Duveneck Elementary School
PTA Meeting
December 10, 2007
Held at Duveneck Library
Present: Kristin Feitzinger, Kathleen Meagher, Melissa Fassler, Anne Ritchie, Linda van Gelder, Sue Purdy Pelosi, Susie Hwang, Dianne Haydock, Xenia Hammer, Julie Dyson, Kim Robins, Marie Drez, Jeanne Marzano, Ginny Hull, May Herr, Isabelle Cole, Jennifer Buenrostro, Sheryl Klein
Absent PTA Executive Board Members: Liz Darby, Gretchen DeAndre, Kathryn Weller, Chitra Swaminathan, Jennifer Seto, Laura Wolfe
I. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at 7:05 in the Duveneck Library.
II. Approval of Minutes. Minutes from 11/6/07 Meeting were approved with changes. Procedure of recruiting nominating committee members was discussed. The Board also discussed posting PTA minutes in the display case outside the office and making the location of the minutes on the Duveneck website more obvious.
III. November Checks. November check report was distributed. Board decided to wait until next meeting when Treasurer (Chitra Swaminathan) is present to approve the report.
IV. President’s Report (Isabelle Cole)
Thank You Notes. Isabelle shared thank you notes from teachers regarding the Book Fair and Friday teacher treats.
Reserves Spending. $38,000 of reserves is committed for the new play structure ($32,000) and staff lounge improvements ($6,000). The Board will discuss the remaining reserves after the first of the year. Reserves do not need to be used exclusively for capital items. However, while using reserves to fund ongoing operating expenses is an option, it is not recommended by the PTA Council. In general, the current PTA Board makes decisions regarding the current PTA budget. It cannot be restricted by decisions of prior PTA Boards, nor can it place restrictions upon future PTA Boards.
Yearbook. There is a plan in place for expanding the pool of volunteers to participate in this endeavor. Potential additions to the yearbook (e.g., 5th grader memories and a cover art contest) were also discussed. Historian placed a call for parent photo contributions in the recent Dispatch. Xenia Hammer (past Treasurer) mentioned that she had developed a formula to aid in deciding how many yearbooks to order, to help avoid prior years’ over/under ordering.
Book Fair/Adopt-A-Book. Combined contributions of book fair and adopt-a-book stand at $7,058, slightly ahead of the budgeted $6,000. There was some concern regarding this year’s selection of books. The idea of an alternative source (e.g., Kepler’s) was discussed.
Sally Foster. Contributions to date are $2,300, short of the $4,000 budgeted. Though the major marketing push is passed, it is a year-long event and could potentially bring in more money later in the year. Isabelle will put a reminder in the Dispatch. The question of whether the Internet-only format lowered sales was discussed, as was the idea that the less labor-intensive format may result in a better ratio of money to required volunteer hours than the format used in previous years.
Auction. Susie Hwang and May Herr (auction co-chairs) discussed the auction. It brought in approximately $73,500 (net of expenses) v. a budgeted $55,000. May and Susie, who are not planning on chairing next year’s auction if one is held, discussed some of their take-aways:
1) Duveneck needs to decide as a community what it wants its big fundraising event to be.
2) The auction requires a huge number of volunteer hours to raise money. If using the same format next year, the nominating committee should target four co-chairs.
3) There is a large divergence of opinion among community members regarding the optimal type of event (e.g., pure fundraising v. community building).
The Board also discussed the possibility of using one big PTA ask in lieu of other fundraising events. It was noted that eliminating “Just Parties” would also eliminate some important community building. It was also noted that some fundraisers, in particular the book fair, are important cultural events for Duveneck.
Volunteer Jobs. A group of parents and Board members recently held a meeting to talk about difficulties soliciting volunteers. Room parents are having problems getting parent volunteers for classroom jobs and are planning to hold a meeting. The Board discussed having room parents meet with teachers to make sure that all jobs are still necessary and not just carry-overs from prior years. Ginny Hull (schoolwide volunteer coordinator) also expressed a decrease in schoolwide volunteering. Ideas for increasing volunteerism were discussed, including holding a volunteer fair. In the course of the discussion, it was raised that Duveneck is the only school without a special ed rep, and Isabelle is soliciting volunteers for that position in the Dispatch. The district has reinstituted the GATE program in the upper grades, and Duveneck does have a GATE rep.
New Fundraising Idea. Katherine Gordon came in to discuss the idea of making the bundle of monthly Book Club books available to parents at the beginning of the year, potentially on the single check order form. If the books are sold at retail price, Duveneck can make money on any discounts that it receives. Details regarding precisely how to implement will be determined later.
Just Buy It. The motion to eliminate the Just Buy It fundraiser for this year only, given the nearly $18,000 auction surplus, was approved. The related motion was passed to amend the budget as follows : 1. Change the Just Buy It line items to $0 and 2) increase “School Supplies, Instr. Mat.” by $10,000 was also approved.
V. Parent Education (Kim Robins). Duveneck event at the Children’s Library last week was a huge success. A Parent Ed event regarding bullying will take place on January 31st and is being promoted.
VI. Faculty Report (Melissa Fassler). Melissa briefly discussed the recent district PVC day, new leveled reading supplies, and the new district-wide DRA reading assessment. She also expressed teacher appreciation for Friday treats and the book fair.
School Community (Jen Buenrostro and Sue Pelosi)
A number of WOW events are occurring within the next couple of weeks, headed by Kathy Merkle-Raymond.
Dragon Cares is headed by Kelly Look and Kelly Cook, who have about 40 volunteers ready to respond to community member needs.
Carrie Jeffries is heading noon art, which has occurred once monthly since the beginning of the school year and has had as many as 150 participants. She is using things from the closet and doesn’t currently need supplies, but additional volunteers would be helpful.
Noon gardening with Pearl Chow is also going well.
Ideas for Spruce Up Duveneck were discussed, as was the potential for skipping this year due to lack of volunteers. Sue Pelosi and Jen Buenrostro have temporarily agreed to add this to their list of responsibilities. Current ideas for projects include building and filling the kinder sand boxes.
VIII. Principal’s Report (Kathleen Meagher)
Recent Events. First spirit day (pajama day) was a success. Superintendent Skilling spoke on campus. Ice skating was again a successful event. Panel for parents of students entering middle school was great and helped ease some parent anxieties. Board members suggested making this an annual event.
Facilities Bond Measure. Site Council recently met regarding the upcoming bond measure. There was agreement regarding the need to enlarge the library. The relative merits of redoing the MP room v. converting portables to permanent classrooms were more controversial. There were compelling arguments for both projects. Kathleen is sending the district information regarding the need for all of these projects.
Projects. The new play structure and furniture have been ordered. Concrete on the structure is to be poured over Winter Break, with construction of the structure to (hopefully) follow shortly thereafter.
Upcoming District Parent Ed Night. At 7pm on February 4th, Carol Dweck (author of the book Mindset) will be speaking regarding intelligences and the importance of praise at the district offices. All parents are encouraged to attend.
IX. Social (Julie Dyson). The recent ice skating party was a success. About 140 skaters participated, which is similar to previous years.
X. Site Council (Linda van Gelder). In addition to the upcoming bond measure, site council discussed its upcoming parent survey. In January, they will be meeting to discuss topics. Mechanism for getting PTA input to site council was discussed.
Meeting was adjourned at 9:15 pm.
Next meeting is scheduled for Mon., January 14, 2008 in the Duveneck Library
Respectfully submitted,
Kristin Feitzinger, Secretary
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