PTO MEETING MINUTES - Wednesday, 8/17/2016 Time: 5:30 PM The meeting was called to order at 5:34 PM by President Erika Eichner in the Media Center at FRMS. The agenda was presented and one item as added the election of a new Secretary. This was necessary due to the resignation submitted by Deborah Belcher. Ms. Belcher was present and serving as Secretary until the new Secretary was elected. Actual transition of duties will follow and should be completed prior to next PTO meeting. Members in attendance from Sign-in Roster: Tresslyn Adams Keisha Hurlock Pamela Newson Felicia Anderson Principal Bolton Melissa Lohr Erika Eichner Deborah Belcher Cynthia Wheeler Sharon Jones D. Monique Williams Tan Smith Irma C. Harris READING & APPROVAL OF MINUTES The minutes from the May 18, 2016 meeting were approved and provided to attendees with no corrections. ELECTION FOR OFFICE OF SECRETARY - President Eichner presented the three candidates who responded to the request to fill the vacancy for the office of Secretary. They were: Sharon Jones (present at meeting), (Candidate named, but not present), and Tan Smith (present at meeting). Ms. Smith came in before the vote was taken and removed her name as a candidate upon hearing that there were two other candidates available to serve. Vote was taken by secret ballot. Sharon Jones was elected to the Secretary position with majority vote. TREASURER S REPORT Bank Account Balance as of 5/18/16: $5,544.64 Income: Parent Donations, Spirit Wear, Meet the Teacher event (donations & Spirit Wear) = $1,790.00 Expenses: None Bank Account Balance as of 8/8/16: $5,409.07 Treasurer, Keisha Hurlock presented the 2016-2017 budget. A motion was moved and carried to add the purchase of two microwaves for use by Teachers, not to exceed a total of $100. The line item of Teacher Lounge for $500 was deleted (as it was a duplicate entry) and Copier
Kit was entered in its place with the amount of $650. Other items were discussed and the changes will be reflected in the revised budget. Some suggestions included: Check with Burch Elementary School to see if their track can be used for the 5K run, get outside donations, and check on sponsors. An official donor letter needs to be developed/distributed for use by members who wish to solicit donations. Melissa Lohr volunteered to get the partner information. COMMITTEE REPORTS Teacher Liaison Monique Williams Briefly thanked the PTO for efforts. Asked about when the microwaves funded by PTO would be available for Teacher s use. It was not known during the meeting if the microwaves had been purchased. The parent volunteer working on this activity was not available for an update. Grant Writing Committee / Fundraising Need a leader for the fundraising committee. Volunteer Coordinator Deborah Belcher Volunteer group email listings will be set up with the volunteers email. Hospitality & Teacher/Staff Appreciation Cynthia Wheeler The teachers were provided with breakfast on one of the planning days prior to students returning. A room adjacent to the Orchestra room was organized with help from Pam Newson and Tresslyn Adams to use as the main PTO meeting room. The orchestra will need access to the new PTO room at times to get to the Orchestra room. After the room organization is complete, consider hosting the meeting in that location. Cynthia also informed the group that she has a committee of volunteers to assist with future Hospitality related activities. Volunteers who assisted with clean up over the summer were thanked. Upcoming activities: December lunch and end of the year event, teacher s lounge changes. Spirit Wear Coordinator - Keisha Hurlock Several items have been sold. Orders submitted at the Meet the Teacher event are expected in the next few days. The link to the previous vendor is still on the website. Deborah volunteered to ask Ms. Cassie Upshaw to remove the link. Principal Bolton suggested to have popular items on hand to increase sales at school events. 8/30/16 is Open House, band concessions is another opportunity to sell Spirit Wear. Principal Bolton suggested that PTO could design t-shirts for Pink Out on 10/19/16 and use as fundraiser. Students and staff will be able to wear t-shirts on that day. It was mentioned that in the past, PTO funded shirts for some of the non-teaching staff. Principal Bolton also suggested ideas to promote the PTO such as having PTO t-shirts. Also, have a table at the Open House with signs, balloons, etc. FRMS_PTO_Meeting_Minutes_2016_08_17 Page 2
Discussed possibility of asking the business technical group or the Beta Club to make signs and/or assist with staffing the table while PTO parents participate with child s schedule. Ice Cream Social Coordinator - Pam Newson Provided the following dates for the ice cream socials following report card dates: October 21, January 13, and March 31. The group was in agreement with the proposed dates. Tan Smith stated that she has a potential ice cream donor for the ice cream socials. Will need a place to store the ice cream when it is delivered prior to each celebration. Discussion was held to determine which freezer could be used. Principal Bolton will follow-up. Box Tops for Education Coordinator Erika Lee (not present) No update Schoola Fundraising Coordinator The group discussed that none of the expected checks have been received. No further update was available. PBIS Irma Harris It was discussed that the store would be open on the last Friday of each month. A PTO rep is needed to work in the store during the times the store is open. See Irma Harris if interested. Principal Bolton discussed efforts to create a Café area for students as an incentive and reward for students with exceptional behavior. Duty free lunches were discussed. They will take place on the last Friday of the month. 2016 Dates are: Sept. 30 Oct. 28 Nov. 18 (no luncheon) Dec PTO Luncheon 2017: Jan 27 (no luncheon) Feb 17 March 24 April 28 May 5 PTO Appreciation 5K FRMS_PTO_Meeting_Minutes_2016_08_17 Page 3
It was discussed that FRMS PTO could sponsor a 5k race as a fundraiser following the Burch Elementary School s 5k event. This would allow FRMS to use the same track without having to find resources to clear and mark out the path for runners. Talent Showcase No update available OLD BUSINESS Teacher s Lounge Currently being updated with new design. Bench Repair Project Update - This project did not get completed last school year. The area is located outside near the bus loading zone. Erika Eichner volunteered to contact a resource to request a bid for the repairs needed. An update should be available next meeting. NEW BUSINESS Participation Contest It was proposed that the PTO develop an informational pamphlet to inform Parents about PTO. The pamphlet would include a signoff that the information was viewed by a parent. An incentive would be provided to the class with the highest return rate on the signed pamphlets. This would be used as an awareness, recruitment, and advertisement tool. It was suggested that the PTO solicit the help from the Business Technology teacher: Ashley Hare to get students to assist with the design and layout of the pamphlet. Landscape Committee Volunteers are needed to support this effort. There is a line item in the budget of $500 to maintain the grounds. Felecia Anderson and Tan Smith volunteered to support this effort. PRINCIPAL S Report Principal Bolton provided information to the group about plans in progress to remodel the Media Center. Funds have been approved to create an Innovative Learning Center for the students at FRMS. Principal Bolton will be meeting with the County Superintendent and Purchasing. Other timing for project start is TBD, but potentially starting in the Fall. More to come. The scoreboard project did not get completed last school year and is not currently functional. 1 st game will be at FRMS on 8/31/16 since the turf resurfacing project at Sandy Creek High School is not yet completed. 2 nd game will be at Sandy Creek HS; completion is expected mid- September. FRMS_PTO_Meeting_Minutes_2016_08_17 Page 4
FRMS enrollment is up from last year (720-730 students) to around 790 students currently! In closing: Ericka Eichner reminded the PTO to visit the Fayette County PTO Facebook page and provided informational flyer to the group on candidates for Fayette County Board of Education for election on November 8 th. It was stated that the PTO cannot allow individual candidates to speak to the group, but can distribute general information to individuals. Next meeting: Wednesday, September 28, 2016. PTO ACTION REGISTER SUMMARY WHAT WHO WHEN 1 Draft a donor letter for soliciting donations for PTO charitable events K. Hurlock September 2 Identify donors & Distribute letters to potential sponsors (5k) Melissa Early 2017 Lohr 3 Provide update on Talent Show E. Lee September 4 Provide update on Teacher s Microwaves E. Lee September 5 Identify a resource to provide a bid for bench repairs outside near bus loading zone. E. Eichner September 6 Identify a freezer on FRMS campus to store ice cream donations Principal Bolton September 7 Contact Ashley Hare, Business Technology Teacher to request student help to design pamphlet for PTO advertisement E. Eichner October 8 PTO to design shirts (as fundraiser) to be sold during FRMS Pink Out Event Oct. 19, 2016 TBA September 9 Send out request for volunteers for Duty Free Lunches D. Belcher September 10 Send out request for volunteers for PBIS store hours D. Belcher September ADJOURN by President Eichner at 7:02pm FRMS_PTO_Meeting_Minutes_2016_08_17 Page 5