Executive Board Meeting Minutes — August 23, 2022


Call to Order #

The virtual meeting was called to order at 8:00pm. Executive Board members in attendance:

  • Sharon Burd, President
  • Ken Venable, VP for Educational Programs
  • Clare Rosenberger, VP for Fundraising
  • Megan Miller, VP for Community Relations
  • Meredith Greene, VP for Events
  • Ashley Farrugia, VP for Staff Appreciation
  • Christian Lindstrom, Treasurer
  • Dan Burd, Secretary

The board voted to approve the August 4, 2022 Executive Board Meeting Minutes.

The board then commenced discussing a few budget items that were not discussed or not agreed upon at the August 9 budget work session.

Laminator #

Sharon Burd

The school treasurer, Kertenia Lynch, emailed asking whether the PTA would be buying laminator film. The old laminator does not currently have film so she doesn’t know if it works.

Board members agreed that the PTA will appropriate $1500 for the year for laminator film — the same amount as last year — while providing notice that this is the last year that the PTA will provide funds for this. The funding will be split up evenly for the four quarters of the school year. (Secretary’s note: according to the APS calendar, the four quarters of the year begin on August 29, November 9, January 31, and April 11.)

Staff Grants #

Dan Burd

The board approved having a staff grants program, with the details to be worked out later. We will stagger the approvals in some way so that the funds aren’t used at one time. The Executive Board will approve grants.

There was also a desire expressed to make the application form more specific — prompting applicants to explain the need, purpose, benefit and outcome of proposed grants.

Back to School Night Childcare #

Dan Burd

Dan raised Back to School Night childcare as a potential budget item since it had been announced that Back to School Night would be in-person this year. There was disagreement whether this was a worthwhile expenditure and if it was, who should be the caretakers (Extended Day staff or teenagers).

The issue was ultimately tabled. Megan will follow up with the National Honor Society about their availability and willingness to provide this service.

Amazon donation #

Sharon Burd

Not necessarily a “budget item,” but Sharon and Megan explained that the PTA was going to receive a $40,000 donation intended to be used for snacks for students at Abingdon. The donation will be denominated in Amazon gift cards. The PTA must receive the donation rather than the school since the school has regulations against accepting gift cards.

A question was asked whether we must spend it on snacks or whether this was a PTA decision to do so. Sharon stated that it was not a PTA decision but that it was a condition of the donation, and it’s part of a larger donation to local schools and organizations to fight hunger.

Budget vote #

Christian Lindstrom

Christian stated that the budget isn’t in good-enough shape to vote on at this meeting, but that we’ll have a vote by email in order to approve the budget. Christian also said she would consolidate some of the line-items before the budget is put before membership.

Expense Authorization Form #

Christian Lindstrom

Christian explained the Expense Authorization Form, and that it must be used before funds can be drawn from the PTA bank account. Dan explained that a process like this is a Virginia PTA requirement stemming from the audit of last year’s finances.

Tax-Exempt Status Update #

Christian Lindstrom and Dan Burd

Christian stated she received a call from the IRS about the PTA’s tax-exempt status.

Secretary’s note: the call was from IRS employee Peggy Hussey, phone number 859-594-6191, on Tuesday, August 16. She was calling to ensure that we received a piece of mail that had asked the PTA to send attestations related to a recent revenue procedure and about our bylaws. Christian and Dan agreed that we could truthfully attest to both. Dan retrieved the mail from the PTA mailbox on August 17, and Christian signed the attestations that same day. Dan faxed the attestations to the designated IRS fax number on Friday, August 19, and subsequently called to confirm that they were received, which they were. Ms. Hussey explained that she would be recommending the PTA’s reinstatement as a tax exempt organization and that we may see something in the mail and/or on the IRS’s website reinstating us in approximately three weeks (which would be September 9).

Dan cautioned that it may take time for the PTA to take advantage of certain benefits and programs, like AmazonSmile and Canva, as companies often used third-parties to determine eligibility and those third-parties scrape the IRS’s website for tax-exempt organizations at an unknown interval.

Dan also cautioned that the IRS may ask for back taxes related to the period that we were not a tax exempt organization. (Secretary’s note: the PTA used Revenue Procedure 2014-11 Section 7, which reinstates us as of the postmark date of our application — January 22, 2022. We could not use the retroactive procedure under Section 6 as we did not have the required documentation to create 990 forms for the 2008-2010 period, nor to inform a Reasonable Cause statement as we don’t know why the PTA didn’t file then or even whether we exercised “ordinary business care and prudence in determining and attempting to comply with [our] reporting requirements under section 6033,” as the revenue procedure requires.)

Safe Routes to School Mini-Grant #

Clare Rosenberger

Clare stated that she would like to apply for a mini-grant for the Safe Routes to School program. She stated that it seems straightforward but that she wasn’t sure how competitive it was. She noted that the PTA had received the mini-grant last year and used the funds on red beanie hats.

Lifetouch Photos Not Distributed Last Year #

Sharon Burd

Sharon noted that, while cleaning out the PTA closet this ummer, she found in the PTA closet a box with many, if not all, of the class photos taken in Spring 2022. She wasn’t sure how or whether to distribute them.

The PTA board agreed that it would be best to try to obtain a list of people who bought class photos last year and attempt to quietly distribute them (in some manner yet to be determined) to those families who still have students at Abingdon.

Volunteer Form Submissions #

Dan Burd

Dan reminded the board that several people have filled out the volunteer form and that we should reach out to them if we could use their help. Dan stated he found a Reflections volunteer and a directory volunteer in this way. Volunteer form submissions are viewable here.

Sail Shades #

Sharon Burd

Sharon had spoke with Mr. Horak about getting sail shades to provide some much-needed shade for the back playground after the removal of the large tree earlier this month. Mr. Horak agreed and spoke to APS Facilities on the subject, whom he said responded favorably to the proposal. Sharon said that the PTA will look for good prices and advocate for APS to pay for it, and will stay in touch with Mr. Horak about it.

Coffee for Teachers #

Sharon Burd

Sharon stated she’d like to do a fundraiser to pay for K-cups (coffee) for teachers.

Open House #

Sharon Burd

As many board members as possible will volunteer to staff the PTA table at Open House. Also, Sharon will ask Mr. Horak to remind families to bring school supplies to the open house.

Spirit Gear #

Sharon Burd and Ashley Farrugia

Ashley will continue an email conversation with a vendor about orders and pricing of Spirit Gear. She will also separately pursue buying car magnets as our sole Spirit Gear inventory item.

Adjournment #

  • Meeting adjourned at 9:19 pm
  • Next Board Meeting: Tuesday, September 27, 2022, 8 pm

/s/ Dan Burd, Secretary