Ray School PTO
Board Meeting Minutes - Draft

November 13, 2008

 

Present: Karen Seltzer, Michele Sacerdote, Darlene Branche, Bill Mlacak, Tia James, Sarah Curtis, Lori Seigel, Julie Lirot, Jen Gantrish, Marylou Ruch

The meeting was called to order at 7:05 pm.

Karen made a welcome statement, followed by introductions by all present.

The September 18 minutes were approved.

Art at Ray

Karen described this program where Grade 5 students learn about an artist and their work, and then do gallery tours for other classes. This PTO committee is chaired by parent Neely McNulty, with the help of Ray School art teachers Ellen Haun and Robin Henry. The meeting shifted to the Multi where students Laurel Mendelsohn and Sierra Hitchcock, with the assistance of Ellen Haun, gave an informative presentation about artist Alexander Calder. The students did an excellent job, including video clips, posters, and questions and answers with their presentation.

Treasurers Report

Michele presented the Treasurers Report showing total assets of $21,331. Income since September is $9,852 and expenses have been $3,178. There is more income right now as membership and birthday books were just done, and the only major expense so far has been the directories. Projected expenses are around $6,850 for the remainder of the year. There was some discussion about how to handle the surplus of over $10,000. The Board will develop a survey to solicit feedback from members. Lori Seigel suggested a sustainability project, possibly involving a renewable energy source, that might take PTO funds as well as grants. Sarah Curtis mentioned that teacher Bob Stone had done a solar panel project at a previous school in Westminster, VT. The ad hoc 3 R's committee might be willing to assist, as long as the PTO led.

Membership

Bill presented the membership report. Parent membership is at about 72%, which is average. Participation of classroom teachers is high at 22 on 25. Participation of staff is relatively low at 20%, and lower than previous years. The usual sign-up notification was provided. There was discussion about lowering the membership fee for staff (currently $13), but the concensus was that it was not the amount, but rather a lack of awareness of the PTO's role. For example, instead of seeing membership as a directory purchase, it should be seen as a way to show support for the activities and events done by the PTO.

Student Directories

Congratulations were made to Mary Fallon and Colleen Rozzi for their work on the directory. Bill reported that 400 copies were printed for $1178, and there are around 50 copies still available, about the same as the previous year.

Grants

The Gifts committee moved to change the name of the Committee to the Grants Committee, and also to require a follow-up after the grant award to include a review as well as a one-sentence indication about scalability (suitable for other classes/grades/schools). This document would then be posted on the PTO web site to document the grant history. There is currently $1500 budgeted for grants. There have not been many requests so far. There was some discussion about using rolling or fixed dates, with the concensus being for fixed dates. Both motiosn passed, so the committee is renamed, and a follow-up document is to be required, with its contents to be deteremined by the committee.

Birthday Book Club

There has been a surplus income for this club, which may be as much as twice the actual expense. Last year, income was $3,880 but only $1,785 was spent on books. There was some discussion about using the surplus to purchase prints for the library or additional books for classrooms, or perhaps reducing the amount, or billing parents after children choose the book (so the price is known). Some members felt that money sent in for purchasing books should be used only for that, and not for other purposes. As no committee members were present, further discussion was tabled, with the hope that the committee could study this question.

Website and Email

Bill reported that the Communications Committee is working on a new Ray School web site. There was then some discussion about the pink sheets and the PTO email. Members like the PTO email, and all would prefer that the pink sheet be sent by email as well. There was also a preference for the PTO email format as compared to the Richmond and High School formats, which are often too long and difficult to read.

Walk to School Day

Bill reported that there was about 30% participation in the Walk to School Day on October 8. Parent and staff volunteers did walking school buses for groups of students, from the Green, near Kendall, and other locations. One parent suggested that other green activities, such as turning out the lights, might be suitable for those who where too far away. It was felt that this would still be valuable as part of Earth day, but it would be better to participate in one of the walking groups part of the way to school. The next Walk to School Day will be in April as part of Earth Day.

Bill mentioned that the School Bus report will be discussed at the SAU Board meeting on Monday. It was agreed that the information should be added to the PTO email as part of the Transportation Committee work.

Parenting on Track

Karen and Michele discussed a possible seminar that may be of interest to parents by Vicki Hoefl in Vermont. She would offer a free 2-hour seminar, and then people could sign up for her workshops which would be at a cost. The program is to help parenting of kids of all ages. She presents useful tools, and provides web conferencing and chat rooms for discussions. She also provides DVD programs. The web site is parentingontrack.com. There was some concern whether the seminar might be a sales pitch. It might be useful to work with area pre-schools. A possible date might be in March, between sport seasons. It may also be a good idea to buy the DVD's only.

Mother/Daughter Evening

Another seminar idea is a mother/daughter evening for Grade 5 girls as part of the growth and development unit in the spring. It could be led by a health professional. Tabled for next meeting.

Sister school in Vermont

A former PTO member has suggested that the PTO might help a nearby school that does not have the resources of the Ray School. This led to a discussion of whether the PTO might have a role as a kind of informal charitable fund for students in need at the Ray School. Or perhaps there should be a more active role with international events, such as the earthquake in China. Tabled for next meeting.

 

The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 pm.

Respectfully submitted by Bill Mlacak