Day: September 3, 2025

Whittier PTA Board Meeting
April 8, 2025
7:00pm Whittier Library & Zoom
Meeting ID: 817 3911 8250
Passcode: wildcats

Board Members/Chairs in Attendance

• Kate Lindsay Scher – Co-President
• Allie DeLong Thomas – Co-President
• Melissa Ivancevich – Co-Secretary
• Emily Robertson – Co-Secretary
• Jess Twardzik – Hospitality Co-Chair
• Emily Schweiger – Family and Community Engagement – Outreach Chair
• Laura Zingg – Programs Co-Chair; Student Directory
• Jon Overman – Legislative Representative
• Anjean Vanden Bosch – Membership Chair
• Kristin Laughlin – Volunteer Coordinator
• Kiana Swearingen – Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Co-Chair
• Jill Muscatel – Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Co-Chair
• John Shaw – Tech Support
• Anika Anand – Yearbook Co-Chair
• David Peabody – Move-a-thon
• Rena Giannoulakis – Spring Fling Co-Chair

COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE
● Principal Watters
● Hagay Amster Kahn
● Haydee Wali
● Rachel Wold
● Brian Wold
● Therese Miranda-Blackney
● Hanni Pichel
● Dafna Amster Kaha

Meeting Called to Order at 7:04 PM

Welcome & Call To Order
● Call to Order
● Table & Zoom Chat Informal Introductions
● Agenda
● Presentation

President Update
● Goals and Meetings Review
● Dashboard Review
● Budget Update
○ Three budget options to consider for voting on in May
■ Will pursue option 1 for the budget
■ Proposal: should we consider option 2 or 3 and embark in fund sharing?
■ Don’t want to fundraise more – we fundraise more than we spend

● Secret Celebration Update
● Work Session Update
○ K/New Family Mentor Program – owned by outreach?
■ “Assigned” to a 2nd or 3rd grade family (volunteer)
○ Going to explore Whittier Kids to provide childcare for some of the PTA meetings
○ Revise Volunteer & Event Chair roles

○ Evolve book fair
○ Evolve Family Dance & Game Night
○ Unified snack pantry
■ Would need to add a budget line item

● Math Agency Update
○ Program temporary suspended – waiting to hear invoice adjustment for service gap
○ Alternative to Math Agency
■ Currently $60k investment, will still request a $60k investment in math
intervention

○ Math Agency to provide a 2025-2026 service plan proposal
○ Admin team to make recommendation on continued partnership or a new model
● District update
● Upcoming Meetings

Principal Watters’ Report
● Could ask for 5th grade volunteers to help with PTA closet inventory
● Snorkel will be moved to front of building, Whittier will get a new roof
● Math Agency – it’s a new site director this year here at Whittier

Chair & Lead Updates
● Treasurer
○ March Income: $16,813.75
■ Annual Give corporate match AG: $1780
■ Move-a-thon $14777
○ March Expenses: $46,542.57
■ Schoolauction.net fee $1500
■ Speaker system for assemblies $1211
■ EDI speaker fee + books $1923
■ Q2 staffing grant $33,868
■ Massive Monkeys + 1st grade in-school $6422

○ Budget Committee update (4/21 at 5pm)
● Membership: Dues Increase recommendation
○ Vote: Option 4 to include in the budget (see vote)
● Hospitality
○ March “Gift of Time” report
○ April: K & 1st – “self-care”
○ May Staff Appreciation Week plan
■ Monday: words of appreciation
■ Tuesday: lunch from Barking Dog
■ Wednesday: gift
■ Thursday: coffee & donuts
■ Friday: dress like your teacher

● EDI
○ Parenting at the Intersections
○ Launching Caregivers of Gender-Diverse kids belonging group
● Move-a-thon: Post-event report
○ $27,108 (doesn’t include matching)
● VP:
○ Nominating Committee update
○ Spirit Gear update
■ Going to add a pride shirt and a BLM shirt

● Spring Fling:
○ Ticket sales update: sold 69 tickets to date
○ Childcare secured with Illumination Learning Studio
○ Staff experiences update
○ Hosted party update
○ Entertainment update
○ Volunteer update
● Programs
○ Spring session kicked off – 139 enrolled
○ Budget will be spent, mostly on scholarships
● Events:

○ Family Dance & Game Night report
○ Mariner’s update
○ Caregiver happy hour update
● Volunteers (all open positions)
● Advocacy: Legislative session update
● Communications: Reminder for remaining comms for the year

Voting
● Membership Dues change
○ Motion: Jillian Muscatel
○ Second: Kristin Laughlin
○ Approved
● March Meeting Minutes
○ Motion: Rachel Wold
○ Second: Jillian Muscatel
○ Approved
Belonging Practice
Caregivers of Gender Diverse Kids Belonging Group
Kudos & Thank Yous

Open Floor for Community

Whittier PTA Board Meeting
March 11, 2025
7:00pm Whittier Library & Zoom
Meeting ID: 817 3911 8250
Passcode: wildcats

Board Members/Chairs in Attendance

• Kate Lindsay Scher – Co-President
• Allie DeLong Thomas – Co-President
• Renee Hartnett – Vice President / Spirit Gear
• Melissa Ivancevich – Co-Secretary
• Meg Herscher – Communications Chair
• Ashley Schiavone – Fundraising Co-Chair
• Jess Templeton – Fundraising Co-Chair
• Kathleen Donahoe – Hospitality Co-Chair
• Meg Pietz – Events Chair
• Emily Schweiger – Family and Community Engagement – Outreach Chair
• Laura Zingg – Programs Co-Chair; Student Directory
• Jon Overman – Legislative Representative
• Anjean Vanden Bosch – Membership Chair
• Kristin Laughlin – Volunteer Coordinator
• Kiana Swearingen – Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Co-Chair
• John Shaw – Tech Support
• Brie Gardner – Back To Business Co-Chair
• Leah Lansberry-Austin – Back To Business Co-Chair; Yearbook Co-Chair
• David Peabody – Move-a-thon
• Elan Simonson – Spring Fling Chair
• Rena Giannoulakis – Spring Fling Co-Chair
• Sara Lukas – Room Parent Coordinator
• Nicole Kaczmarek – Member at Large

Community Members in Attendance

• Principal Watters
• Hanni Pichel (PTA member)
• Aisling McCarron (PTA member)
• Rachel Wold (PTA member)
• Haydee Wali
• Katie Stiver (PTA member)
• Gustavo Franco
• Natalie Gromoff-Hiatt
• Melissa Caviezel
• Dafna Amster Kahn
• Therese Miranda-Blackney

Meeting Called to Order at 7:05 PM

Welcome & Call To Order
● Table & Zoom Chat Informal Introductions
● Agenda
● Presentation

President Update
● Goals and Meetings Review
● Dashboard Review
○ 3/17 – after school programs registration opens
● Highly Capable Cohort (HCC) Update
○ Email sent 3/11/25
○ Cohort schools (Cascadia, Decatur, Thurgood Marshall) will serve HCC-only students
(grades 2-5) for the next three years
○ No changes at neighborhood schools right now (staff are not allowed to serve
accelerated curriculum, no SPS-provided resources or funding)
○ No current Director of Advanced Learning
● Budget updates
○ Staffing grant request: $135,355

■ 0.5 Specialist FTE: $72,210 (was $56,000 for 2024/25)
● Change is actual cost of staff compensation at new professional
development band
● Not approving increased funding means Mr. Buch cannot stay
● Capping funding at $56k does not mean keeping 1.0 FTE Art
○ Likely shift to 0.5 or 0.7 FTE (not daily)

■ 0.4 Reading Intervention: $45,840 (same)
■ 0.1 Nurse) same
○ Continuing math agency: $60,000
○ Instructional Supports and Curriculum Enrichments
■ District could now take this budget
■ PTA impact: Pull unspent 2024-25 expenses and add to 2025-26 budget
● 2025-26 Instructional Supports Total: $9,205 (same as 2024-25 + $4,555
in unspent from 2024-25 budget)
● 2025-26 Curriculum Enrichment Total: $11,900.01 (same as 2024-25 +
$5,900.01 in unspent from 2024-25 budget)
○ This will be voted on as part of the overall budget
○ 2026 and beyond: To maintain a similar net balance in the future, we will need to
increase fundraising goals by about $16,000

● Event Planning Worksheet in-progress
● Upcoming Meetings
● Secretary Update
○ February Meeting Minutes
○ The Creative Advantage
■ Staff/Caregiver Committee led by Mr. Buch to connect community art partners
with art in school
■ Project-based program
■ Team also works on other arts-related projects

Voting
● 2025-2026 Staffing Grant
○ Motion: Kathleen Donahoe

○ Second: Sara Lukas
○ Approved
● February Meeting Minutes
○ Motion: Rachel Would
○ Second: Ashley Schiavone
○ Approved
Principal Watters’ Report

● Budget updates–looking good but could change in the future–stay tuned!
● Field trips in many grades: Seattle Children’s Theater, MOHAI
● Class pictures 3/13, spirit week next week
● Wildcats Wonder–communication this week from Cindy
● Questions:
○ Have there been changes in headcount and teacher allocation?
■ Classroom headcount is the same but updated 25-26 teacher allocation
● 10 Kindergarten-3rd grade teachers (down one from this school year)
● 5 4th and 5th grade teachers (up one from this school year)

○ What could budget cuts result in next year?
■ Sports Fees
■ Larger class sizes in 4th-12th
■ Cutting Librarian hours
■ Cutting Elementary Assistant Principals
■ Cutting National Board Certified teacher stipends
■ Cutting Office Staff
■ Chris Reykdal (OSPI) has pointed to WA state protections already in place for
students

○ Is there conversation about bell times again?
■ Yes! It could happen!
■ Please email Sarah Clark, school board member

● Kids are happy and doing cool and good things!

Chair & Lead Updates
● Membership: Anjean Vanden Bosch
○ Dues Increase
■ Members of the WA State PTA voting body during the 2024 National PTA Virtual
Convention adopted a $1 increase to the National PTA dues rate. The new
National PTA dues rate of $3.25 will go into effect on July 1, 2025. This includes
any membership sold for FY2026 before July 1, 2025.
■ Current Breakdown:
● $2.25 for National PTA
● $3.50 for the SCPTA
● $5.75 WSPTA
● Move-a-thon: David Peabody
○ Planning is going great!
○ Flyer went home today
○ Create student pages on Givebacks, not 99Pledges as in past years
● Spring Fling: Elan and Rena
○ Class Bucket and Art volunteers needed!
○ Marketing and Comms schedule coming together
○ Stay tuned for weekly updates
○ Tickets on sale Tuesday, April 1st
○ Opening Teacher staff experiences early (Sara Lukas)
● VP: Nominating Committee: Renee Hartnett
○ Openings: Co-president, Communications, Events, Membership, Volunteer, Back to
Business, Book Fair, Spring Fling, Fall Festival, Move-a-Thon, Student Directory
○ Create a transition checklist?
● Hospitality–Kathleen Donahoe
○ February: 2nd Grade Bagel Bar was great!
○ March: Gift of Time
○ May: Bagels, “Message in a Bottle”
● Treasurer
○ February Report

■ Income: $2,807.15
■ Expenses: $2,077.17
■ Account total a of 2/28/25: $331,872.95
○ Budget Committee needs volunteers
● Events: Meg and Katie
○ Dance Night Planning is moving forward; lots of indoor activities planned
○ Happy Hours in May after busy months
○ Mariners’ signups are huge! Big increase over last year 300+ attendees
● Communications: Kate Scher
○ 10 day window for submitting content
○ Only 11 Wildchat newsletters left for the school year!
● After School Programs
○ Still in need of volunteers for Spring session: Mon, Tues, Thurs afternoons
● EDI: Kiana Sweiringen
○ Parenting at the Intersection
■ Really well attended, had a big powerful, beautiful impact
■ Purchased book from the author for all in attendance
■ Follow up Zoom event for attendees and anyone else
■ Extra books available–ask for a copy!
○ Drag Queen Bingo coming up April 3rd
■ Open to community
○ Be ready and thinking about K-12 trans students attacks
■ Use your voice!

Belonging Practice: KIana
● Dissent
● Contributory dissent

Kudos & Thank Yous
Open Floor for Community
Adjourned at 8:55 pm

Post-Meeting Gathering at Phinney Station