Call to Order #
The in person meeting was called to order at 9:00am. Executive Board members in attendance:
- James Harlow, President
- Tina Kelly, VP for Educational Programs
- Sara Kirschner, VP for Community Relations
- Maggie Bush, VP for Communications
- Meredith Greene, VP for Events
- David DeBoer, Treasurer
- Erin Cassidy, Secretary
The board voted to approve the June 8 Executive Board Meeting Minutes.
Financial Update #
David DeBoer
David provided a breakdown of 2023-2024 revenues and expenses. He mentioned the biggest $ makers include: Read-A-Thon, Yearbooks/Lovelines, and School Pictures. James also noted that he would like to keep the budget titles high level to have more flexibility.
Membership Dues #
James Harlow
The VA and National PTA dues are increasing to $5.50 per member. James recommends Abingdon increase to $10/member; $20/family (2 individual memberships). We will plan to bring to a vote at the First General PTA meeting TBD.
Fall Enrichment Update #
Tina Kelly
There will be 12 courses to choose from. Ms. Muscarella and Ms. Madrona are slated to teach courses from Abingdon. We are still waiting on the actual contract. There was also a larger discussion on the possibility of moving away from Baroody. There have been complaints from many and also Baroody takes 30% of all revenue. Tina is looking into other opportunities including one called “Right at School.” This program is newly moving into Virginia. James will reach out to CCPTA for additional options. Tina is also working on a new on-site coordinator; she has reached out to local college programs.
Dates for the fall enrichment is Oct 16-Dec 4.
Principal Discussion items #
Principal David Horak
Mr. Horak mentioned that ParentSquare will be transmitting this fall with the actual date TBD. This will be the new system that APS wide will use for communication. This is something that eventually the PTA could utilize.
Mr. Horak asked the PTA to provide breakfast/lunch for teachers and staff for welcome back week. We agreed to host the lunch for ~130 teachers/staff on August 17.
FYI-a new APS policy up for proposal re: early release. They want to propose no extended day for early release days.
Calendar of Events #
James Harlow
James led a discussion on starting to think about events coming up and throughout the year.
- August - Open House: Thursday, August 24 from 1:30pm-3:00pm. The board approved Kona Ice truck as PTA fundraiser. Looking into have them be there from 12:30pm-3:00pm, so teachers can get a free cone the first hour.
- August 28 - First day of school, the Board decided to have the PTA table out to generate membership and help with any details and have swag. There will not be a tears and cheers event!
- Megan Miller to take lead on Custom Ink ordering for swag.
- September - Back to School Night-Sept 6-6:30pm start, there will be two waves and this will be for parents only. We will plan to have a PTA table with swag and membership signups
- October - Combo of Fall Fest and Trunk-or-Treat. Date was agreed on as October 28 with a time yet to be determined.
- November - Planning to have a food drive; more info/details TBD.
- December - With this month being so busy as it usually is we are not planning to host any events. However, it was discussed to ask local businesses to buy/donate gift cards for families in need. Also, the Angel Tree program was brought up as a possibility to do.
- January - Winter Wonderland or Ice Skating; date to be determined between January 16-20.
- February - This month will be the book fair. It’s scheduled to be February 12-16.
- March - The read-a-thon will be in March with the exact date to be determined.
- April - International Night- more info to come!
- May - Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week, May 6-10
CCPTA Representatives #
James Harlow
James will automatically serve on the CCPTA given his role as President of our PTA. We have 2 additional voting members and 1 alternate can be appointed. The Board approved Sharon Burd to continue serving as a voting member and Dan Burd as an alternate. We will hold the open delegate slot for future use and will open up in the general membership meeting for any volunteers.
Committee Creation #
James Harlow
The Board voted in favor for the creation of standing committees for the following:
- Teacher/Staff Appreciation - Ashley McCarthy-Chair
- Fundraising - Megan Miller-Chair
- Activities - Meredith Greene-Chair
- Enrichment - Tina Kelly-Chair
Bank Statement Reviewer #
James Harlow
The Board voted with no objections for Erica Brown to be our bank statement reviewer for this year.
Amazon Account #
James Harlow
A note and reminder that the PTA has an amazon account that PTA Board Members can utilize when ordering supplies for events, etc.
Initial Budget Discussion #
James Harlow/David DeBoer
We decided to skip the initial budget discussion and plan to do that at the next Executive Board meeting.
Adjournment #
- Meeting adjourned at 10:55 am
- Next Board Meeting: At a date, time and place to be announced later, likely in August.
/s/ Erin Cassidy, Secretary