Officers in Attendance: Sydney Watts (President), Rose Crews (Treasurer), Kristin Kirchen

PHSSA PTA

February General Membership Meeting

February 21, 2017

Officers in attendance: Sydney Watts (President), Rose Crews (Treasurer), Kristin Kirchen (Secretary)

Meeting called to order at 6:13 by Sydney.

Cathy Durrette made a motion to approve the minutes from the November meeting (last general membership meeting) as presented. Catherine Cornachio seconded. The motion passed.

President’s Report: Sydney

• Most important business of the evening is the election of the nominating committee and recruitment for next year’s leaders. Pick up a description of the committees and ask questions of the officers and committee chairs.
• The big news since we last met is that PHSSA is now fully accredited by the Virginia Department of Education.
• 96% of families completed their 10 hours of family involvement time by the December deadline
• As of the end of 2016, student attendance stood at 93%.
• February is Acts of Kindness Month – Hospitality committee took charge of this initiative and it was awesome. They are now planning ahead for teacher appreciation week in early May.
• Upcoming fun events
• WeCreate, Saturday February 25, 11-2 at Redemption Church on 32nd Street. Sponsored and planned by Leslie Hartman and the Church. Admission includes lunch, music, and lots of great art! All proceeds benefit the PTA playground fund.
• March 18, skate night at Skateland, 4:30-7pm
• Kids Day Out, March 24 (early dismissal day), we need volunteers to help with this – planning to do lots of fun outdoor activities from 11 until 3:30.
• Go Nuts for Reading – Four Saturdays (last Saturday plus three more coming up) from 1-2:30 you can drop your kids off to read with volunteers in the library. If the kids complete their bookmarks they get a free ticket to the Squirrels game.
• Next meeting: March 14, 6-7pm, the slate of officers for the upcoming year will be presented.

Treasurer’s Report: Rose

• December Reconciliation – beginning balance $10,461.35, ending balance $13,151.69. Bulk of the income from Giving Tuesday donations (more than $2,000). Minimal expenditures of $220.00 to pay the teachers for the Fall PHASE session.
• January Reconciliation – beginning balance $13,151.69, ending balance $13,646.22. Income from Kroger Rewards program (if you haven’t signed up your Kroger card, do it!). Not included in the January reconciliation but coming is the money from the Elwood Thompson promotion and a couple other private donations – totaling another $4,000!!

Secretary’s Report: Kristin

• Tonight we need to elect the Nominating Committee, the first step in the end-of-year elections. Three people have agreed to serve on the committee – Ann Chamblin, Ashley Davis, CatherineCornachio. Sarah McLillard made a motion to approve the Nominating Committee as proposed, Elliott Jordan seconded the motion. Motion passed.
• The role of the Nominating Committee is to recruit and present to the membership the best candidates for the PTA officer positions. All four officer positions are open – President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer. The Committee must present a slate of candidates for the membership’s consideration at the next meeting, March 14. We intend to vote at our May meeting. If you are interested in serving or know of someone who would be great in a position, talk to the members of the Nominating Committee or the existing officer.
• Existing officers briefly explained their positions
• Secretary – Attend all the meetings and take notes. Post minutes on the website shortly after the meeting and keep official record of meeting minutes. Attend and support PTA events. Help with major PTA events by working admissions tables or T-shirt sales.
• Treasurer – No banking experience required! Rose does not have a background in finance. She has created a process and system that anyone could pick up and move forward with. Reconciling money in and money out. Created a budget this year that could be used for future years as a model.
• President – Don’t let a lack of experience deter you! Great group of people to work with, lots of good momentum.

Committee Chair reports

• Membership – absent
• Events and Fundraising – Cathy Durrette – WeCreate is this weekend – come on out! We will be doing another Spirit Wear order soon but we need to make some tweaks to the online order system; it didn’t work very well.
• Family Involvement – Diane Heipel – Has designed a four-person committee to handle Family Involvement next year. Two positions are largely data entry and would be great for people who need to get in hours during the evenings from home. Currently recruiting for all four positions so talk to her if you might be interested.
• Gardens and Grounds – Absent. Another garden work day will be happening soon in early spring.
• Hospitality – Erin Van Vleet – Teacher appreciation week is in May and is our next big effort. Our mission is to spread joy and a sense of community throughout the school. Come join us!
• PHASE – Elliott Jordan – We are planning a spring session of PHASE for after spring break. We will need a new chair for this committee for next year. Availability immediately after school is important for the chair of this committee. Other skills include organizing and scheduling.
• Communications – Absent

Sarah McLillard, Interim Chair of the Board of Directors

• The Board will be holding a forum on March 8th 6-7pm to discuss the third floor renovations, accreditation, and the charter renewal process. Please come, listen, and discuss! We also need volunteers for the charter renewal committee. Our charter is up for renewal in January 2018 so if you’d like to be involved please let her know. The next Board of Directors meeting is February 28, 7pm in the library.

Valerie Wilcox with the Girl Scouts is set up at a table in the back. There is interest in starting a troop at our school so go talk to her and sign your daughter up.

Open Comment/Questions – None

Adjourned 6:49.