Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake PTA Council

November 20, 2006

Call to Order: Peter Merchant called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m.

Present: Carol Nason, Paula Van Buren, Liz Gallagher, Jim Schultz, Erin Pezzulo, Lauren Roecker, Jackie Ballinger, Darcy Baumbach, Lori Moore, Peter Merchant, Lynnette Ziskin.

President’s Report: Peter Merchant.

~Peter welcomed everyone. 

~The next PTA Council meeting will be held on Monday January 22, 2007 in the Principal’s Conference Room at the High School.  Subsequent meetings will be March 19, 2007 and May 15, 2007.

~The minutes of the last Council meeting on September 18, 2006 were approved and accepted.

~Peter has received a copy of a bylaws amendment from O’Rourke Middle School PTA and stated he will file them with other pertinent information regarding our PTAs.

~Currently, the PTA Council is operating without bylaws.

~The bylaws were rewritten last year for the PTA Council.

~Peter has received a copy of those bylaws, but needs to obtain a signature in order for them to be legal. 

~Peter will distribute a copy of the Council’s bylaws to all members at the next Council meeting.   

Secretary’s Report: Lynnette Ziskin:  No Report. 

Treasurer’s Report: Darcy Baumbach.

~Treasurer’s report presented for everyone to view.

~Last year’s taxes have been filed. 

~Charlton Heights still has not made payment for their 2005-2006 Arts & Enrichment bill.    

School Board Liaison’s Report: Elizabeth Herkenham.

~Board of Education member Harry Durand has resigned from the Board for personal reasons. 

~The Board received letters from two new candidates expressing a desire to serve on the Board.  After interviewing both candidates, the Board selected John Blowers.  John is the parent of Charlton Heights’ children and an employee of GE with a keen global perspective.  He will be sworn in at the next Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, November 28. 

~Four Board seats will be up for re-election in May:  Bob Speck and Tim Kelliher’s terms come to a close, and the two seats which were appointed this year.      

~During the second Board meeting of each month, there is a program review.  On November 28^th, a review of the Gifted & Talented program is on the agenda.  Last month’s program was a district overview of how technology is being incorporated into the classroom.  The website has the schedule of future program reviews for the coming school year.    

~The Board has started the budget for the 2007-2008 school year.  Board member/Vice-president Mike Wolf, introduced the specific areas of the budget the Board needs to focus on.  Jackie St. Onge, Assistant Superintendent of Support Services, will give insight to the budget considerations at the next meeting such as how converting short term loans to long term loans for the existing bond referendum affects the budget.

~The process of building the school calendar for 2007-2008 has begun.  It is available on the BH-BL website. 

~At the last Board of Education meeting on November 14, a large group of parents were present and expressed their concerns regarding topics important to them.  Elizabeth stressed the importance of being and staying involved in your children’s education and matters specific to you.

~A meeting is scheduled for November 30 at 7:00 p.m. at the Middle School with local town officials from Glenville, Clifton Park, Charlton and Ballston regarding future growth considerations.   

Superintendent’s Report: Jim Schultz.

~The local news stated that New York City schools will receive $1.8 billion in state aid for schools, and 800 million for the remainder of the state.  BH-BL will receive $1 million.  Used with bond referendums, BH-BL could convert that into $5 million worth of construction projects funded entirely with state monies.  BH-BL must act quickly as there will be a new governor for New York in January.

~Jim is anticipating a February vote on a bond referendum for construction projects that will not raise local taxes. 

~The contents of the time capsule which was found at the High School are on display in the showcase at the BH-BL High School. 

~Celebrating the fall energy!  Congratulations to all BH-BL teams who advanced to sectional competition, and the recent BH-BL Theatre production.

 Teacher Representative’s Report: Jim Schultz for Andy Haluska:  No report.

Committee Reports: 

Arts & Enrichment: Lauren Roecker. 

~Charlton Heights will host Dennis Kobray as Mozart for grades K-5 on November 21. 

~Stevens will host author Peter Lourie for grades 3-5 on November 28 & 29.

~Stevens will host “Double Vision”, a program encouraging the values of respect, on January 19 for grades K-5.  There will also be an evening event for families on January 19 featuring Double Vision.     

After-school Enrichment Clubs: Karen Smith:  No report.

Theatre for Children: Kathy Lynch:   No report.

Odyssey of the Mind: Jean Smith:  No report. 

Council Delegate Reports: 

High School PTA Council Rep: Carol Nason.

~Construction is proceeding at a rapid pace.  The project is on schedule.  The main office area is completed.

~School safety is an important issue, especially considering the incidents which have recently occurred at other schools in our country.  At BH-BL, the main entrance door is the only unlocked door to the building which is attended by a security guard.  Other concerns regarding safety are:

     -the end of the day dismissal process.

     -confusion for students with early release and late   arrival.

     -the dark parking lot. 

~There is a lot of positive energy supporting BH-BL sports.  The support is contagious for all sports teams.

~The letter which was sent home to BH-BL parents regarding unaccompanied students at sporting events was extremely successful.  Thank you to all parents for your support. 

   - Jim Schultz remarked that other school districts in the area have taken note of   BH-BL’s action letter and will implement the same rule for their school districts.

   - Elizabeth Herkenham noted the high attendance at the recent BH-BL sports events, especially the alumni support.

O’Rourke Middle School PTA Council Rep: Lori Moore.

~The Magazine Drive was very successful; $16,000 was raised for the Student Activity Fund.

~Monopoly has a new chair and is looking for new ideas and volunteers. 

~The Craft Fair held on November 4 was successful.

~Over 4,000 cans/boxes of food were collected for the Thanksgiving food drive. 

~Christina Hatt, a 2000 graduate from BH-BL and second year graduate student at Loyola College in Maryland is working with Don Germain (O’Rourke Middle School Principal) on one of her program requirements for her Master’s thesis.  Christina will be inviting O’Rourke students to participate in her thesis study which will require students to complete a questionnaire about self perception and their relationships with peers at school.  The study is voluntary and confidential.

~The abatement which was filed with the IRS was accepted and the tax issues affecting the O’Rourke PTA are in the process of being resolved. 

~The Parent Forum held in October discussed students being rewarded for positive behaviors, averting the focus of demerits.  On Wednesday November 22, a 6^th grade School Spirit Day will be held for all students who have no demerits and have completed all assignments.  Some activities for these students to participate in include games, crafts and cooking. 

Charlton Heights PTA Council Rep: Karen Smith:  No report.

Pashley PTA Council Rep: Paula VanBuren:  No report.

 Stevens PTA Council Rep: Jackie Ballinger.

~Kathryn Biech fall fundraiser was very successful; $12,500 was raised for Stevens PTA programs. 

~Scholastic Book Fair on Friday December 1 will be Buy 1, Get 1 Free. 

~Holiday Shop will be held on December 6.

~After-school Enrichment Clubs will begin on January 9, 2007.

~Family Fun Night will be on January 19, 2007, featuring Double Vision.

~Stevens PTA President Kathy Welch requested mention of PTA programs which require a contract for building use.  There was confusion regarding building usage assignment, specifically, the Stevens gym, which was reassigned to another group requesting the gym.  Jim Schultz reported a misunderstanding occurred due to both programs being sports related and the coordinator thought the same program was double-booked.  The matter was investigated by the building coordinator and the situation has been resolved.   

1^st Vice-president: Erin Pezzulo:  No report.

Co-2nd Vice-presidents: Liz Gallagher and Paula VanBuren.

~The Founders Day dinner will be on Wednesday February 7, 2007 at the Edison Club in Rexford.  Flyers for the dinner will be printed shortly and delivered to all the schools. 

~Discussion regarding a sit-down dinner vs. a buffet station.  The consensus was a sit-down dinner with 3 dinner choices including prime rib, chicken or seafood. A vegetarian dish will be available on request.

~ Dinner reservations will be $30 per person which includes hors d’oeuvres during the cocktail hour, and incidental costs, such as table linens.

~Dinner reservations and payments will be handled by Liz and Paula, not the Council delegates, as was done in the past.  All checks will be submitted to them and they will take care of returning money to recipients. 

~Discussion ensued regarding a Master of Ceremonies for the evening.  All agreed to invite Bob Youmans for this occasion. 

~Presentation of the awards will be limited to 3 minutes or less. 

Unfinished Business:

PTA Council President Peter Merchant inspected the issue of commercial or non-profit organizations (specifically, activities that originate outside the school district) who request the PTAs to advertise their program(s) to BH-BL families.  Bev Cottrell, Northeastern Region PTA Director, informed Peter that PTA newsletters are for PTA activities and events only, and for future purposes, none of these types of organizations’ advertising of their programs are to be included in any PTA newsletter.  Bev inquired about the communication of outside programs via BH-BL district newsletter.  Jim Schultz stated this typically is not a responsibility of the district but has allowed outside organizations to communicate events if sponsored by the PTA.  However, according to the NYS PTA bylaws, “the name of the organization or the names of any members in their official capacities shall not be used to endorse or promote a commercial concern or in connection with any partisan interest or for any purpose not appropriately related to promotion of the Purposes of the organization.”  Discussion ensued; Peter will notify all PTA Presidents informing them the PTA cannot endorse or promote an outside organization’s event or activity or include such articles in their newsletters.      

New Business:  None.

Meeting Adjourned: 8:12 p.m.