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PTO Meeting - October 2009
If you weren’t able to make it to the last PTO meeting on Oct. 14, here’s a run-down of the discussion…
The Budget
Treasurer Tina Powis-Dow presented a DRAFT budget for the PTO and suggested that it remain in draft form until we have a better idea of how much money the Kroger cards will raise. We started this year with a balance of just over $3,500, and the budget plans on leaving next year’s PTO with a beginning balance of about $1,500. The idea is to leave just enough money to provide a cushion for next year’s PTO while putting as much money as possible to work for our school.
The budget was based on the idea that we would have three main fundraisers: the Kroger cards, the PTO annual dues, and the silent auction. The budget also suggests we will spend the biggest portions of our money on teacher training, classroom supplies, playground equipment and making the PTO a formal non-profit organization.
Fundraising
The budget was built around the idea that the Kroger cards will raise between $490 and $540 per month, a little more than $4,000 for the year (the Kroger cards raise no money for the PTO during the summer). From Aug. 9 through Oct. 8, the Kroger cards raised about $545. The budget also assumes that the PTO annual dues (which are entirely VOLUNTARY) will raise $1,000, the silent auction will raise $3,000, and a potential spring fundraiser could raise $550.
Fund spending
The budget plans on spending $1,000 to pay one-third of the price for Montessori training for two teachers. (The school, not the PTO, will pay the other two-thirds.) The training costs about $1,500 per teacher and is provided by the North American Montessori Center (www.montessoritraining.net/). NAMC is located in Canada, but the courses are taken online. The program takes nine months to complete and requires an internship, which, for our teachers, will be completed at Children’s House.
The budget also anticipates spending $750 on classroom supplies for each of the five classes and $1,300 for new playground equipment, $480 for classroom presentations from the Museum of Discovery staff.
Other planned expenditures for the year include $195 to pay for child care during PTO meetings, $225 to pay Children’s House staff to provide educational presentations after PTO meetings, about $760 for the Kroger cards that were sent to parents over the summer ($5 on each card), $50 for PTO mailings, $425 for the Halloween Carnival (food, prizes, and a band), $350 for the silent auction (mailings and food), $75 for the Spring open house (food) and $500 for the Easter egg hunt (pavilion, supplies, and food).
The budget also allows for some holiday gift cards for the staff and a dinner for Teacher Appreciation Week. There was some discussion about increasing the budgeted amount of money for holiday gift cards since $50 was provided to each teacher last year. An updated budget will be available at the next PTO meeting.
The budget also includes $800 to convert the PTO into a 501c3 organization and $200 for a membership to PTO Today (www.ptotoday.com), a magazine and resource for PTOs. The PTO officers explained that making the PTO a formal nonprofit was necessary for fundraising (next year Kroger won’t let the PTO use the cards to raise money unless we’re a 501c3) and to ensure that, for tax purposes, the PTO and the school are considered separate organizations.
Expenditures
The PTO voted on two expenditure requests: $375 to pay for the mulch that has already been distributed on the playground and $300 for materials for Nancy’s upstairs class. Both of these expenditures were hold-over commitments from last year’s PTO.
Halloween Carnival
Planning for the Halloween Carnival (Oct. 31) is going well. Dede Lowe’s husband’s band Parachute Woman is set to play at the event, and some folks have loaned us two bounce houses for use during the carnival. We’ll be providing lunch for everyone who comes (including neighborhood children), so there was some discussion about whether the PTO should charge a nominal fee for game tickets to offset the cost of providing food. The PTO also decided to have the school retain the proceeds from the ticket sales.
Book Fair
The Book Fair is set for Nov. 11 and 12 from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m., and will include a preview event the evening of Tues., Nov. 10 (after the PTO meeting). The book fair isn’t a traditional cash fundraiser, but the school does receive free books depending on the total amount of books sold. This is a great way to buy holiday gifts, while supporting the school. Children’s House parent Megan Eves is overseeing the book fair, and she needs other parents to help staff some one-hour shifts. The job basically involves helping parents find books and collecting money for each sale. Contact Megan (megan@tinyville.us) if you’re interested in helping out or have any questions.
Special thanks to Sheila Kuonen who gave a post-PTO meeting presentation on how she teaches math to the Children’s House juniors. We all learned a lot, and look forward to similar presentations after all PTO meetings.
PTO Notes - September 15,2009
Montessori parents, family and friends,
In case you missed it, here’s a run-down of the discussion at the Tuesday, Sept. 15 PTO meeting.
Kroger card
Everyone should have received a Kroger card (with $5 already on it) in the mail with the PTO invitation. The Kroger card is the easiest way for the PTO to raise money for the school because 5% of every dollar spent using the card goes to the Children’s House PTO. Typically the PTO raises about $4,500 throughout the year, but the goal for this year is $8,000. Here’s how it works:
- Do your regular grocery shopping at Kroger.
- When you’re ready to check out, ask the cashier to put money on your Kroger card.
- Then pay for your groceries using your newly filled up Kroger card.
The Kroger cards are already scanned and set to raise money for Children’s House PTO. Extra cards (that are NOT pre-loaded with $5) are available to give to friends and family who shop at Kroger. (For additional cards, check the display board near the children’s folders.) Anyone can help us raise money for the PTO and the school. The cards work at any Kroger–even stores out of state. If you use it to pay for gas or prescriptions, you get double the points. Be sure to use the card quick, because if it’s inactive for 90 days, it can no longer be used to raise money for the PTO.
Classroom parents
This year we’re asking one parent in each class to be a classroom parent. These parents will serve as liaisons between the teachers and the PTO, so that we will know what each classroom needs and wants. When teachers want to purchase something, they’ll talk to their classroom teacher, who will discuss it with the PTO. (All purchase requests will also need to be made in writing. The PTO has a purchase request form, which can be found in the PTO folder in the kitchen or email Tina Powis-Dow at tinapd@yahoo.com to have a purchase form emailed to you.) Volunteers were taken after the Sept. 15 PTO meeting, and the classroom parents are as follows…
- Outside class: Zelenka Herts-Gibson
- Downstairs class:Robin Eiler
- Upstairs class: OPEN Any volunteers?
- Juniors class: Jennifer Triplett
PTO officers and contact info
PTO officers this year and our email addresses are:
- Eddie Conners, president: econners@msn.com
- Amy Duzan, vice president: duzanland@netscape.com
- Tina Powis-Dow, treasurer: Tinapd@yahoo.com
- Nell Smith, secretary: smithnellm@gmail.com
We’re also on Facebook. We would love to hear from you. Any questions? Ask and we’ll try to find out. We will be emailing notes (like the ones you’re reading right now) from each PTO meeting. If you want to ensure you’re on the email list, contact Tina Powis-Dow. The notes from the PTO meetings will also be posted on the Children’s House website: www.chmlr.org. Check out the other great info updated there regularly, such as the school calendar and the weekly newsletter (AKA, the Children’s House Chatter).
Event dates
The Halloween carnival has been scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 31. This is a fun event the PTO puts on every year at the school. There will be games, a bake sale and a hot dog lunch. If anyone has a bouncy castle (or any other inflatable bouncy structure) that you’d be willing to let the school borrow for the carnival, let one of the officers know. Mark Oct. 31 on your calendar. We hope you’ll be there!
We’ve scheduled the silent auction for Friday, Dec. 4. What a great way to get some holiday shopping done AND raise money for the PTO. If you’ve never been to the Children’s House silent auction, you may not know that’s it’s a really good time. Really. Food and beverages (adult ones) will be served. Be thinking of what you might donate for the auction. You could ask neighborhood businesses to donate something, or show off your talents with your own donation. Can you cook? Donate a meal. Know how to do taxes? Offer up your services.
Next meeting
The PTO meets the second Tuesday of every month at 6 p.m. At the next meeting, we’ll discuss the budget for the coming year as well as the financials from last year. We hope you can make it.