PTO Meeting Minutes

PTO Meeting - September 14th, 2006

General John Nixon Elementary School
PTO Meeting Minutes
September 14, 2006


The meeting was called to order at 10:35 am.
The Nixon staff generously provided food as a thank you for the new staff kitchen.

Treasurer’s Report
The fiscal year ended August 31, 2006. Fundraising brought in a total of $32,612, which was 95% of budget. Other Revenue was $10,803, which was 14% above budget. Net Income was $43,415, which was 99% of the full-year goal. The PTO had budgeted a loss of $17,714 and ended the year with a loss of $8,818. Operating at a loss was a one-time occurrence due to some major projects. Usually the PTO plans to operate at a surplus.

Co-Chair Report
Deirdra Vingers summarized the structure of the PTO, which is as follows:

Parent-Teacher Organization
  • Executive Board – Co-Presidents, Treasurer and Clerk
  • Committee Chairs (currently 28 different committees)
  • Past President, Past Treasurer and Teacher Representatives
All members of the PTO, as outlined above, are voting members. It is extremely important that as many people as possible attend the PTO meetings in order to vote on timely issues.

There are still a few committee openings which need to be filled: Craft Connection, a METCO liaison, and Nominations positions for grades K, 2 and 3. The PTO’s insurance is up for renewal in mid-October. We will be getting the same coverage as last year at a cost of $505. Tracie Nathin has been working with Scott Townsend (Nixon parent and attorney) to update our bylaws. They should be finished next week and will be posted on the website for review. They will be voted on in November.

Back-To-School Night
Back-to-School Night will be held September 27. The details are still being worked out, but the format will change slightly this year. There will be 500 chairs set up in the gym, where there will be a 30 minute presentation given by the PTO, SERF and Ms. Jay. The PTO will have tables set up in the cafeteria with representatives from Nixon gear, yearbook/slideshow, SERF, and fundraising. In addition, there will be tables to update CORI forms, buy dismissal pads, and buy directories.

Fundraising
Innisbrook gift wrap will be sold until September 22. There will be a Learning Express fundraiser sometime in late November. The Monster Mash will be divided into committees this year. They still need a lot of help with decorations and games. They will be looking for volunteers at Back-to-School night.

Community Service
Cradles to Crayons is a gift-in-kind program which supports kids in need. We are looking to have a big bin placed outside the school where we could collect books, arts & crafts, games, etc for elementary aged children. These could be new items or gently used. They are looking at the week of October 16. We need to discuss possibly doing an additional collection at the book fair in November.

Library
The Fall book fair will be held November 3-9. We will not be using Scholastic as the vendor this year, but rather a private book store out of Winchester called Bookends. There are still many openings for library volunteers on a weekly basis.

School Gifts
The 5th grade teachers asked for $700 to attend a guided reading workshop. The workshop is geared toward teachers in grades 3-5, so the 5th grade teachers would come back and share their knowledge with the other Nixon teachers. This was approved.

Yearbook/Slideshow
The yearbook and slideshow will be sold at a bundled discount this year, as well as at a slightly higher a la carte price. They need lots of help from 5th grade parents. They will be collecting pictures all year long. The theme this year is “What A Difference A Year Makes”.

We will be voting on the 2006-2007 budget at our October 12th meeting.

11:15 meeting adjourned

 

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