MESPTA Board Meeting February 11, 2009
MOANALUA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PTA INC.
PTA BOARD MEETING
February 11, 2009
CALL TO ORDER: President Lori Shimoda called the meeting to order at 6:03 p.m. in the MES library.
VOTING MEMBERS PRESENT: Lori Shimoda, Sharon Toyomura, Robb Taone, Lei Fukumura, Manny Salvador, Michelle Gandee, and Maddy Ledda.
NON-VOTING MEMBERS PRESENT: Michelle Gandee, Denise Arai, Carol Mann-Molay, Kirsten Kajiwara, Joanne Rosen, Lauren Kamikawa, Deborah Takafuji, and Susie Okumura.
MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING: Due to a lack of quorum the minutes of the January 2009 minutes were not approved. Secretary Lei Fukumura will send Stephen Figart a copy of the January 2009 minutes to post on the PTA website.
TREASURER’S REPORT: Treasurer Robb Taone reported that he was not present for the January 2009 meeting and thus provided the budgets for November 2008 and December 2008. November was a big cash out as the Fun Fair brought in $38,188.81. As of December 31, 2009 there was no income. Money is coming in because of the tee shirt and dues. R. Taone further reported that the PTA has a checking account that pays interest. The income column shows $31.97 from E-Slip, Makai card and Foodland. The Fun Fair raised $43,171 even though we had hoped to raise $45,000. K. Kajiwara inquired about the number of remaining events. R. Taone reported that we are about half way through the events. He further reported that once all the expenses come in from the Fun Fair we will send out envelopes to the teachers.
R. Taone also reported that there are two budget requests: 1) An additional $500.00 is being requested for service group projects because they have 100 more students and need another bus; 2) Another service group is requesting $50.00 for Peer Mediators. At the time the budget was made they were not yet a service group. R. Taone further reported that the PTA is paying admittance fees, not bus fares, for chaperones.
L. Shimoda inquired about how the PTA Board could streamline budget requests without achieving quorum? She wondered if we could do it by e-mail. She concluded that the by-laws need to be reviewed. In order to achieve quorum the PTA Board requires half of the voting members plus 1 to attend the meeting. She further inquired if the PTA Board should update its by-laws and form a PTO so that quorum will be made up of only voting members and the voting members would be limited to officers of the PTA Board.
R. Taone acknowledged the difficulties with approving budget requests due to the consistent lack of quorum and stated that we have a request from Violin Day which Mrs. Toyomura submitted at the start of the year. We have not been able to consider her request because of the consistent lack of quorum. It was decided that L. Shimoda would carbon copy (cc) all voting members. Replies would also need to be sent to all voting members. Voting members must hear the discussion.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
REFLECTIONS – Michelle Gandee. M. Gandee reported that they need to schedule a recognition night and will figure out the details by the next meeting. They also need to schedule ice cream parties for classes with 100% participation. The results will be posted on the website. M. Gandee requested the PTA’s help during the recognition night. L. Shimoda responded that they need to work with the administration on scheduling recognition night.
MEMBERSHIP – Anne Salvador. M. Salvador reported that Anne had nothing to report. L. Shimoda inquired if the membership had been updated. M. Salvador will check on it.
T-SHIRT/NEWSLETTER – Manny Salvador. M. Salvador reported that he is working on several designs in order to get a head start. If a design is approved they can do a half printing order so that the kindergarten classes can have the shirts. Also, they will be able to avoid delays because of no stock. They can print some orders and get it ready for the first day of school. M. Salvador further reported that the t-shirt order forms will go out in folders.
Principal Arai inquired if there are t-shirts available for new students who come into school at a later date. She stated that parents have expressed concerns about this. M. Salvador responded that they print a half dozen extra in popular sizes and suggested that they keep order forms in a portfolio for the new students entering MES.
K. Kajiwara stated that at another school they kept shirts under the office counter so that on field trip mornings the shirts would be available for new students to purchase and wear on the field trip. L. Shimoda stated that the t-shirts could be placed into the storage room. Principal Arai suggested that they speak to Marilyn or keep a few t-shirts in the office. M. Salvador asked if product/promo items are needed for any committees. He believes that he can probably get some through a friend.
HOSPITALITY – Maddy Ledda. M. Ledda reported that she needs help on the committee. L. Shimoda thanked her for providing tonight’s dinner.
MILITARY LIASON – Marissa Ayag-Garcia. L. Shimoda commented that the bulletin boards are up in the cafeteria and look good.
ORCHESTRA – Maydean Martin. L. Shimoda reported that the Orchestra is still accepting new students. All is going well. They are discussing holding a parent meeting.
UPCOMING EVENTS
L. Shimoda reported that a general membership meeting must be planned. For budget reasons it must be scheduled prior to the Starlight Concert. Vice Principal Mann-Molay stated that there is a problem with moving the Starlight Concert to Friday night because Earl would not be available to provide audio. Unless the PTA wants to hire a company to provide audio she recommends that the concert remain scheduled for Wednesday, May 13. K. Kajiwara suggested that they start the concert earlier than 6 p.m. She further suggested that the concert start at 5:30 p.m. It was agreed that the business portion of the event would start at 5:30 p.m. but that the program would start at 6:00 p.m. Principal Arai said that they will just introduce the PTA officers and it should only take about 15 minutes. She further stated that the program could start at 5:45 p.m. It was decided that the event would start at 5:30 p.m. and the program would start at 6:00 p.m. S. Okumura pointed out that the A+ Program does not end until 5:30 p.m. thus the A+ leaders won’t be able to help the children get ready. She commented that “it would get tight.”
OLD BUSINESS
PTO- L. Shimoda discussed the formation of the PTO. She reported that we need quorum to approve the allocation of budget and an attorney will have to draft by laws. We would then need to go to the general membership for their approval. We can’t discuss this issue without quorum. L. Shimoda would like to get this issue voted on before the Starlight performance.
Foundation: L. Shimoda reported that at the teacher’s meeting, which was held earlier today, Ford Shippey conducted a presentation on the formation of a MES Foundation. The PTA is not supporting the formation of the Foundation but will support F. Shippey’s looking into it. L. Shimoda expressed her concern of “double dipping” of the support base. Both the PTA and the Foundation would be extracting money from MES parents. This was already looked at years earlier so we already have some information in this area but we don’t have information on how the Foundation will be structured so it is difficult for L. Shimoda to make a determination at this point in time. L. Shimoda will not support two entities. They received guidance from experienced individuals who stated that it does not work to have two entities. The PTA and the Foundation have to solicit different groups of people. They would need to work out the amount of fundraising events held and what percentage of money goes to the PTA versus what percentage of money would go to the Foundation.
NEW BUSINESS
L. Shimoda was asked to discuss pedestrian safety. Mrs. Rosen wants a notice to go out in the school newsletter. The police are authorized to issue citations but they don’t want to take that step just yet. Mrs. Toyomura said that it happens often in the morning. Someone almost got hit by a car. Vice Principal Mann-Molay said that the Click It Or Ticket contest is starting. L. Shimoda said that they can post a notice on the website. K. Kajiwara suggested that we tap the Cub Scouts and other groups that use the facilities. We could ask them to help us emphasize pedestrian safety. L. Shimoda said that at a minimum we will be putting something on the website about pedestrian safety. Mrs. Rosen will send a draft to S. Figart. K. Kajiwara will speak to various community groups.
PTA Officers – L. Shimoda reported that the PTA Officers were elected to serve two year terms. Thus we won’t need to hold an election this year.
Administration Report-Principal Arai reported that the Professional Development Day and Waiver Days were selected in conjunction with schools in our complex. : July 30, July 31, January 5 & 6, February 5 and April 23.
She further reported that the GE Lottery will be held on March 2, 2009 @ 2:30 p.m. She invited us to be a part of the SCC Board. The will be holding elections for a Parent Representative.
Vice Principal Mann Molay reported that we received a grant to offer and Art to Go program. It is running through the A+ program. A small number of students can participate because it is a military grant. Certified art teachers will help the students explore arts for free. Also, Read Across American coming up for Dr. Seuss’s birthday. Schools are also hosting a Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, March 10, 2009 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Principal Arai reported that it’s a public meeting to allow the public to voice their concerns. The Orchestra and Salsa class will be performing. K. Kajiwara inquired if fund raising is possible during the meeting. Vice Principal Mann-Molay will check to see if fundraising during the event is possible.
Principal Arai reported that the only campus improvement projects that are in legislative line items are:
1) Extension of the library for a media room;
2) Construction of classroom buildings;
3) Resurfacing of the basketball court including re-lining and installation of new rims.
Vice Principal Mann-Molay followed up on the issue raised previously regarding the “bird trees” in the school parking lot. She was directed to the proper channels. The custodian Todd will help with the process. Someone will come to determine if it is a health issue and then determine the options.
Principal Arai reported that repaving the parking lot, classroom furniture and relocation of the flag pole are on the priority list for the school. She is also considering the construction of shelter from the back door of the cafeteria to the portables. Currently the water fountain has leaves in it and there are also puddles.
Vice Principal Mann-Molay met with Linda Luke and obtained funds to order more books for the library and for adding equipment to the Kindergarten area. It was determined that the cost to ship the apparatus would be more than the cost of the actual apparatus. L. Luke is conducting research to identify a more affordable option. A four square court is also being discussed. L. Luke will determine if the military can pour the court for us.
S. Okumura suggested a raised walkway from the cafeteria to the covered walkway that leads to the Kindergarten area. It is reported that we have about $5,000 for repair and maintenance and $1,000 for new books. The remainder of the balance is for play issues. The Kindergarten tic-tac-toe area on the existing apparatus is broken. L. Luke said that they will take out broken pieces and the Dept. of Education will send welders over to place criss-cross bars so that the students can’t fall off the apparatus.
K. Kajiwara asked L. Shimoda if there has been a formation of Teacher Appreciation Day. L. Shimoda responded “no.” Mrs. Rosen emailed teachers and they said that they did not enjoy the games. The teachers preferred the lunch and massage. They want to make it relaxing. Usually the Teacher Appreciation Day activity takes place during lunch time. It happens on the first Wednesday of May (May 6th). The first lunch period is at 10:45 a.m. The following was discussed: classified starts at 10:30 a.m., first group of teachers at 10:45 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. send group of teachers. K. Kajiwara asked it would be helpful and permissible to have a parent volunteer to watch the students and get the students lined up for lunch so that the teachers can leave for their Teacher Appreciation activity.
Vice Principal Mann-Molay said that having adult helpers to line up students for lunch would be a big help. Three adult helpers per line would be fine.
L. Shimoda stated that a notice that parent-volunteers are needed should be sent out. She is going to look for the list from the Open House Night.
Quorum: An inquiry was made to see if phone calls can be made in advance of the PTA meeting to determine who will be attending. S. Okumura suggested that L. Shimoda be given voting proxy so that she can vote for the absent PTA voting members. L. Shimoda agreed that this would be a good idea. They will work on sending out proxy forms. If the voting member attends the meeting the proxy form would be discarded.
ADJOURNMENT: President Lori Shimoda adjourned the meeting at 7 p.m.
NEXT MEETING: The next PTA Board Meeting will be held on March 11, 2009 at 6 p.m.
Lei Fukumura
MES PTA Secretary