Mitchell Elementary PTA General Meeting
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
CALL TO ORDER:
The General Meeting of the Mitchell PTA was held in the cafeteria on May 10, 2016. The meeting was called to order at 6:33 p.m. by Deb Sledge, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by a group of Third Grade Bear Cub Scouts.
ATTENDANCE:
See attached sign-in sheet. A quorum was established.
READING AND APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES:
A motion was made by Jenny Hart to approve the minutes of the March 8, 2016 General Board meeting as distributed in hard copy at the meeting and available on the PTA website. The motion was seconded and passed.
OFFICER REPORTS:
President’s Report and Election of Officers (Ms. Sledge):
Ms. Sledge began her report by thanking all of the PTA officers and committee chairs who had served the PTA so well during the 2015-2015 school year, and also gave a brief overview of all of the events that had happened so far this year.
Ms. Sledge gave a follow-up report on the safety survey that she had covered at the last general PTA meeting. She said that we now know that Officer Weaver is assigned to only 5 schools instead of ten, so we already are receiving more coverage from him. Efforts are still underway at the School Board to put into place additional officers, with the goal being one officer per school.
Ms. Sledge encouraged anyone who is interested to contact her to get more involved in the PTA. She said that we still need several committee chairs and many committee members for next year, and that we are always trying to get new families involved.
Ms. Sledge stated that the first order of business of the meeting was the election of officers for the PTA for the 2016-2017 school year. She first asked that the members of the Nominating Committee stand and be recognized for their work in presenting a new slate of officers for the PTA next year.
She reported that the Nominating Committee had nominated the following individuals to serve as upcoming PTA Officers:
- President Deborah Sledge
- VP President in Training Jeff Pegler
- VP Ways & Means Nicole Mulrooney
- VP Volunteers & Membership Catie Witherspoon
- Treasurer Melissa Troxel
- Recording Secretary Myra Denman
- Corresponding Secretary Christiana Thompson
Ms. Sledge asked each of the individuals present at the meeting who had been nominated for an officer position to come to the front of the room as their names were called, and she read a short bio for each person. Then she asked if there were any self-nominations from the floor, and there were none. A motion was made by Elizabeth Vocke to approve the slate of officers nominated by the Nominating Committee for their respective positions during the 2016-2017 school year as set forth above. The motion was seconded and passed, and Ms. Sledge congratulated the new Mitchell Executive Committee for the 2016-2017 school year.
Ms. Sledge then thanked the following individuals who are rolling off the Executive Board for their service, and asked that they stand and be recognized: Jenny Hart, Jenny-Ellen Russell, Dee Dee Bland and Becky Ferrell-Anton.
Treasurer’s Report and Budget Revision (Ms. Russell):
Ms. Russell distributed a list of proposed summer expenditures for consideration by and a vote of the membership of the PTA. She also distributed a Budget-to-Actual report and a Treasurer’s report. She encouraged questions from the membership, either at the meeting or via e mail, phone or in person at a later time.
Ms. Russell went over in detail the proposed summer expenditures and explained their purpose. The motion by Jenny Hart to approve the proposed expenditures to be made over the summer of 2016 as presented was seconded and passed.
VP Ways and Means (Ms. Hart):
Ms. Hart recognized and thanked all of our sponsors and pointed out that some of them had set up tables in the back of the room with information about their businesses and products. She encouraged everyone to visit them and thank them for their support of the Mitchell PTA. She said that our PTA sponsorship program was new, and that it had been overwhelmingly successful. She said that the additional funds raised had enabled us to pay for additional supplies and training for our teachers, so that it directly benefited our children.
Ms. Hart then asked that the PTA membership recognized President Deb Sledge for her service over the past year, and also thanked her for being willing to serve for a second year as PTA President. We all know that it is a big job and big responsiblility, and the PTA is very grateful to Ms. Sledge for being willing to serve two years. The Membership gave Ms. Sledge a round of applause.
STANDING COMMITTEES:
Spirit Store (Ms. Martin):
Ms. Martin reported that we will be moving away from an online Spirit Store and going back to bulk ordering shirts and selling them at Meet The Teacher in August. We will only be ordering 200 shirts, youth sizes only, and the goal will be to run out so that we don’t have excess inventory. Orders will then be taken to place another bulk order, which will include adult sizes. There will also be a full array of sample sizes available for viewing at Meet the Teacher. Dri Fit Polos will sell for only $19.
Ms. Martin showed us the four designs for the new Spirit Shirts which have been designed by four of Ms. White’s fourth graders. The kids in K-4th grades will be voting on their favorite design and that will be the design on our Spirit Shirts for next year.
Supply kits can be ordered up until June 23 online and will be delivered at Meet the Teacher. She said that the PTA does not make money on the supply kits, but merely provides them as a convenience for parents. They contain name brand items that were all selected by the teachers.
Ms. Martin also announced that she was selling some excess inventory at very low prices in the back of the room and invited anyone interested to come and take a look.
GUEST SPEAKERS:
Mitchell Foundation (Mr. Boyer):
Mr. Boyer introduced himself as the President of the Mitchell Foundation for the current year, and said that Clay Witherspoon would be assuming the Presidency for the 2016-2017 school year. He said that while the PTA handles day to day items and events needed for the school, the Foundation focuses their efforts on capital improvements and longer term projects that benefit the school.
Mr. Boyer thanked everyone for their generosity and support during this school year, and said that the Bobcat Bas had raised $100,000, which will mean $80,000 to be used at Mitchell after expenses.
Mr. Boyer asked the PTA membership for their help in terms of time, talent and resources. He encouraged all who are interested to get involved, and said that everyone is welcome at meetings, which are held the first Thursday of every month. He encouraged the membership to visit the website at www.MitchellElementaryFoundation.org, which explains in detail how the funds are used. In the immediate future, the Foundation will be installing a track, shade, benches, and the like, which should all be ready when school begins in the Fall.
Project Innovate (Ms. Hill):
Ms. Hill updated the membership about Project Innovate, which is a private project which Mitchell is participating in. We are one of only six schools chosen for the project, which has provided 100 laptop devices for use at Mitchell. She discussed Genius Hour Projects, which are based upon the Google concept of letting people use 20% of their time to do what they love. A student in the program then gave a presentation in answer to the question: what can we do to make our world a better place?
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT (Ms. Anderson):
Ms. Anderson began by thanking Ms. Sledge for her service over the past year and for being willing to serve another year as PTA President. She then asked everyone in the room to thank the person next to them for their time and effort in service to Mitchell.
Ms. Anderson reported that she and her teachers and staff are busy already preparing for the next school year. She said that we will be teaching and using all of our teaching time right up until the last day of school, so students and parent should remain engaged and alert right until the last day.
Ms. Anderson announced that Mitchell has 168 VPK spots for the summer, and only 124 of them are filled, so there is room.
Ms. Anderson announced that Meet the Teacher and Open House will be held together next year, and will be on August 9th. She also said that Ms. Roberts, our beloved music teacher, is retiring at the end of the year, so tonight’s Bobcat Chorus and Strings Concert will be her last at Mitchell. We will all miss her. Ms. Anderson encouraged anyone with questions or concerns to call her over the summer, as she will be at the school preparing for the upcoming year.
Announcements:
See Agenda for important dates and announcements (attached). Ms. Anderson reminded everyone to mark their calendars for Field Day on May 27, and said that from 11-12 all parents could come and have lunch with their children, and could bring any food they wanted.
No further business. The formal meeting was adjourned at 7:15 p.m., followed by a performance by the Bobcat Second and Third Grade Chorus and Strings, which ended at 7:45 p.m.
____________________________________
Becky Ferrell-Anton, Recording Secretary
Approved As:
Date: ___________________ Read: _________
Corrected: ________________
