Mitchell Elementary PTA General Meeting
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Call to Order:
The General Meeting of the Mitchell PTA was held in the cafeteria on March 8, 2016. The meeting was called to order at 6:41 p.m. by President Deb Sledge, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Mitchell students.
Attendance:
See attached sign-in sheet. A quorum was established.
Reading and Approval of the Minutes:
A motion was made by Jenny-Ellen Russell to approve the minutes of the October 20, 2015 General Board meeting as distributed. The motion was seconded and passed.
Officer Reports:
President’s Report (Ms. Sledge):
Ms. Sledge began her report by discussing and thanking everyone for the great celebrations and events which have taken place at Mitchell Elementary thus far this school year: the Fall Festival, the Men’s Bobcat Breakfast, the Open House, 2 RIF distributions, the K-3 Talent Show, the Cyber Safety class, Heritage Night, and Skate Nights, among others. She thanked all the committee chairs and volunteers that worked so hard to make those events happen.
Ms. Sledge said that by now everyone should have gotten their PTA membership cards.
Ms. Sledge presented a power point presentation through which she shared the results of the recent survey which had been conducted on safety at Mitchell. She reviewed each of the five questions which had been asked as well as the responses to each of the questions. At Mitchell, 115 people participated in the survey. Six other schools with whom we share Officer Weaver also conducted a similar survey, and the PTA Presidents of those seven schools met with Sally Harris, School Board member, about the results of the surveys. Ms. Harris listened, and shared with those PTA Presidents that the School Board is working on the next Phase of a program that will bring more officers to our schools. It is expected that more details will follow.
Treasurer’s Report (Ms. Russell):
Ms. Russell distributed a distributed a Budget-to-Actual report showing results through the end of February. She reviewed the report in some detail, noting that After School Enrichment is intended to be run as a break/even program, but that there is a timing issue because the money collected has not yet been paid out. This will resolve itself over time. She noted that Movie Night will probably cost more than its budgeted amount because this is how it was determined that some extra funds that the PTA had would be used.
Ms. Russell explained that if the PTA has excess funds at the end of the school year, we roll it forward to the next year, but that a thoughtful plan is always made with regard to how to spend the money the PTA has.
Ms. Russell encouraged any member to contact her via telephone or e mail at any time with questions or concerns.
Standing Committees:
Golf Tournament (Beth McCraw):
Ms. McCraw announced that the Golf Tournament this year will be held on April 2 at Westchase Golf and Country Club. She said that the tournament is being held on a Saturday this year in order to encourage more participation. She encouraged everyone to attend.
Art Night (Ms. Shamblin):
Ms. Shamblin reported that Art Night will be April 7 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. Parents will get to view and buy their children’s framed art work for $25, with all proceeds to benefit the art program. We will also be continuing the Art Angels program, in which a family can sponsor another family who cannot afford to purchase their child’s art work, for $25.
NEW BUSINESS:
Bylaws (Ms. Sledge):
Ms. Sledge reported that the Bylaws of the PTA have to be reviewed and updated every three years. A committee was formed to review the Bylaws, and the following changes were made: the principal’s name was changed to Ms. Anderson, the number of members of the nominating committee was reduced from seven members to five members, and the order of succession for Vice Presidents was changed as follows: VP President in Training, then VP Ways and Means, then VP Volunteers.
A motion was made by Stephanie Baxter to approved the Bylaws of the PTA as revised, and the motion was seconded and approved.
Nominating Committee (Ms. Sledge):
Ms. Sledge reported that a vote would be taken to elect the members of this year’s Nominating Committee, which consists of 7 PTA members who help to recruit new officers for the coming school year. She announced that the following PTA members have been nominated to serve on the Nominating Committee to recruit officers for the 2016-2017 school year: Becky Ferrell-Anton, Bill Bland, Misty Brown, Gianna Gobioff, Cindy Sershen, Holly Waldron, and Catie Witherspoon. A motion was made by Ceci Berman to approve these seven nominees and elect them as members of the Nominating Committee for the 2016-2017 school year, and that motion was seconded and approved.
Principal’s Report (Ms. Anderson):
Ms. Anderson reported that this has been a great year for Mitchell Elementary so far. She thanked all parents and PTA members for their participation and support and for continuing to entrust our children to Mitchell.
Ms. Anderson announced that Kindergarten registration begins Monday March 21 at 9 a.m. She also announced that Mitchell will have VPK this summer, from June 15 through July 27. She said that Mitchell is the only VPK site in South Tampa, and there are only 96 slots, so there is not room for everyone.
Ms. Anderson said that she believes there will be a Wilson Parent Night for incoming sixth graders on May 12th. She will confirm the date.
Ms. Anderson closed by saying that although the year is flying by, we still have an entire 9 weeks and a lot of learning left to do. She wished everyone a wonderful break.
Announcements:
See Agenda for important dates and annoucements (attached).
No further business. The formal meeting was adjourned at 7:07 p.m., followed by a performance by the Bobcat Chorus and the Strings, which ended at 7:30 p.m.
____________________________________
Becky Ferrell-Anton, Recording Secretary
Approved As:
Date: ___________________ Read: _________
Corrected: ________________
