We’re firming up 2017-2018 Committee
Assignments, we’ll do our best to have it filled out prior to the end of the
school year
·
Executive Board will be approving the
draft budget, which will be voted on in September
·
Working on scheduling the Rising K
playdates
·
We’ll look at the Survey results to
plan the year from a Programming/Fundraising perspective
·
Audit after end of Fiscal Year on
6/30; no spending is allowed from the end of the Fiscal Year until after the
Audit process is completed, so get your receipts for reimbursement in now
·
Ms. Christy will be full time next
year; PTA will continue to fund lesson planning and invoices, garden work days,
and summer hours but her line item in the budget is reduced accordingly
·
Q (Heidi): Will
we be taking T-shirts orders for New Families at the Orientation or over the
summer? A: It’s your call if you want to take that on.
VII. Closing:
Nathan Zee, President
- That’s
a wrap. Thanks everyone. See you next month for the final PTA meeting of
the year.