PTA General Meeting Minutes
Thursday, Sept. 28, 2006
Rush Library
Call to Order: 6:45 pm
Number of Attendees: 33 signed in
General Business:
· Terry Jett introduced class representatives for 2006/07 school year.
Teacher’s Report, Robyn Pruitt-Hamm:
· Robyn Pruitt-Hamm will be joining Mary Kay Weinmeister and Kris Monrad as Teacher Representatives this year.
· Robyn would like to thank the PTA for the following:
o PTA’s generous support of the music program and safety patrol.
o The lovely banquet of food earlier this month.
o An awesome ice cream social!
o Karen Gear and all her work on the Emergency-preparedness kits.
· Parents please note there is a new District policy for volunteers - must have forms completed and on file. Forms are available at the office or from your child’s teacher.
Principal’s Report, Kimo Spray:
· Ben Rush has an excellent partnership with PTA. Stressed the importance of PTA and what it brings to the school.
· Ben Rush has great teachers!
Grants to School
· Terry Jett presented the following grants to Principal Kimo Spray:
o $3500 Field Trips
o $1500 Young Author’s Day
o $1500 Supplies (copy paper, etc.)
o $6500 Total Grants presented
· Terry Jett presented $100 grants to teachers, over $2500 total.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Membership, Lori Chisholm:
· 112 families have joined PTA.
· Staff is at 50%.
· Mrs. Moore’s class has highest percentage of PTA members at 68%.
Fundraising, Kymberly Meade:
· Auction is Friday, March 23, 2007. Save the date!
· Had first meeting on 9/25; going through last year’s donation list.
· This year the classrooms will be doing project-based donations rather than gift baskets. Example – fire pit (kids painted tiles for base).
· Will have Kid Event, such as bicycle raffle. Also, kids can earn script and use them at kids’ auction.
· Next Auction Meeting: Oct. 9th at 7:00 pm at Kymberly Meade’s house. If you would like to attend, please email for details.
Education, Rebecca Bluechel:
· Math. Math Lab is open for teachers to do auxiliary math.
· Science. Sponsoring Nature Vision this year. Pacific Science Center is hosting an exhibit Friday, Oct. 6th. Please contact Kim Erickson at if you are able to help out.
· Science Fair. If you are interested, please contact Rebecca at or Kim Erickson at .
· Library. We are still in need of some library helpers. Please email if you are able to help. There are lots of books that are outdated in the library. Mary Schroeder, Librarian, is working on updating these materials.
· Art. We are hoping to do more process-oriented art, starting next week. First lesson is one-point perspective. We will need lots of help from parents to assist children, please email Rebecca at if you are interested.
Education, Gurleen Gulati:
· Ellen Krumm, math lab docent, will be holding seminars for parents to learn math games and tips on the following days:
o Thurs. Oct. 12 from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
o Fri. Oct. 13 from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
· Multicultural/International Night will be held on Feb. 8th at 6:30 pm. There will be displays and food in the Library. The 6th graders will make display boards in conjunction with their studies of the Pacific Rim.
· Also on Feb. 8th, the 5th graders will be performing African Rhythm Night in the gym.
Assemblies, JoDee Hull:
· Ben Rush is planning several assemblies this year. We will follow a similar format to last year, but will provide slightly different presenters. A few possibilities include an assembly with a sports theme, a professional dance week sponsor, author(s) and a musical team.
Health and Welfare, Terry Jett (for Tracy Shaffer):
· Hearing & Vision testing on Thurs., Oct. 5th. Need 20 volunteers to work 1-2 hour shifts between 8:15 a.m. and 12 noon.
· Walk to School Day. Ben Rush’s Walk-to-School Day will be postponed to the Spring.
Special Events, Terry Jett (for Dan/Diane Dorsey):
· Family events are usually the 3rd Thursday of the month.
· Oct. 19 – Skate King Night from 6 to 8 pm
· Nov. 16 – Pottery Night.
· Jan. 25: Skate King Night, 6:00 to 8:00 pm
· Feb. 8: International (multi-cultural) Night at 6:30 pm
· Feb. 15: Family Games Night, 7:00 to 8:30 pm in Gym
· Mar. 23: Auction
· Apr. 19: Skate King Night, 6:00 to 8:00 pm
· May 17: (tentative) Bingo Night, 7:00 to 8:30 pm in Gym
· June (one of the Fridays): Carnival
Hospitality, Kelly Racovolis:
· Special thanks to the YMCA for providing childcare during the meeting.
Other Comments
· Communications
o Kimo Spray has had technical difficulties and has been unable to send communication emails to parents. He apologies for any inconvenience and hopes to get the situation corrected soon.
o Nancy Dunlap, School Secretary, keeps the main calendar. Be sure to communicate with her when you plan an event.
o Sean Schwoerer mentioned there is a web-based communication system called Parent Organizer. This would allow parents to receive an email every morning with all the events going on at the school. Concerns were raised regarding those parents who don’t have computer access. It was assured that those parents would still receive hard copies of all information.
Treasurer, Sean Schwoerer:
· Ben Rush is financially solvent with a current balance of $55,696.16.
· Last year Ben Rush PTA reported $70,884 in income, but $75,239 in expenses.
· Sean recommends that we purchase an 8-month Certificate of Deposit for funds that have been allocated for the 2007-08 school year. An 8-month CD will earn 5% interest.
Treasurer (cont.)
· The following budget increases were presented:
Line Item / Category / Type / Current / RequestedLine 3.01 / Other Income - Auction / Inc / $20,000 / $22,000
Line 12.17 / Science Enrichmnt / Exp / $3,000 / $7,000
Line 18.01 / Auction Expense / Exp / $1,500 / $2,500
Rebecca Bluechel made a motion to increase the budget figures to the “requested” amounts shown above. There was some discussion regarding the Science Enrichment increase. Concluded with the thought that rather than scaling back on our budget, we could work on ways to raise more money if this is a program that would really benefit our kids. The parents and staff believe that the science enrichment is a great program, so we should support the cost. The motion to increase all three line items above was seconded and approved.
Kymberly Meade made a motion to approve the entire budget as was presented at this General Meeting. There may be a discrepancy on lines 4.03 and 17.03 (Cheetah Gift Shop), which will be corrected outside of this meeting, if necessary. The motion to approve the entire budget was seconded and approved.
Secretary, Heather Ortega:
· Standing Rules were presented for the 2006-07 school year. Kristin Gulley made a motion to approve the Standing Rules. The motion was seconded and approved.
· Minutes from the last General Meeting on 4/27/06 were presented. Chris Baker made a motion to approve the minutes from the last meeting. The motion was seconded and approved.
Adjournment: 8:00 pm
Minutes submitted by Heather Ortega
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