Coker PTA General Meeting Minutes

4 April 2017, 6 pm

Call to order

Meeting was called to order at 6:03pm by the President, Trey Meador.

Pledges of Allegiance

  • Flagbearers: Isabella Barba and Joaquin Marsh
  • Pledge Leader: Annika Stiles

Reflection

  • Tim Mizell

Establish Quorum

Quorum was established.

The order of the agenda was altered due to an early departure.

Reports

  • Treasurer’s Report (Brenda Spradling)

The beginning balance for the fiscal year starting July 1, 2016 was $39,384.91. The beginning balance as of February 7, 2017 was $50,549.81. The total income to date is $67,448.66. The total expenses to date are $57,689.55. The ending balance as of April 4, 2017 is $49,144.02.

This report will be filed for financial reconciliation.

New Business:

  • Budget Amendments (Brenda Spradling)

Brenda moved to make the following amendments to the budget:

  • Amendment 1: Increase Project Graduation from a budgeted $100 to $200 to allow for contribution to both MacArthur and Churchill High Schools’ Project Graduation events.
  • Amendment 2: Increase 5th Grade shirt expense total from a budgeted $1,000 to an actual $1,054.80.
  • Amendment 3: Increase 5th Grade shirt income total from a budgeted $1,000 to an actual of $1,422.64.

A general member seconds. Motion carries.

  • Secretary’s Report (Sandra Llanas)

Meeting minutes of the February 7th General Meeting were approved by committee and have been posted for viewing on the Coker PTA page at CokerPTA.com

Trey recapped the following annual Committee Reports:

  • Art Smart (Katie Myers)
  • Art Smart is the visual arts program at Coker. It is entirely volunteer-led and depends on the participation of parents just like you. This year Art Smart provided more than 125 classroom art lessons to the students of Coker with more lessons to come before the end of the year. Many works by our students were showcased at the recent Young Master's art show. Also, for the first time in many years, our kiln is functioning and we have begun incorporating ceramic work into our program.
  • Boo Hoo Breakfast/Welcome Wagon (Jalyn Barba)
  • The BooHoo Breakfast Committee hosts the welcome breakfast on the first day of school. At this complimentary breakfast provided in the library, parents are able to visit and, if need be, take advantage of the ample tissue boxes lying around.
  • Box Tops (Joy Weinberg)
  • The parents, students, and staff of Coker Elementary brought in 10,020 box tops. As a result, the school has earned a total of $1,002 dollars for PTA programs at Coker.
  • FINS – Friends in Need (Guadalupe Negley)
  • FINS currently serves as a method of parental education and engagement at Coker. Expenses have gone to purchasing materials for parent classes with such topics such as parenting, nutrition, computer etc. FINS also assists with the Northeast Council of PTA’s Clothes Closet.
  • Landscaping (Martina Mauldin)
  • The landscaping committee maintains the Texas garden and the plants and beds in and around the pond. There are monthly work days to weed, clean up, trim, prune and similar chores. The committee replaces and adds plants and mulch or other materials as needed. Also the committee meets year-around and during school breaks. Finally, the committee supports and works in coordination with the outdoor classroom committee (Coker pond) to facilitate pond lessons and maintain pond health and proper functioning of pond features.
  • Lunchroom (Georgia Helmrick)
  • My committee is the Lunchroom Committee. The purpose of the position is to serve as the official representative of Coker Elementary school at NEISD quarterly Lunchroom Committee meetings, during which information regarding NEISD student nutrition services is disseminated. The Coker Lunchroom Committee chairperson serves as liaison between district nutrition services employees and Coker Elementary PTA. Also during these meetings, sample meal items are served and feedback is requested. Lastly, the committee chairperson is requested to sample meals at Coker Elementary cafeteria and provide objective feedback to the district committee.
  • Rally Day – Legislative Issues - Julie Winckler addressed the membership.
  • Julie briefed the community. Four representatives from Coker Elementary school joined many representatives from schools all around the state of Texas on Monday, February 27th, 2017 and met with lawmakers in the Texas House and Senate to discuss the legislative priorities concerning better school funding, charter schools and vouchers, testing, and other issues. She passed a clip board around to collect emails of those who wished to receive notifications on the legislative issues. She encouraged active participation and highlighted the ease of communicating with the law makers.
  • Membership - Tamara Verschoyle addressed the membership.
  • She encouraged continued membership. She reminded the membership about renewals of dues. She added that there were coupons for members at the membership table that could be picked up tonight.

-The membership committee is responsible for creating and implementing a membership plan, promoting membership throughout the year, collecting dues, and distributing membership cards. Coker PTA has 375 paid members this 2016-2017 school year.

  • NE Council of PTAs Clothes Closet (Trey Meador)
  • Open on Wednesdays from 10 am until 1 pm
  • Last Day it is open for the 2016-2017 School Year, May 10th.
  • Located at 8758 Tesoro Drive
  • Contact PTA, or the Family Specialist, the Counselors, or the School Nurse for more information
  • Please direct other questions or questions about donations to:
  • NE Council of PTAs Used Book Sale Jackie Randall addressed the membership.
  • We collected 3,465 books for the used book sale. They have all been dropped off at Blossom Athletic center this morning. Thank you to everyone who helped out with the delivery, as that's always the tricky part.
  • All proceeds Coker earns from our book delivery will go directly back to our teachers. This is a great turnout with 2,000 more books collected than last year.
  • We rewarded the classroom in each grade level with the largest collection. The winning classrooms were:
  • K: Ms. Belford
  • 1: Ms. Bigelow/Barba
  • 2: Ms. Timbalari
  • 3: Ms. Lane
  • 4: Ms. Behnke
  • 5: Mr. Wetherell
  • The book sale begins for the general public on Friday morning at 10 and ending at 6. The sale runs through the weekend and ends on Sunday. Hardbacks are $1.00 while paperbacks are $0.50.
  • We still need volunteers to work the sale. We are required to work 15 hours by the end of the sale. If you'd like to volunteer please show up at Blossom Athletic Center (Littleton Gym) and sign in as a volunteer for Coker Elementary. Jackie stated we were short 5 volunteer hours and highly encouraged participation to meet our requirements to earn the sales money.
  • Reflections (Holly Pirruccello)
  • Reflections is a PTA program in which the artistic talents of all students can be showcased. There are six areas of art: dance choreography, film production, literature, music composition, photography, and visual arts. Submissions are original works, created by the students. This program occurs every fall, and Coker had two dance choreography entries awarded at the PTA Council level. Dylan Fletcher, 5th Grade, received an award of merit for his “Better When I’m Dancing” and Bree Maschke, 5th Grade, received an award of excellence for her “Spanish Doll.”

Trey added that this program has had continued low participation and hopes that next fall there will be in increased interest. Look for information in the fall regarding the theme and deadline.

  • Watch DOGs (Salvador Gonzalez)
  • The Watch DOG Program (Dads of Great Students) is a national program, administered at Coker Elementary by PTA, which brings positive male role models into our school. Dads, uncles, and grandfathers have all served here at the school over the past 7 years, and while not only serving in the above role, but have provided volunteer help as well. The best part of the Watch DOG program which more dads speak to me about is the opportunity to be with their students for a day. There are currently more than 40 dads and dad figures on the active roster, and always room for more.

Trey encouraged participation.

  • Young Masters (Trey Meador)
  • Young Masters is a NEISD program which recognizes the visual artwork of all students. Coker Elementary PTA, through the Art Smart program and volunteers, collected over 150 pieces of art in various media, and displayed these at the Littleton Gym on March 21st, 2017. Six Coker students: Ezekiel Lopez, Maya Lerma, Franco Uribe, Olivia Garza, Gabriel Villalobos, and Janae Keel have the distinct honor of having their work framed, and to be put on display at the NEISD Central Office, later this year.

New Business

  • 2017-18 Officer Elections (Katie Myers)
  • The slate of officers, and their positions:
  • President – Katie Myers
  • 1st Vice President (Programs) – Carmen Marin
  • 2nd Vice President (Fundraising) – Julie Winckler
  • 3rd Vice President (Membership) – Tamara Verschoyle
  • Treasurer – Katie Whitehurst
  • Secretary – Veronica Fabila

Per the bylaws, the nomination script was followed and the officers were appointed to their respective positions.

  • Recognitions
  • Scott Stiles, Texas PTA Life Member
  • An Honorary Texas Life Membership is the highest honor bestowed upon an individual by the Texas PTA for outstanding contributions to the well-being of children and youth.
  • Scott Stiles has become a great community supporter of Coker PTA over recent years. Scott has been a watchdog and has continued to increase his level of support over the years. Some of the way that he has contributed are providing free print services for PTA materials including all of our printing needs for Fair, donating sausages & corn on the cob and goods for food sales at Fair (and cooking them) giving all profits to PTA for the past three years, assisting in coordinating aspects of Fair, and more. Scott continues to assist with various PTA needs and has become a valuable asset.

Announcements

  • Wednesday, April 5th, 8:30 am – Kinder Round Up, Coker Library
  • Thursday, April 6th – Spring Individual Pictures
  • Friday, April 7th, 10 am until 6 pm – NE Council Used Book Sale, Littleton Gym, Blossom Athletic Center (BAC)
  • Saturday, April 8th, 10 am until 6 pm – NE Council Used Book Sale, Littleton Gym, BAC
  • Sunday, April 9th, 11 am until 4 pm – NE Council Used Book Sale, Littleton Gym, BAC
  • Friday, April 14th, Good Friday (student holiday)
  • Friday, April 28th, Battle of Flowers (student holiday)
  • Tuesday, May 2nd, 6 pm – Coker PTA Membership Meeting and 1st Grade Music Program

Adjournment

Meeting adjourned at 6:41pm.

2nd grade program followed.

Recorded by: Sandra Llanas, Coker PTA Secretary