MOANALUA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PTA INC.
PTO BOARD MEETING
December 16, 2009
CALL TO ORDER: President Lori Shimoda called the meeting to order at 6:05 p.m. in the MES library.
VOTING MEMBERS PRESENT: Lori Shimoda, Robb Taone, Lei Fukumura, Maddie Ledda and Fred Wang.
NON-VOTING MEMBERS PRESENT: Kirsten Kajiwara, Gail Chang, Leslie Matautia, Lisa Lee, Adrian Lee, Joanne Rosen, Calvin Amoy, Alison Inamine, Lyanne Figart and Robert Hoggan.
SECRETARIES REPORT:
The October 14, 2009 PTO Meeting Minutes were distributed. The minutes incorrectly reflect that the meeting started at 6:007 p.m. and should be amended to reflect that the meeting started at 6:07 p.m. Due to a lack of quorum the minutes were not approved.
TREASURER’S REPORT: Robb Taone reported that the following Fun Fair figures:
This year’s cash in: $25, 917
Last year’s cash in: $25,250
This year’s pre sale: $43,453
Last year’s pre sale: $40,671
He also reported that he is still waiting for accounts payable. This year’s Fun Fair brought in $2,700 more but since there were less donations from parents we may have spent more than last year.
Currently there is $130.00 in the PTA account. The PTA should be dissolved in January. The PTO has $43,000. He is still waiting to pay out reimbursements.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
RAP – Lisa Lee reported that they require more individuals to assist with posting. The next date of service would be in February. They scanned RAP coupons for all classes on the website. The RAP page on the website was a great job by Stephen Figart. L. Shimoda suggested that the percentage of class participation should be posted on the website. L. Lee reported that a help wanted advertisement will be posted.
E-BOOKS – L. Shimoda reported that Kyle Oyasato sold twelve E-Books during the Fun Fair. He is still working on out of town orders not yet delivered. There are twelve complimentary books for core committee member which can be picked up at P-6 from Karen Gushikuma.
HOSPITALITY – Maddie Ledda. L. Shimoda thanked Debbie and Kirsten for helping out with bag dinners during a prior event. They felt it worked out better than manning a food table. There were 350 RSVPs so bagged meals were prepared for 400 people. The volunteers were able to participate with their children instead of manning a food table. M. Ledda confirmed that the bagged dinners worked out well. L. Shimoda said that in the future we should continue with bagged meals for the big events. Bagged meals allow people to eat at their convenience and results in less trash to dispose of.
MES PTO Website: Lynne Figart reported on Google advertisements and that it is possible to make $34.00 when a particular site is clicked on. Moanalua.com was purchased by S. Figart. Since Moanalua Gardens wanted the Moanalua.com name they purchased the domain from the PTO for $3,000.
OLD BUSINESS:
A. PTO – L. Shimoda reported that the 501C(3) paperwork was sent to the IRS and that we are on our way to being a non profit organization. She also reported that PTO funds are no longer frozen. Teachers should be aware that the funds are available. The PTO funds cannot be used to pay for teacher salaries. The former budget stands so if a teacher requested additional funds the request was rejected. The teachers were permitted to ask for less or to amend the basis for their request.
NEW BUSINESS:
A. Bus Petition
L. Shimoda reported that the latest letter stating that the bus service will stop in March 2010 is inaccurate. Only the 1.5 mile exclusion zone and the cost are correct in the letter. The letter was done in accordance with the DOE.
B. Sixth Grade Guidance Incident:
L. Shimoda reported that Ms. Toyama, MHS’s Vice Principal, is here at MES on an interim basis. She will remain with MES while an investigation is completed on the procedures followed regarding the sixth grade guidance incident. In the meanwhile, Principal Arai has been placed elsewhere in the district. It is possible that Principal Arai will be returning to MES. MES parents want to be told what was taught to their children during the sixth grade incident so that they can deal with it and help their children deal with what they heard. However, parents have been informed that since this incident involves personnel issues the information must remain confidential so as not to jeopardize the investigation. Interim Principal Ms. Toyama is looking into it. L. Shimoda reported that parents want to know that progress is being made. The process takes a long time. It has already been five weeks however progress is being made. How can parents help? It was reported that parents should allow the investigation to be completed. L. Shimoda said it is up to parents to decide if they want to write in about not being notified about the incident. If parents complain it becomes part of the investigation and it will make the process take longer. On the other hand, if parents do not write in to complain there may be insufficient information for the investigation. If the outcome of the investigation is not satisfying there is another level that this matter can be pursued on. Another route to pursue other than accountability is to affect policy. L. Shimoda would like to ask for changes and create a policy allowing for additional parent rights. It is difficult because they are fighting against the system and the unions. There should be guidelines as to the steps to be followed in connection with critical incidents. A comment was made that home phone numbers, residence addresses of students are public information. Not everyone agreed with this observation.
Under an opt out policy it is the parents responsibility to let the school know if they want their child to opt out of a particular class if a controversial issue will be discussed. There used to be an opt out policy at MES. L. Lee wondered if teachers are trained to identify when an issue is controversial. A question was raised about whether anyone has addressed what damage, if any, has been inflicted upon the students? Other than having a counselor available for students what is being done to help the students and their immediate needs? How will the sixth grade incident affect them mentally? It was reported that some parents have contacted private attorneys to try to find out what inappropriate information was discussed during the sixth grade incident.
There are two investigations taking place:
- Personnel
- Procedural (What should have been done?)
A separate issue raised was where parents need to go if they want to obtain additional assistance for their children. Parents expressed their frustration about the situation. They were concerned that too much time has and will pass before assistance, other than the group meeting with the students that took place, will be given to the students. Many children are not willing to tell their parents what was told to them during the sixth grade incident. The students have been instructed not to talk about it.
L. Shimoda encouraged parents who have concerns to write down their experiences/concerns and send it in. They should let the administration know what they want, especially the fact that they signed up for individual counseling for their child but it did not happen. Possibly the “don’t talk about it policy” is a means of preventing the inappropriate information from trickling down to the younger children.
L.Shimoda wondered if a representative from the DOE would be willing to come to MES to hear from the parents. Also it was suggested by a parent that we all attend a DOE meeting. L. Shimoda reported that the DOE wants complaint to be sent directly to them and that the complaints not be funneled through L. Shimoda. She asked that parents support one another. She also requested that parents provide their email addresses. The following 3 scenarios were proposed:
1) Make an attempt to get in touch with sixth grade parents to share with them information about what is known about the content of the inappropriate information which was transmitted to the students during the sixth grade incident;
2) Provide addresses and contact information to parents who want to know who to contact;
3) Hold a town hall meeting.
Representative Lynn Finnegan joined in the discussion. She suggested that the PTO request that the administrative office contact the sixth grade parents since the PTO is not able to obtain a contact list of the sixth grade parents.
It was commented that the parents want the State to triage the unseen wounds of their children. A school-wide meeting will be planned after the New Years holiday.
C. FUTURE MEETINGS
L.Shimoda reported that all future meetings will be held in the MES cafeteria. She also reported that there will be a Fun Fair Planning meeting in January 2010. She was hopeful that at that time we will have more accurate figures.
ADJOURNMENT: President Lori Shimoda adjourned the meeting at 8:00 p.m.
NEXT MEETING: The next PTO Board meeting will take place on January 13, 2010 in the MES cafeteria.
Lei Fukumura
MES PTO Secretary