DAVIS HIGH SCHOOL PTA – Wed. November 8, 2007 - MINUTES OF MEETING

IN ATTENDANCE:  Kathy Magrino, Stacey Black, Elizabeth Tinsley, Leslie Brumer, Grace Salvagno, Joan Crawford, Leslie Hunter, Cathy Farman,  Linda Preciado, Mike Cawley, Marlene Sisemore, Eva Brock, Jan Blumenfeld, Lesli Chuck, Sally Hosley, Jenny Kobold, Janice Purnell, Joan Anton, Susan Nicoll,  Susan Lovenburg and Kalian Li.

CALL TO ORDER / INTRODUCTIONS:  President Kathy Magrino called the meeting to order at  7:00 pm, followed by self introductions of all attendees.

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES: - Minutes of meeting held October 3 having been previously published, they were reviewed in brief.  Cathy Farman moved to approve; second by Leslie Brumer.  The Minutes were approved unanimously.

ELECTIONS:   Treasurer Betsy Puett having resigned, President Magrino announced that Stacey Black haa graciously offered to perform the duties of Treasurer, having past experience as a PTA treasurer at Pioneer Elementary.  An outside audit has been completed on the books as returned by Betsy Puett, and all monies/statements/balances are appropriate.  There being no other nomination(s) offered from the floor, Elizabeth Tinsley moved to elect Stacey Black as Treasurer for the current year.  The nomination was seconded and a vote was unanimous in approval, with no abstentions.

Inasmuch as Stacey Black has been acting as Secretary, her election to Treasurer leaves a void in that required PTA Board position.  Current Executive Vice President Grace Salvagno offers to perform the duties of Secretary for the remainder of this year.  Stacey Black made a motion to elect Grace Salvagno as secretary, there being no other nomination made; motion being seconded by Elizabeth Tinsley.  Subsequent vote was unanimous, with no absentions.

President Magrino stated the position of Executive Vice President is not a mandatory position, however, nominations from the floor were requested.  Additionally, Ms. Magrino explained the significant duties required of our Treasurer and made a recommendation to add the position of Financial Secretary.  Again, nominations were sought.  There being no nominees for these positions, they will be left open this year and added to the slate recruited/voted for next year.

TREASURER REPORT:   The Treasurer’s report 8/15 thru 10/31 was made available to all, showing all activity to date.  Current balance is $27,975.11.  We have $11,850.80 to allocate.

From this, we propose a carryover of $5,000 for next year, which leaves $6,850.80 in the budget to allocate to various needs/grants/expenses.  There are two items sought to be included in the budget on an annual basis; one of them being $500 for snacks at the “Increasing Student Success” after-school homework club.  Snacks both nourish and attract students in this program.  Secondly, a line item typically included in budgets is “small grants,” to pay for things that are needed but are not large expenditures. The group would discuss approval of small grant items individually or as they come up.  $5,000 was discussed as an appropriate amount for this line item.  Grace Salvagno motioned to approve $500 as a line item for the after-school homework club and $5,000 delineated as “small grants;” line items to be included in annual budgets henceforth.  The motion was seconded and discussion ensued.  Vote upon the motion was approved unanimously, with no absentions.

Lastly, Stacey Black requested ratification/payment of all expenses to date which total $3,932.69, including the largest expense of District/State/National PTA dues of $2,978.45. Motion to ratify all payments to date was made by Cathy Farman, and seconded.  Vote was unanimous; no abstain.

UNFUNDRAISER:    Elizabeth Tinsley, having previously published the UnFundraiser Proposal and distributed it tonight, explained the process and the meeting of the Grant Committee.  Mrs. Tinsley talked about the various grant applications received and the overall benefit to be derived from each.  Requests received from various DHS departments, listed under “Small Grants” and totaling $4,630.18, will be funded from donations already received by PTA to date.

Five requests (“Large Grants”) totaling $14,758.25 were selected as priority proposals and will be funded/ purchased as the funds are donated.  They are listed in order of priority.  The fifth listing for the CAD Drafting Program is merely a match of the $1,500 that department has already raised.  There are an additional three requests listed at the bottom, totaling $4,100.  These items, not listed in priority order, will be funded if sufficient monies are received from the UnFundRaiser.

Several questions were asked and discussed.  Only a few grant applications were not included, as some were deemed inappropriate funding by PTA (as there must be a global benefit to our student population).    Grace Salvagno moved to approve purchase of the $4,630.18 small grant items and adoption of the Large Grants priority list intended to be funded with proceeds from the UnFundRaiser.  A second to the motion was made by Joan Crawford, and further discussion held.  Upon vote, the motion carried unanimously, with no abstentions.

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT:

Principal Mike Cawley reported that approximately 50 students in each age group took the CAHSEE test given this week.   Our site accreditation done next year by WASC and he seeks 10 to 15 parents to participate.  There will be a visiting accreditation team.  There is a packet of information that can be reviewed by interested parents, to learn what would be involved.  It will require a bit of a time commitment from interested parents, but very worthwhile.  The information will also be posted to the PTA web site. With time running short because this is a Parent Education Night sponsored by PTA, Mr. Cawley wrapped up his report by noting how well our athletic teams are doing this year.  Almost all programs are in the playoffs or semifinals.

COMMITTEE & PARENT REP REPORTS:    Linda Preciado presented a handout announcing the 8^th Annual Student Success Night scheduled for November 14, 2007.  Translation will be provided for Spanish-speaking parents.  Also distributed a flier on the after school homework club which meets four days a week for an hour each session.

STUDENT REPS:  The junior class representative announced their progress in planning the Junior Prom; they need parents to help with food and to donate food for this event, which is a fundraiser for the Senior Ball.  They were given suggestions for getting the word out to parents.

The sophomore rep reported that homecoming was a success and that over 10% of the class participated in float building.

Leslie Chuck reported the Davis Schools Foundation will announce the specifics at this week’s School Board meeting of projects that will be funded with the $75,000 raised.

It was announced that Jenni Kobold graciously agreed to assume the PTA parent representative to the DHS Human Relations Committee/School Climate.

There was congratulatory recognition of Susan Lovenburg in attendance, for having been elected to the School Board.

ADJOURN:  The meeting adjourned at 7:30 pm