Fireside PTO
December Meeting Minutes
December 13, 2011
Attendance
| Lucy Floyd, Chair | Tam Dalle-Molle, Treasurer | Rachel Setzke, Secretary | Pat Heinz- Pribyl, Principal |
| Michele Crawford, GoCo Grant | Doug Haley, Teacher Rep. | David Kaufman, Teacher Rep. | Donna Hauswald, Grill 'N Bid |
| Tiffany Voeller, Garden To Table | Jim Renwick, SAC Rep. | Mario Jannatpour, DPC Rep. | Laura Kubiak, Giving Tree |
| Susan Hill, Grants |
1. Welcome
2. Approval of November Meeting Minutes - Doug Haley moved that minutes be approved. Dave Kauffman seconded. Motion passed.
3. Principal's Remarks
- We got our certificate of occupancy for the new part of the building, so we can start moving. We would like to do an open house for the remodel and addition, possibly some time in January.
- We held an open enrollment tour today.
4. Co-Chair Remarks: Lucy Floyd
- Thank you to Kim McKeen and Laura Kubiak for all of their work on the Giving Tree. We were able to donate gifts to nine families, five of which were Fireside families.
- Thank you to Lisa Kean, Tam and Lucy for planning the PTO night out. It was a really fun night for parents and the teachers who came.
5. Committee Report:
- School Accountability Committee (SAC): Jim Renwick. Paula Haskins came to the last meeting to talk about reading assessment. She gave out a text level correlation chart to convert to alphabetic reading levels. The December meeting is cancelled. SAC is always recruiting. They talk about budget, safety and other school accountability issues.
- Boxtops & Labels for Education: Kathryn Wolf was not at the meeting. There is a contest going right now to get labelles and box tops in. We have quite a few prizes to make contests work. The labels are being doubled if they are in by Dec. 16th. We earned roughly $300 from the batch we submitted in September.
- Capital Improvement Committee: Donna Hauswald.
i. The Money: Tam, the PTO Treasurer, forecasted how much money the PTO has now, how much we have committed to spend this year in our budget, and how much we anticipate earning in the remainder of the year. She then subtracted the amount that we'd like to keep in reserve for next year and arrived at a "surplus" of $45,000 which the group will ask the PTO to approve to spend on Capital Improvement projects. Tam requested that that amount will be officially voted on at the January PTO meeting. Anyone who would like to vote on it is welcome to attend the meeting. It is estimated that we may have "surplus" money to spend on projects like this again in another two to three years, though the PTO intends to do some Capital Improvements every year. Some of the items on the list have been held off for a number of years as we waited for the remodel to be completed. Tam reminded us that anything over $500 must be voted upon at the next PTO meeting, which is January 10th, 2012.
ii. Voting: Anyone who would like to vote on it is welcome to attend the January 10th PTO meeting. It is estimated that we may have "surplus" money to spend on projects like this again in another three years, though the PTO intends to do some capital improvements every year. Some of the items on the list have been held off for a number of years as we waited for the remodel to be completed.
iii. The Committee: The committee consists of four staff, including Mrs. HP, and seven parent volunteers.
iv. Project ideas and process: There were 32 project ideas submitted for how to spend the surplus PTO money. The committee's goal is to be as objective and fair as possible. The committee is currently fine-tuning the eight criteria for which projects qualify for this type of expenditure. They are also getting the best possible cost estimates for the items. None of the ideas have been eliminated unless the idea's sponsors have said they are no longer needed (some of the original ideas were from previous years). Some items submitted were related to hiring certified teachers, which we cannot do, per BVSD guidelines. The committee has grouped the items into three categories including: One-time capital expenditures; items that BVSD should fund; and items that are recurring or ongoing programs (some of these may be presented to the PTO as items to be worked into the regular budget).
v. Next Steps: The committee will evaluate the project ideas using a list of designated criteria. The projects that make it through the selection process will then be sent out to the entire Fireside community to vote upon them. Hard copy voting will be available for those who do not have emails.
vi. Capital improvement history and background from Mrs. HP: There was a bond passed in 2006 which had an improvement plan for every school in the district. Those plans were made by an outside consultant that looked at what schools needed for programs and improvements. Some schools got lots of money for improvements due to buildings' ages, etc. Our improvements totaled roughly $1 million for general improvements plus a later addition of $500,000 for the preschool. Fireside continually advocates to the BVSD for what we need. Every spring each school sends a list of improvement needs to BVSD. The district does their allocations as equitably as they can, placing highest priority on items affecting safety. The amount of money available every year varies. Our advocacy has recently resulted in new carpet and the replacement of the broken benches in front of the school.
- Treasurer's Report: Tam Dalle Molle. See attached for details.
i. In the beginning of the year, when we created our budget, Tam had estimated we would get $2,000 from the Whole Foods Bag Credit program. In actuality, it was $4,468.30 which is earmarked for green projects such as the garden or reuseables for classroom parties (cups, plates, etc.).
ii. Lego League expenditures for this year were very high. In past years the kids had to write a paragraph to get into the team. This year they did not have to do so which resulted in many more kids signing up for the club. It was noted that there should be better clarification about the club being a robotics club, not just a club to build with Legos.
iii. At the January PTO meeting, Tam would like to present a consistent policy on club expenditures such as snacks and t-shirts. We would like to let clubs all know what PTO money is available to them, and perhaps if parents were made aware of what is being spent, would not mind contributing.
iv. A request was made at the meeting that we purchase a new floor cleaning machine, as the old one is dying. Tam moved that we put a vote on the January PTO agenda to pay $553.85 for a new low speed floor cleaning machine. Michele Crawford seconded. Motion passed. It was also discussed that Dan Wisotsky, our Head Custodian, be given a line item in the annual budget for maintenance.
v. Tam sent an additional item via email the day after the meeting for an e-vote from the meetings' attendees. A few teachers have requested a Single Serve Coffee Maker for the Staff Lounge. Teachers would be responsible for buying their own coffee capsules. Tam received 10 "yay" votes received via email, and 3 folks who did not reply. With current holiday sales and coupons, Tam bought a really nice one for about $125 and presented to the teachers during the last week of school before Winter Break. Feedback has been very positive!
- District Parent Council (DPC): Mario Jannatpour. DPC had a high level presentation on assessment. Student assessments in the future will be based on what the child knows at the beginning of the year compared to their improvement over the year. The District is looking for roughly 60% growth throughout the year, with 30-65% being acceptable. The question of how much money is spent on these assessments kept coming up - no one knew the answer. It was noted that roughly 40% of BVSD kids open-enroll within the district, with 2,000 kids coming into the district from outside.
- Garden to Table: Callie Palen-Lowrie was not at the meeting and had no report.
- Grants Committee: Susan Hill
i. We did not get the Target Field Trip grant for $750. We are looking at some grants for the outdoor classroom. We are now waiting for district approval for the plan of the outdoor classroom. Audry DeBarros is writing a letter to large Louisville businesses, possibly with the outdoor classroom as the project that letter would ask to fund.
ii. Fireside had three people nominated for Impact Grants including Tam Dalle Molle, Gay Salim and Amber Billington. Congratulations to all of our great nominees, even though none of our nominees went forward.
iii. We did not get our GoCo grant for our playgrounds after submitting it a second time. There were 40 GoCO applications with only 11 awarded. We need to decide if we will submit again. Boulder County was only awarded one grant (for a park in Jamestown). Some of the projects are massive, others are small. Our grant started as $75,000 but the amount had to increase because of the timing (if we had gotten the grant, it would have been after the current improvements were finished, so we would have had to start over with new project managers, etc.). An enormous thank you goes out to Michele Crawford for all of her hard work and perseverance on this project.
6. Upcoming Events
- International Potluck & Dance (Feb. 4th): Lucy, Tam & Michela. It will be simple and fun. We are trying to include more of the international families from Fireside. There are two people from the Puentes group who will help with the planning of the event. We still need a DJ.
- Giving Tree (through Dec. 16th): Kim McKeen. 122 gifts given this year. Rachel volunteered to work with Kim next year to advertise Share-A-Gift and other winter giving such as the coat drive and food drive all together.
- Winter Fundraiser - in the past we have done a read-a-thon or math-a-thon. Through sponsorships we have raised $7-10,000. There is a volunteer who may head this up. February looks like the best time for the event. Julie Mesick co-chaired this event two years ago and might have information about how it was done.
7. Other Business:
- Puentes: Puentes is the Fireside group for parents who are Spanish speakers. Lucy will attend the January 12 Puentes meeting. We would like to have a regular representative who would attend both Puentes meetings and PTO meetings.
- Dede Pazour, our head librarian, will be teaching an Imagination Makers acting class in January. The class will be open to 12-15 students. She hopes that the majority of students will pay $95 each. She is requesting that the PTO provide up to $285 to cover scholarships for three students (who would be asked to contribute $5 earnest money each). The amount needed could vary depending on how many children apply who needing scholarships. Tam Dalle Molle moved that we approve a maximum $285 for up to three scholarships. - Michele Crawford seconded. Motion passed.
Next PTO Meeting Tuesday, January 10th, 6:30 p.m.
Happy Holidays to Everyone!
Treasurer Highlights - December, 2011
RESERVE ACCOUNT $ 88,071.36
CHECKING ACCOUNT $ 5,213.66
GROCERY ACCOUT $ 9,887.75
TOTAL: $ 103,172.77
Highlighted Income Activity:
- Whole Foods "Bag Credit" donation $ 4,468.30
- King Soopers Check - December $ 1,329.50
- Interest on Money Market - November $ 59.18
Highlighted Expenses:
- $ 4,097 to date in Teacher Reimbursements
- $ 1,228 to date for Parent Volunteer Background Checks
- $ 470 to send Lorraine Brooks, Shannon Kalisher & Dani Rudkin to CSSP Conference
(Colorado Society of School Psychologists). (Classroom funds were used for this.) - $ 200 for CU Science Day - Two Teams (10 kids)
- $ 142 for additional books for "One Book One Fireside"
- $ 90 for compostable cups
- $ 95 for Snacks, T-shirts & Batteries for Lego League
- $ 87 for Pizza for Lego League Practice
- $ 50 for Ethernet Cables, Connectors, Microphone headset for library
- $ 28 for Homework Club Snacks
GROCERY ACCOUNT - Year-to-Date Earnings (through 12/11/11)
- King Soopers $ 7,925.83
- Kohls $ 336.25
- Sunflower Market $ 62.50
- Vitamin Cottage $ 125.00
- Pizza Pals $ 500.00
- TOTAL PROFIT of $ 8,949.58
GROCERY ACCOUNT - Inventory Summary
Grocery Checking Account: $ 2,897.75
King Soopers Inventory: $ 65.00
Kohls Inventory: $ 5,325.00
Pizza Palz: $ 00.00
Sunflower Market Inventory: $ 600.00
Vitamin Cottage Inventory: $ 1,000.00
TOTAL INVENTORY VALUE: $ 9,887.75
August - September - October - November - December - January - February - March - April - May
