August 2024 Meeting Minutes
Location: Stacy’s home
Date: 8/22/24
Facilitator: Stacy Berger
Board Members Present: Stacy Berger, President; Amy Miller, VP; Liz Mogno, Secretary; Doug Lazure, Treasurer; Mackenzie Schmidt, Communications; Allison Kahlich, Communications; Sarah Rothman, Merchandise; Sarah Callaway, Volunteer Coordinator; Lara Pomprowitz, Fundraising
Community Members Present: N/A
Next Board Meeting: 9/19/24, Internal board meeting, 6pm
Lincoln PTSA Meeting Minutes
Call to Order: Stacy called the meeting to order at 6:32pm
Agenda Items
(Stacy Berger, President)
PTSA Check In (Specific Discussion Items + Questions); Approve Meeting Schedule
PTSA Business: Budget, Bylaws, and Membership
Communications
Events
Closing
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PTSA Check In
(Stacy Berger, President- lead discussion; all members present contributing)
General welcome and check in
Meet and Greet went well overall
All members present involved in discussion re: PTSA goals for the upcoming 2-year term with focus on what each board member visualizes as successes in their role, key areas of focus, and any questions/roadblocks at this time in said role
Stacy asked how communication is going among board members; Are emails working effectively?
Group feels emails are good, be sure to streamline by starting new threads with pertinent people to avoid confusion and excess
Projected Meeting Schedule:
Next internal meeting is 9/19/24
Public meetings will be quarterly- broken into 3 specific areas for each meeting including issues impacting local schools
Shelley will be leading the first one
streamline asks
public board meeting will be in person, with childcare provided; more community building
would like to provide snacks, light drinks, have people come early to start on time
November meeting could involve recruitment for upcoming school choice
Amy motioned to approve the schedule, Doug seconded, all in favor; Meeting schedule approved
____________________________________________________________________________
PTSA Business: Budget, Bylaws, and Membership
(Stacy Berger, President; Doug Lazure, Treasurer; Liz Mogno, Secretary/Membership)
Budget:
Doug shared our budget and board reviewed this year’s budget, made comparisons to budget/expenses from the previous school year as well as potential areas to examine for less fundraising profit/more loss
Budget spreadsheet can be found here: 2024-2025 Master Budget
ECE classroom supplies- currently, a requested $50 check per child come in to PTSA, Doug deposits them into the bank, Doug is able to track the amounts for each teacher/classroom so they can use as needed and available
Amy suggested using “My School Bucks” as a possible option to shift this role for supplies in the future
Stacy- Shelley informed us that we currently have $40,000 in the school fund raised by the PTSA
Amy noted that last year we lost $7,000 on merch
Even in years before that, we were losing $500-700/year on merch it appears
Sarah R has contacts for other printers, need to look out to other options, need to balance our loss on merch
Mackenzie asked how we translate the budget to the needs/events? The leads of each event should be aware of what they can spend; how are they reimbursed?
Budget will be presented at the public meeting and voted on at that time
Bylaws:
Stacy- figuring out what is needed to update bylaws, would like a partner; Amy volunteered help with this.
There have been updates to our bylaws by CO PTA that we should familiarize ourselves
More to come on this subject as we move forward
Membership:
Membership promotion and recruitment: finding and sharing the why to join the PTSA
We must have a minimum amount of members to maintain our non-profit status (Links for Lincoln PTSA 501c3 status letter.pdf and LincolnPTSA-W9.pdf)
Conveying the reasons/benefits to joining the PTSA; Have a say in your child’s educational experience; Learn about volunteer opportunities through the PTSA
Deadline to submit membership-September 30th?
Need to push membership at BTSN; Have QR code and signage read
Coffee on the blacktop is another opportunity to push membership
Mention membership in all ledgers
Have easy access option for folks to join at the door of a public meeting
____________________________________________________________________________
Communications:
(Mackenzie Schmidt, Allison Kahlich- Communications)
Ledger request form; due Wednesdays by noon for anything to go out in that Friday’s ledger
Events-Mackenzie and Sarah C working on that
Shelley is working on ledger communication/teacher communication weeks for scheduling
There is no timeframe for the new app coming out; will use current app for time being
ECE has pushed it because their sign in links for ECE are there
Current app is being updated and will be able to do push notifications
Mackenzie is taking care of the outdoor bulletin boards; Kimberlie holds the key to that; Andy can do a cleaning out when posting restaurant night flyers
Shelley wants to meet weekly- Stacy and Amy are liaisons, would like members to come when it works and when it’s convenient; feel free to be there when you want to be there
Next meeting with Shelley is this Friday, 8/23, 12:15-1:15pm
Big communication needs to go out when the new calendar goes out
____________________________________________________________________________
Events:
(All board members present)
Back To School Night (BTSN): 9/4; refine what we’re talking about, pushing membership, volunteering, involvement
Stacy: brochure with info and QR codes for all the different ways to get involved
wait for Shelley’s input and then move forward for planning of PTSA role in BTSN presentation
Design stuff for BTSN needs to happen quickly for Mackenzie to put together
Will probably need to launch laps at back to school night
Allison: Shelley said we are planning to offer childcare for back to school night, details need to be ironed out. PTSA is funding it. Shelley said she has many staff/people interested in helping; Stacy: we will ask Shelley and confirm with her
BTSN seems like a prime time to get information out re: volunteering
Need a lead for LAPS; raised $40k last year; great fundraiser to start the year
Fall Fest: Have a lead (Rachel Bensinger; Liz to co-lead); change from 2-5pm to not back up to lincoln halloween parade which starts at 6pm on same day; We need better face paint
Amy: has a “start of school events” doc started with feedback (Events: meet and greet, school supplies, staff breakfast, coffee with principal)
______________________________________________________________________
Other Business/Miscellaneous:
(All board members present)
If you’re wondering about your child’s education, volunteer. Get involved; data shows it improves outcomes across
Organize volunteer opportunities
Ideas for sign ups outside of each student’s classroom-further define CCL role
I feels like right now there are some critical leads to fill for events
Leads needed: Yearbook (lead will need some photography/graphic design background- even minimally; Partners In Education (PIE) Chair (Lara has been taking it on at the moment);
Question: If I’m sending Shelley an email, who all should I cc?- CC Stacy with decisions and threads to keep her informed
Do AMPED teachers need CCL’s?
Stacy: Sarah C’s email asking questions was great to get an idea of where they (school/staff) need our help; they are driving the ship and we are here to support them; we need to get the feedback/information there
Need to make a list of what volunteer needs we have
PTSA investigation on the Gaga ball pit; Sarah R: it was funded by the student council under Mrs Berry years ago, it was put together by parents of students at that time. Shelley is doing some research re: liability and getting it put back together and running and we are pausing until she gets back to us. At this time, we have the pieces but aren’t clear on the plan
Sarah C. will reach out to Gina, heard she may still want to do coffee for coffee on the blacktop
Need someone to do donuts (day olds are donated from voodoo)
Shelley is starting “spirit Fridays”
Doug: pantry program, can opt in to a $25/month donation to the pantry program; need to explore how we can fund it and streamline it
Sarah R: Katy Downie brought it (pantry program) to Lincoln and has been spearheading it but not sure if she still plans to? Leann (school psych) had list of families in need and would send those students home with a backpack however that program was a bit stigmatizing, so they moved to the pantry program
Sarah C will reach out to Katy Downie re: pantry program
Stacy: people have asked about the two logos on Lincoln gear; wondering why we have two logos; would like to involve Shelley in this process
Allison: switching logo involves more than just website, it’s merch, it’s the Lincoln sign at school; will be a big change when that transition happens.
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Closing and Reminders:
Stacy motioned to adjourn the meeting at 8:53 pm, Liz seconded motion, meeting was adjourned.
Next Board Meeting: Thursday, 9/19/24; Internal Board meeting; Agenda includes: -Finalize PTSA Public Meeting agenda
-Laps for Lincoln - final details, etc
-Fall Fest; Lead: Rachel Bensinger; Liz to co-lead/support
-Discuss google drive organization?
-Feedback BOY events