KCDS PTO Minutes, March 9, 2011
The meeting was called to order by Kris Johnston at 4:00.
Mr. Steve gave the administration report. The 6th
grade teacher, Mr. Kreager, is leaving the school, and Ms. Locatis will be taking over.
The first grades are being combined which makes a first grade class of 19 students, and Mrs. Brick is taking a personal
leave of absence until the end of March/beginning of April. School spirit efforts
continue to ensure the students know they are important and should take pride in the learning they are doing at Kachina. Every Friday is a Themed Dress Down day, and every effort is being made to make any
transitions as smooth as possible. Parents are always welcome to come to Mr.
Steve with questions or concerns. Mr. Steve says he heard a rumor is going around
that the school has lost its License to operate, but that is not true, and he wants to be sure everyone hears that the school
is still functioning normally through June.
Treasurer's Report:
The account currently has $4444.26. That includes the money owed to Scholastic
from the Book Fair (about $1000) as we have not yet resolved that account. After
a new Treasurer is elected, the payment will be made.
The Minutes from the previous two meetings will be posted
on-line.
Old Business: vending
machine—research has not been completed yet to see if the PTO can sell the machine, or if it will have to be a “request
for a donation” sale; all food from the machine has been farmed out to 4th and 5th grades for
sale.
Elections: Bill
Kostel was elected to the Treasurer position, and he accepted.
Committee Reports:
1. March PTO Dinner Out at McDonald’s March 28th—Bill
Kostel, Chair. There was some discussion about whether to hold the event. McDonald’s requires at least four people from the school to “work”
the event, but so few people are volunteering these days. Mr. Steve said he would
talk to the teachers about making it a “McTeacher’s Night” like last year and ask the teachers to participate.
He said he believes the teachers are still very committed to the school and students and will make the effort to come. 2. Fry's Cool Cash—we hit our goal! $52,000 was sold, so we should expect $500 from them by the end of April/beginning
of May. Other Fund Raising Committee discussion was held regarding the remaining
Fund Raising like Mix ‘n’ Licks, Box Tops for Education, Campbell’s Soup labels and escrip shoppers. Because the PTO is continuing to meet the needs of the school, the committee decided
to continue with the programs until the end of the school year.
New Business: 1.
The PTO purchased pencil sharpeners for several classrooms, and Mr. Steve thanked the committee. 2. Spring BBQ and Auction, April 28th—the
event will be at the same park we have used before. Mr. Steve will update the
request letter for donations. We are still a non-profit, so any donations will
be tax deductible.
Announcements: The
Kachina Country Day School PTO Facebook page and website are updated. Scottsdale
Country Day School is holding an Open House this Friday. There has been a good
response from the advertising and write-ups in the Parenting and Arizona magazines.
There will be a SCDS Facebook page and a Website for the PTO up later this month.
Meeting was adjourned at 4:30.
Signed, Kris Johnston, Secretary Pro-tem
Minutes of Business Meeting
Feb 16th, 2011
A Round Table Business meeting was
held February 16th, 2011.
Mr. Steve attended and explained what
is happening now because of the charter renewal being denied. Kachina will still
be a functioning school through the end of the school year.
He discussed the options for the Kachina
families, including Scottsdale Country Day School and scholarships. He is currently
researching a program that works like the State Tax Credit program. Individuals
or families can donate up to $1000. The money cannot be earmarked for a specific
student, but a school can be specified. The school then applies for the money
on behalf of the student, and the fund awards the scholarship. Any monies left
after one school is funded will be distributed among all the other schools in the program.
There are currently three schools in the program. Mr. Steve is continuing
his research and will keep everyone informed. He also discussed the discounts
he is offering at Scottsdale Country Day School for Kachina families. He feels
confident that the school will open successfully in August. He already has a
staff in place and is accepting enrollment applications. An Open House is scheduled
this weekend, and everyone is welcome.
The PTO Dinner Out at McDonald’s was
scheduled for February 22; however, it will be rescheduled because of the President’s Day holiday. Bill Kostel will reschedule the event.
The Scholastic Buy One/Get One Book Fair
was successful. Kindergarten won the door contest. The books were only picked up today (Feb 16th), so there is no final report on the number of books or sales
yet.
As of today, we are sitting at about $47,000
at Fry’s, so we will probably make the amount of sales we need for the $500 donation.
Escrip continues to deposit money in our account, and the 4th/5th grades are still selling vending machine food.
We discussed what to do with the PTO-owned
vending machine. SCDS is not interested in buying it from us. Research needs to be done to see if a non-profit organization can sell something that may show a profit.
Election of a new Treasurer was tabled until
the next regular meeting on March 9th.
Beth Betcher is going to hold a “Teacher
Appreciation” luncheon and has asked for the PTO’s help. She will
ask for donations and volunteers directly from the parents and would like to have the PTO’s support. The date set is March 25th. She will keep us informed.
Signed, Kris Johnston, Secretary Pro-tem
KCDS PTO Minutes
January 12, 2011
The meeting was called to order by Kris
Johnston. Mr. Steve gave Administration Report.
He discussed what may happen if the Charter renewal is denied. He answered
questions from the attending parents. The judge could decide anytime now; we
hope to hear soon.
Treasurer's Report. Lori Glover has moved to another school, but came to the meeting to discuss the state of our account. We are still receiving automatic deposits from escrip; we earned $500 from Box Tops
for Education. Bill Kostel was nominated for the Treasurer’s position,
and elections will be held at our next regular meeting.
Summary of Minutes was read by Kris Johnston.
Old Business. 1. The Honey Baked Ham Sale only netted about $80. The PTO decided not to have another Honey Baked sale this year. 2. Mr. Steve reported that he monitored the parking lot for speeders. A suggestion was made that signs be posted to make drivers aware of the kids and parents walking in the
lot. 3. A motion was made, seconded
and passed that the PTO not purchase the picnic tables as originally planned with the PTO funds at this time.
Fund Raising Committee Reports. The PTO
decided to continue fund raising for the remainder of the Kachina School year. Any
funds raised will be designated to a PTO-decided cause at the end of the year. 1. The PTO decided against having a Dinner Out in January. Bill Kostel volunteered to set up a Dinner Out at McDonald’s in February. 2. Spring BBQ and Silent Auction is still an event the PTO
would like to sponsor in April. The discussion was tabled until the next regular
meeting. 3. At Fry's we have $36,920
from 24 cards so far, so it looks like we’ll have enough for a nice donation from Fry’s. 4. Other fund raisers—selling food with 4th/5th grades
and schoolstore.com continue.
New Business. The Scholastic Book Fair is scheduled for Feb 7-11. The PTO
decided to change the “for profit” fair to a “BOGO” fair because of the uncertainty of the Kachina
charter. There was a call for volunteers—we will have a door decorating
contest and a VIP Breakfast during that week.
Announcements—the Feb meeting was
rescheduled for the 16th.
Meeting was Adjourned.
Signed:
Kris Johnston, Secretary Pro-tem
KCDS PTO Meeting
Minutes
Kachina
North PTO Mtg - November 2010
I Meeting
called to order at 4pm
II Minutes read - Jenny
Bishop
III
Treasurer's Report - Lori
Glover
A Current Balance -
$ 5,444.65
Funds Available - $ 1,682.65
B Box Tops have been
turned in. We might get a check in December.
C Check expected soon
from Panda Express.
D Nothing received
yet from t-shirt sales at BBQ.
IV Principal's Report:
There
is a charter hearing on Nov. 22nd which is not open to parents. Parents and friends of Kachina will be asked to speak on behalf
of the school at the January hearing. Watch for a letter being sent home when we know more.
One
option for the school next year is to have it run as a private school with tuition running around $4000/year.The school would
be called Scottsdale Country Day School, and It would cover grades from pre-K to 8th. Steve would own and operate the school
independently.
The
former PE teacher, Ms. Shirley, turned out to not be the right fit for our school. The new teacher, Mr. Caschetta, is working
out much better.
THANK
YOU!!! for the purchases for PE and the classrooms.
V Old Business
A Playground Equipment
B Vending machine is
fixed. 4/5th grades are running food sales. Sales are good, especially for items that don't fit well into the machine. They
take pennies, too!
IV Committee Reports
A
Food Drive - running
through the end of next week. Winning class will get a cupcake or pizza party. 4th grade is counting collections as a math
project.
B Fry's Cards - we
have 23 registered
C Escrip - total to
date of $30
D Used uniforms - brought
in $10 this month
E
Cookie Dough
- orders are in. Sold 340 items. Profit is around $1200, a little lower than lastyear. Incentives weren't as promoted among
the students this year.
F Panda Express
- no news yet. Barely anyone turned up there.
G B&N Book Fair
- on track for December 11th. Getting posters and vouchers from the store and meeting with Erica.
H Fresh and Easy -
envelopes are in the classrooms and a box in the office for receipts over $20. Dec 9th will be shopping nighgt at the store
and volunteers will be needed to collect receipts from shoppers. Old receipts from September count too.
I Honey
Baked Ham - Flyers went out. Dates were moved to accomodate the flyer distribution. Delivery will be Nov. 23rd. Money is due on the 19th with the orders. Extra help would be appreciated on pick up day.
VI New Business
A Cookie Dough - Elaine
requests volunteers to help with cookie dough on the 19th and help with used uniforms.
VII Announcements next mtg is 12/8
Fundraising
committee meets 12/1
VIII Meeting Adjourned 4:45pm
October 20, 2010
I. Meeting called to order at 4pm.
II. Minutes read - Jenny Bishop. Minutes changed
to reflect meeting started at 3:55 pm.
III. Treasurer's Report - Lori Glover
A. Current balance $2809.08 of which $1250 is available to allocate. Still waiting on B of A matching funds. If we
find we have raised enough money for the picnic tables, we should buy them rather than continue to wait on B of A. We are
about $500 short of that goal now.
B. Fall Book Fair earned $480.55. Scholastic cash was used to complete
the teachers' wish lists.
C. Fall picnic and raffle earned $331.28. Lori noted that folks seemed
much happier spending smaller amounts for raffle tickets to win specific prizes than they might be pledging larger amounts
for large baskets at the Silent Auction in the spring. Elaine Gadd commented that the lower entry price encouraged greater
participation as well.
IV. Principal's Report
A. Charter appeal - the 60 day deadline has passed but there's been no word received yet about approval or denial of
the appeal. Uncertainty regarding the future of the school has cost us 10 dropped students and one teacher this year. The
lack of information is very frustrating.
B. Changes in staff - Mrs. Lantz felt uncertain about her position with
the school and sought employment elsewhere. Mr. Kreager has been moved to the 6th Grade teaching position. A new PE teacher,
who also will teach Spanish for upper grades, has been hired, Shirley Hilowat. A new kindergarten aide is in place, Ms. Anne.
C. SchoolStore.com - a check arrived for $51 and Ms. Skovgard has received
money for her classroom.
D. New PE equipment funds were received from the PTO but Mr. Steve is
waiting to purchase equipment based on the needs of the new PE teacher. Those will be determined and purchased in the next
week or so.
VI. Old Business
A. Picnic tables will be purchased when we have enough money in the PTO
account so we're not waiting on B of A.
B. Vending machine repair - The technician wants to come tomorrow, Thursday,
at 5pm, but needs someone specific to meet with and sign his repair sheet. Kris
will see if Mr. Kreager is available for that task. If he's unable to help, Jenny Bishop will step in. Elaine suggested using
paper coins taped to the vending machine to illustrate to the students which coins are OK to use. If we can't get the machine
repaired this week, Mrs. Johnson has requested that the 4th Grade be allowed to sell the snacks as a practical lesson in math. The request was approved—even if the machine gets fixed.
C. Fry's cards - only 20 cards are registered so we need to work on getting
the word out to all our families and friends.
D. Escrip – we received another check for $11.10, making the total
$20 so far this year.
E. Used Uniforms - Elaine Gadd.
Elaine needs to step down from handling the sales of used uniforms, but will continue to organize the stock on hand
and keep the racks neat. Used uniforms have brought in $184 so far this year.
F. BBQ and Raffle - covered in Treasurer's Report.
G. Wear It Now - no word yet on how much return we can expect from t-shirt
sales.
H. Cookie Dough – Natalie Franca (not present) The big prizes have arrived. Jenny will show them off at flag
on Monday to inspire the students. We can pay online this year, but it's not
straight forward. Natalie is looking for help on delivery day, Nov. 19th.
I. Dinner Out - Panda Express - Bill Kostel (not present). Next Wednesday
from 1-8pm at the Panda Express on Tatum and Shea. We get 20% of sales with flyers.
PTO will provide dinner for the teachers on parent-teacher conference nights with a variety of selections from Panda
Express.
J. Barnes and Noble Book Fair - Jenny Bishop. Jenny was unable to attend
the recent workshop but will meet privately with Erica, the B&N event coordinator to glean needed information. We are
scheduled for Sat. Dec 11th, and will have a gift-wrap table during 4 of those hours.
K. Fresh and Easy - Paula O'Connor (not present). Receipts from any Fresh N Easy store where the total purchase was
over $20 are being collected. Planning for a "Shopping Night" fundraiser is underway.
L. Honey Baked Ham - Elaine Gadd stepped up to chair this event. Orders
will be taken from Nov. 1-8th, with a possible grace period until the 10th. Checks can be made out to Kachina PTO. Delivery
day is Nov. 19th, so families can pick up their cookies and hams at the same time. Elaine will need help on delivery
day.
VII. New Business
A. Food Drive – Caroline Pilkinton.
Usually starts around November 1st. Lori suggested getting
7th and/or 8th grades to help.
B. Scholastic Book Fair - next one is scheduled for Feb. 8-11 and will
be a regular sale. Caroline suggested having the fair offsite. Kris will check with Scholastic to see if that would be alright
with them. We will have the BOGO cases-only sale at the end of the school year to promote summer reading.
VIII. There were no other announcements.
IX. Meeting adjourned at 4:55pm
KACHINA COUNTRY
DAY SCHOOL NORTH PTO MEETING
PTO
MEETING
September
8, 2010
I.
Called to Order @ 3:55
II.
Minutes Were Read and amended.
III.
Treasurer's Report was given
$1952.98 is currently in the account. After money that has been set aside last year for picnic tables/playground equipment, there will be a remainder
of approximately $90.00.
IV.
Principal's Report:
The Charter School Board has 60 days to reply
to the school’s appeals to renew the charter. This could be around the
middle of October depending on whether that is 60 days business days or 60 actual days.
V.
Old Business
A.
Book Gaps and Laminator supplies: The laminating machine is currently being used and supplies are now available.
B.
Summer time purchases: we are waiting on the purchase of the playground
picnic tables and equipment until Bank of America matches the donations made last year from the spring auction.
VI.
Committee Reports
A.
Scholastic Book Fair starts next week and many have signed up to volunteer. Thursday the books arrive, and we
will be setting up on Thursday and Friday. Friday will be the teacher preview
and on Monday the class preview. The book fair will be open until 2:30 Friday.
i. Book Fair VIP Breakfast will be held Tuesday from 8:00-9:30.--Chair
Elaine Gadd. The total cost to the PTO will be around $100.00. There is help needed in decorating Monday night after school and any suggestions are welcome. The theme is Heroes. There will be coloring pages passed out
to younger children to color and hang up. A suggestion was made to make a poster regarding the breakfast and set outside. Another suggestion to put out old
books to let kids look at while their parents are looking for books.
ii. Open House—Jamba Juice smoothies will be sold on Wednesday
Open House Night. Some of the proceeds will go to the school. Coupon books will
also be sold.
iii. Votes will be made for the best decorated
door. The best class door will be able to have Mr. Steve dress up as the hero
depicted. Voting will start at 3:30, so everyone can vote if they can’t come to the open house at 5-7pm
b.
Fund Raisers already underway:
i. Vending Machine: Vending
machine is making $100 a week and PTO is spending $50-60 a week to replenish. It
is now taking paper dollars. It is to be noted that some children are spending coin dollars that are quarter size and losing
$.75. The code of conduct is to
be put there including this information.
ii. Fry's/Safeway/Escrip: We
have no stats online yet to indicate how the Frys fundraiser is going. There
are stickers in office if individuals want to put them on their regular card. If
you scanned one last year you need to rescan the new code. For the Safeway one
you must renew online with Escrip.com
iii.
Used uniforms: We made $25.00 just today. Elaine Gadd volunteered to organize this fundraiser. Suggestion made to post a schedule when racks will be out.
iv. Boxtops for Education and Campbell's Soup Labels: For the boxtops,
11 people are registered. You can
go to BTFE.com to register to enter the school in a sweepstakes for free boxtops. We
currently have 1700 points with the Soup Labels. Motion was made to spend right now by Bill and seconded by Lori. All agreed.
VII.
New Business
a.
Cookie Dough Sale--Chair Natalie Franca
This will start on Oct.
18th the Monday after fall break. It will run for 2 weeks. They will arrive approximately two weeks later for delivery. They will take master card and visa. The cost is $6.75 per tub and will sell for $11.00 per tub. We will make an announcement at the fall barbecue.
b.
Committee for Fall BBQ and Raffle will be meeting today. They will
make decisions regarding the place and time.
c.
PTO Dinner Out--October Chair-- Bill Kostel: No further information at this time.
d.
New Fund Raisers
i. Wear it now Fund Raiser—Decals, shirts, totes, etc. with
the Kachina logo or with pictures on them will be available to purchase. At the
fall barbecue pictures can be taken and available to put on t-shirts at $18 per shirt.
ii. Fresh and Easy Fund Raiser--Paula O'Connor No further information available at this time.
iii. Holiday Store:
Currently
research is being done for a company to come in with products that the children can come in and purchase as gifts for parents
and others.
iv. Honey Baked Ham:
This
is similar to the cookie dough sale. A decision will be made by the fundraising
committee to do before Christmas or Thanksgiving. 15% of purchases will be made by the school.
v. Schoolstore.com:
Waiting for paperwork on this.
VIII.
Announcements
a.
Minimall Schedule: No definite date for this.
b.
Toilet Paper and Paper Towel Rolls are being collected for Ms. Marla’s
classroom and are appreciated if anyone can bring in to her class. They are working
on a project for this.
c. Facebook page available on website.
d. Ms. Ketchum was not able to attend today. She is currently
our faculty liaison for the teachers and PTO.
IX.
Adjourned @ 5:00
Next meeting will be Oct 20! Watch your
email.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
8/18/10
Meeting called to order at 4:00 pm by President, Kris Johnston
SECRETARY REPORT: Reading of the last PTO Meeting by Sonja Columb . No addendum
TREASURER’S
REPORT:
LORI GLOVER
Account currently has $1,969.75. After purchases and expenses $47.55 will be remaining in the account. There are still details to wrap up for purchases for the reading room, picnic tables and tether
ball
(Treasurer’s report attached)
Motion made to accept the treasurer’s report.
Mr. Steve thanked everyone
for
coming to the meeting and being actively involved in their children’s education. Currently there are
168
students with two 1st grade classes.
In order to accommodate
the traffic at the end of the school day, there has been a change in the kindergarten classes
time release to 3:00 p.m. Parents will be picking them up in their classroom.
In order to reply to
any rumors that have been circulating in regards to a possible closer of the school, Mr. Steve proceeded to explain briefly
how Charter Schools work. The first charter schools were initiated in
1996.
During the first 15 years they were required to meet certain obligations. Upon review by
the Board of Charter Schools it was determined that 8 of these obligations have not been met by Kachina. The obligations
that the school failed to meet were not academic but rather mainly tax obligations as well
as breaking Open Meeting laws. Therefore, in July the renewal of
the
school operating as a charter school was not approved. Kachina has appealed this decision as of
2 weeks ago. The Board of Charter Schools have 30 days to reply. Therefore, within
the
next
two months the school should have a final answer. However, even if
the appeal is denied , Kachina will be allowed to go through this school year. Also,
if there is a denial, another charter school could possibly take over the school inheriting the staff, school,
students, etc. As the school knows more it will be sending out information.
Several questions then ensued for discussion. Since the other campus is private they are
not mandated to the laws of the charter school. Kachina is one of the first set of
charter schools to go through the renewal process and to get rejected. Individuals can go on
line to the Arizona Charter Board’s website to look at the meeting minutes summary. Mr. Steve
is not serving on Kachina’s Board at this time
To aid in the explanation
of the process, Mary Lynn Kelly (a parent of a former Kachina student and a former member of the
Board of Charter Schools) was available to explain further how the process works. There are a list
of 15 requirements to be met to continue as a charter school. Kachina has failed to meet 8 of those requirements.
For example federal taxes are still owed by the school in the approximate amount of $88,000.
Other requirements that were not met were time sensitive issues such as fingerprinting of all the teachers. There is
currently a business manager brought in to make sure such things are done on time such as the
fingerprinting
of the staff. The payroll state taxes have been paid in full. Steps are being made
to rectify other issues. Mr. Steve is willing to address any of these issues privately.
-
Book Gaps: Lori
Glover reported that there are gaps in the number of book sets that were purchased last year. These books sets were
purchased based on the number of students we had last year. Now that class sizes have increased there are shortages.
A motion was made to purchase other book sets as needed by the PTO funds. This motion was made by Jenny Bishop
and
seconded
by
Brenda.
-
A laminator was
also purchased last year with supplies for 8x10 papers. Therefore, there is need for legal size sheets to be
purchased as needed. It was requested by the treasurer to have a blanket approval to purchase these supplies
as needed
.
There is an organization called Treasurer’s for Teachers that could have
these supplies for purchase that could save substantial money. A motion was made by Lori and seconded Jenny.
Motion approved.
-
Summer Time purchases:
Most
items that were approved last school year were purchased. However the purchase of the playground picnic tables has been
delayed due to the rest of the donations that were expected to come in.
-
Frys/ Safeway/Escrip
fundraisers: A flyer was sent home to explain how these fundraisers work. For example at Fry’s a barcode
(such as in the flyer) can be scanned only once. It links the school to purchases that are made. The Fry’s
fundraiser can make as much as $2000 a year. For every $50,000 in sales there is a check given to the PTO in the amount
of $500. This starts this year in September and runs until April. There are also links to Safeway and Escrip.
-
Water bottles are being
sold for .50. There is a possibility that a refrigerator could be donated. Used uniforms are being sold for the
amount of $4.00 each. Campbells soup box tops are being collected by each class. Each class has
a
little box in each classroom to collect these. Vending machine are working. It does
not work with paper bills yet, coins only. A Code of conduct flyer was
sent out for parents/students to sign and bring back.
A fund raiser committee
will
be
formed
asap.
There will be a set day for monthly meetings. This committee is formed to decide what fundraising
projects will be done this year.
-
Volunteer s Needed.
-
Uniform Sales
-
Copy Club (a sign
up
sheet will be provided)
-
Scholastic Book Fair
(a sign
up
sheet was made available with a schedule to be available at the end of the meeting) Volunteers
are needed for the VIP breakfast and at the open house.
-
At the Meet
the
Teacher
night on the 24th volunteers are needed to have
a
table to catch families to volunteer with the PTO and to make families aware of the fundraisers such as using the
barcodes for Fry’s.
-
Cookie Dough Sale:
This fundraiser is usually in October. A new chairperson is needed to head this up.
-
Fall BBQ: This
is
usually held the Friday before fall break. Donations are needed for the raffle to be held.
-
BBVA/Compass Bank:
Compass bank sponsors a fundraiser for the whole school year. If a parent
signs
up to open a checking account the school earns $25.00. If 25 accounts are opened in August the school earns $500.
A
$25.00 minimum is required with no bank fees. Mr. Steve mentioned that he was told by Compass that if a parent transfers
$25.00 each month from the checking account to a savings account they will receive a bonus of $250 at the end of the year.
There are also no ATM fees at other banks.
Anyone who is attending
PTO will not be charged for the daycare. They only need to indicate that on the sign out sheet.
Next meeting of
PTO is September 8.
Motion was made by to adjourn the meeting.
Meeting adjourned @ 5:00 p.m.
