Wilkes PTO Meeting Minutes
April 10, 2008
Attendees:
Wendy Welch, Erin Jennings, Janet Usellis, Lee Adamske Margaret Hanacek,
Becky Mikami, Julie Yunt, Nancy Rees, Anne Griesser, D’Arcy Clements-Hall,
Marisa Lanning, Kat Gilmore, Courtney Olson.
Meeting was called to order by Erin Jennings at 9:45am.
Erin read some thank you cards written by teachers and parents expressing their
thanks for the auction and how much fun it was.
Erin called for an approval of the March minutes. There were no changes. Janet
made a motion to approve the minutes, Wendy Welch seconded the motion and
it was passed by a voice vote.
Volunteer of the month:
The volunteer of the month is Kim Reilly for going above and beyond the call of
duty in helping out setting up for the auction. Her dedication is greatly
appreciated, thank you Kim!
Auction Wrap up – Janet Usellis
Janet provided wrap up information on the Wilkes 2008 Auction. The auction
came in under budget! There is still some expense and income activity on the
auction but numbers are close to final and we can safely say that the auction’s
net proceeds are about $66,000. Thanks to many generous donors and bidders,
we were able to meet our goal of replacing all of the non-functioning laptops,
providing additional new laptops plus purchasing 5 additional Smart Boards for
the school. It was a very successful and fun auction. Janet was impressed with
how many people showed up and supported the school, including teachers, who
put their own money toward the laptops. Janet and auction co-chair Courtney
Olson are already planning for next year’s auction. The date for next year will be
Friday, March 20th.
There is still a gift certificate for Crystal Photography available (purchase $50 gift certificate and receive $150 toward photos). There is also room for more couples at the 1970’s party on June 7th from 7-11 p.m. at Wing Point. If anyone is
interested in either item please contact Janet Usellis (780-1820 or
usellis@earthlink.net).
A moment was taken to admire Courtney Olson’s little boy who really was
unbearably adorable at the meeting.
Advice was given regarding next years Kindergarten photo shoot to streamline
the process although it was an excellent art project and everyone looks forward
to seeing it next year.
Staff Appreciation Week: Wendy Welch
Staff appreciation week will be May 5-10 this year.
Wendy had lots of great ideas for the week and is working with her team on
implementing them. Because Wendy’s house was robbed over break and her
computer with her budget information with the budget information was lost, Janet
Usellis made the motion to pass the Staff Appreciation Budget of $1000 on the
condition that Wendy will provide a more comprehensive budget for review when
it becomes available. The motion was seconded by Marisa and was passed by
voice vote.
Approval to spend Auction proceeds:
Erin called for a budget vote to approve the purchase of 27 laptop computers and
5 Smart Boards plus the corresponding applicable software for a total of $45,300.
Kyanne made the motion and it was seconded by Janet. The motion was passed
by voice vote.
Container Project:
Kathy Gilmore brought up the need to clean up the container. She came up with
a plan to raise the items inside up on blocks and to wash and paint the outside.
Ace Hardware will donate the paint. Marisa will contact volunteers to help paint.
Lee will ask Pam Keyes what restrictions would be involved. Hopefully we can
make the container less of an eyesore.
The custodian also stored desks in the container and there was a concern that
he was running low on storage room. Lee informed the PTO that a “Surplus”
center was opening up again. The Surplus center is a place where all the
Bainbridge Schools can store and trade school supplies and items (such as
desks) eliminating the need for such a storage room at Wilkes.
BI Arts and Humanities Council:
Erin Jennings and Kyanne spoke about the great work done by the BI Arts and
Humanities council and the Arts and Education Consortium. The consortium
helps provide artist experiences for the students of Bainbridge Island and teacher
training. Some projects include: BPA shows and workshops; Dance Center
workshops; Public Art walks; digital camera training for teachers.
Teacher training costs $400. Half ($200) is paid by the school and half from a
matching grant.
After looking over the budget, Julie proposed an additional $600 to go towards
the Arts and Education Consortium. This would allow 3 teachers to train and then
use the resources of the Consortium. Erin made the motion, Kathy seconded it
and it was passed by a voice vote.
Earth Day
Marisa Lanning gave an update on Earth Day and the sunflower planting. The
date is set for Friday, April 18th from 10am to 3pm. All the teachers have signed
up for spots and some excellent volunteers have come forward to help out.
Volunteers are still needed in the morning from 10:30 – 12 for Mrs. Grue, Mrs.
Pratt, Mrs. Cottle am, and Mr. Hoard. If any one is interested, please contact
Marisa Lanning or Lisa Berg.
In separate news, there will be an Earth Day parade in down town Winslow April
19th starting at the Library about 10am and ending at T & C market.
Principal’s Report:
The WASLs are coming up and in order to give the students an uninterrupted
schedule, the specialist’s times have been rearranged to fit the student’s
schedule.
We are hoping to have Randy Orwin will give a talk about Internet Safety at our
PTO meeting in May. Details will follow in the bulletin.
Next years budget is in the process of being worked out. Due to a tighter budget,
the school is looking at trimming costs but remains committed to preserving the
small class sizes. Further information will be available as the committee works
out the budget.
Some changes that were suggested include; switching to a 2 tier bus system
instead of our current 3 tier system (the gas alone would save a great deal).
Some members would like to take the ferry times into consideration when
planning school start and end times to better accommodate the commuters.
Lee spoke about ending the ½ day in February in next year’s calendar. The half
day seemed excessive in a short month with long vacation days. Other members
expressed concern over all the half days. Lee explained that the half days fulfill
scheduling and training requirements while still counting as a full school day.
Thus, the school year does not have to be extended. A suggestion was made to
have the half day be on Fridays instead of Wednesdays so the week is not
broken up.
Presidents Report:
Erin passed around a list of volunteers for next year. A few positions are open
and need to be filled including co-secretary and newsletter chair.
A fundraising task force meeting will be held May 6th at the home of Erin
Jennings to brain storm ideas for alternative fundraising options and strategies as
well as to help close the gap in the 2008-09 school budget.
Lisa Berg, the grounds beautification chair, needed to use the money approved
for bulbs to go instead to compost for the upcoming Earth Day planting. The
bulbs ended up being donated so the money put aside was not used. The PTO
approved the switch.
Vice Presidents’ Report:
Janet would like to celebrate Wilkes 50th anniversary. She suggested posing all
the kids on the hill in the shape of 50 and photographing it.
Treasurer Report:
Julie Yunt went through the remainder of the 2007-08 school budget. At this time
in the school year, the income has slowed but still has small amounts coming in
from interest and items such as eScrip. Expenses still include Kindergarten
curriculum, Emergency supplies and preparedness, Field Day, Bank fees, Author
day, and administrative costs. A complete break-down of the end of year budget
in available on the PTO board in the Wilkes school office.
Lee spoke about the rising costs of printing including paper and ink. Also the
price of basic supplies has gone up enormously. As a result, the bulletin is going
electronic exclusively.
The risers and the cart for the sound system came in and the teachers are
putting them to good use. Expenses are coming in per the budget reports. The
sales of the year book are a little low and Julie hopes sales will pick up as the
year winds down to help cover the cost of printing.
New Business:
Since attending the meetings, Courtney has been constantly impressed with how
much the PTO adds to the school as well as how friendly and helpful everyone
has been. She would like to find more ways to encourage Wilkes parents to
attend at least one meeting to get a better idea of what the PTO does.
The deadline for the Wilkes Whale Newsletter is April 22.
The next PTO meeting is May 8th and plans to have a vote on the new budget
during the meeting.
Meeting adjourned at 11:40am.
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