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Board Meeting Minutes: 1/10/23

Whittier PTA Board Meeting

January 10, 2023

7:00pm via ZOOM
Meeting ID: 864 5941 6022
Passcode: wildcats

BOARD MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE

  • Leah Lansberry Austin- President
  • Tina Lilley – Adviser/Support/Spirit Gear/Website
  • Jess Templeton – Co Secretary
  • Jared Cortese – Co Secretary
  • Courtney Kirk Sievers – Hospitality and Events
  • Mendy Minjarez – Volunteer Coordinator
  • Kate Scher – Communications Chair
  • Cindy Waters – Principal
  • Megan Wildenrandt – Advocacy
  • Emily Grosse – Hospitality and Events
  • Kellie Pecoraro – Member at large
  • Tricia Schalekamp – Membership Chair
  • Natalie Gromoff
  • Kathleen Donahoe
  • Lauren Carey
  • Tania 

COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE

NA

Meeting Called to Order / Land Acknowledgment at 7:03 PM

BOARD UPDATE

  • No vote this week. Meeting minutes from the December Board meeting will be voted on next month. 

PRESIDENT’S UPDATE

Yearbook 

  • Tina Lilley is in charge, she hasn’t decided if she is going to include student volunteers.  Just getting things started.
  • Family directory – Do we need volunteers? Add volunteers for this to the nom com roster, possible get set up for Fall 2023
  • March Food Drive – Not PTA driven anymore. Prides of March has taken place, Cindy with Leadership Kids. They are going to work with the food pantry in Broadview, and another organization. Leadership kids are going to be in charge of it. 

PRINCIPAL UPDATE – (Questions for Cindy) 

Yearbook

  • Tina will let Cindy know what help she needs. Currently can’t upload photos, Tina will help with that. Cindy says kids can be involved in the yearbook. Target something with the kids, not all of it. “Day in the life of a Wildcat.” Give kids cameras and have them take pictures every 30 minutes. Every kid represented, parents can upload photos, and Tina will decide if they are appropriate. 

Leadership kids 

  • Meeting once a week with Ms. Paul. Letting the kids lead. Planning a dress up day for the end of the month. Announcements for Martin Luther King Day. Theater group led by Ms. Rebecca, do a skit every month about our virtue of the month. Performed at lunch. Build out opportunities for kids to say “I want to” and then build the runway. Cindy is going to try and get more engagement and build out some more structures. 

The School

  • Budget is looking challenging this year. Cindy is getting the budget ready for the Community Meeting next Tuesday. Cindy is trying to get our reading specialist funded so she can ask the PTA for more. Cindy is working on advocacy to try and petition the district to figure out the floor of what every school needs. Nurse, Reading Specialist, Librarian, Social Worker, Recess Monitors. The PTA can help by elevating this conversation through advocacy with the city and state. What is the minimum that a school needs to run? Cindy doesn’t think we have the minimum to run a school. 

Covid

  • Break out in 2nd grade. Send kids to school with masks, not mandatory. Quarantine is still 5 days. Kids were given cleaning supplies to clean their desks today.

Enrollment

  • We need to have people come to our school. Cindy needs help to do a promotional video for Whittier for the website. The sooner students enroll in Whittier, it helps Cindy’s budget. Better to enroll now than in June. Students who apply for school of choice, there’s a good shot! 

Is there anything you (Cindy)  need from the PTA?

  • Advocacy, talking to the school board about carving out a minimum. We are one of the lowest funded schools. Ask the district to think creatively. One position Cindy doesn’t want to lose next year is Ms. Katie, utility role. That position gives the school a little more nimbleness. Rather have Ms. Katie then a Vice Principal. She would prefer to not have a volunteer for recess. Gives kids permission to take more risks, rather than having parent volunteers.  
  • Good people to reach out to locally:

Lisa Rivera Smith – The School Board Member from our district

Legislative reps depending on where you live

  • Good people to reach out to on the federal level

Pramila Jayapal 

Patty Murray

Maria Cantwell 

New Food Specialist

  • Ms. Joe found her replacement, Ms. Laura.

Budget

  • Wait to hear for Renee next week at the Community meeting. She will be conducting a budget survey.  

NOMCOM  UPDATE

  • Thank you to everyone who has filled out the survey
  • Mendy is facilitating a meeting next week to figure out new recruitment methods. Cindy’s email would be an effective way to reach beyond current members’ friend groups. 
  • Mendy needs to know who wants to continue in their roles or switching roles so we know who we are recruiting for. 
  • Mendy needs the descriptions of each role. Where is the document describing everyone’s role.

Went through all positions currently filled. 

  • Nom com should fill major roles, then within the committee they can recruit for other roles.  
  • Once Mendy gets the room reps family lists, she can come up with a strategy. Do we need a coordinator for Room Reps? Mendy says no, it’s not a hard job traditionally and the Volunteer Coordinator can do the role. 

EDI UPDATE

 Black Lives Matter Week

  • Emily Barbee is working on it, and there will be more info next week. 
  • Susan and Melissa stepped down from EDI chairs. Melissa is still going to be on the committee. 

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

  • Notes from Emily –  Black Lives Matter Week. Buddy Bench section in Wildchat to keep everyone engaged on what’s going on with EDI. Affinity groups, Megan will be sending out a link to a survey. No shortage of things to advocate for especially at the State Level. Why is funding done this way, and what can we do as a PTA?

FUNDRAISING UPDATE

Spring Fling 

  • 1st meeting next Wednesday, meetings scheduled out until Spring Fling, May 20th
  • Deciding whether or not they are going to do the block party. Only concern is the weather so might book a venue. 
  • Top Gun Theme

MEMBERSHIP UPDATE

  • Up to 129 members, right in line where we were last year. Lower than precovid times when we used the paper form, or signed people up at a library. 
  • Add a form to sign up as a part of the packet the school sends out in the beginning of the year

EVENTS UPDATE

  • Fun Friday went really well
  • 3rd Thursday is staff appreciation. Stock the lounge. This is the 2nd grade month to stock the staff lounge, but might need help because of COVID outbreak
  • Valentines Day events

PROGRAMS UPDATE

Still working on it. Might need volunteers. Still hoping for a February 1st starting date. 

TREASURER UPDATE

Budget survey next week at the community meeting

FINAL WORD FROM THE PRESIDENT

If you are going to be leaving your role, please find a replacement. 

Meeting Adjourned 8:19  pm