Southridge Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) Southridge High School Booster Council Inc. dba Southridge PTO General & Executive Meeting Minutes Wednesday, September 13, 2017 The meeting of the PTO was held Wednesday, September 13, 2017 at 6:30pm in the Southridge Community Room. Attendees included: David Nieslanik Southridge HS Principal, Joanna Wilbur Treasurer and Acting President, Kristin Wood VP Volunteer Coordinator, Ilirija Encinas Secretary, Diane Scannell Skymart Manager, Jen Moser Grad Night Committee Chair, Becky O Malia, Kelley Sherazi, Susanne Fullerton, Tobie Hustler, Katie Morey, Haven Frank and Melynda Stitt. Call to Order: 6:30pm Administration Update David Nieslanik, Southridge HS Principal: Ø Year is getting off to a great start. Acquired 31 new staff members; a lot are classified staff members allowing Southridge to support students in a way we haven t been able to before anxiety, ESL, etc. Ø First Early Release day was busy but it all seemed to work out; learning teams were productive; looking to start a Genius Hour to provide an activity for those waiting for after school activities that will encourage curiosity. Ø Current enrollment is 1590 students; 120 over projection; 60 early college participants (this is normal); 17 in self-contained programs. (Funding from the government for self-contained programs comes from a different pot.) Have close to 40 students in almost every class; could be adding some classes to relieve these numbers, but this can have the negative impact of changing students schedules. Westview is now larger than pre-boundary changes. Ø Dual language program is off to a good start; 46 students participating. Includes AGS1 and 2, Physics, Spanish Lit & Comp 1 & 2 classes. Were fortunate to hire staff already comfortable in these specific areas of study. Ø ESL enrollment is less than Southridge has had before. Anticipated 52% of the student population to be on free and reduced lunch; this ended up dropping to 48%. Ø Second IB Program: Career Programme allows IB schools to offer students dual credit along with IB credit, as well as career experience. Southridge has just started the application process. Mountainside is talking about coming on two years after Southridge; looking to partner with one another and create a program where students have access to both campuses which will open up opportunities. Framework of the Career Programme: complete any two IB courses; complete two
years of language; complete service learning component; take & pass a Personal and Professional Skills class; reflective project; career related studies that include internships/job shadows. Ø Creating two new pathways (Human Services; Human Support & Sports Medicine). The Human Services pathway will be modeled after the successful program at Lake Oswego HS. This is the first year for Information Technology pathway. Ø Budget Cuts: The PERS budget cuts impacted all schools in the state; BSD lost 15 million of noninstructional monies; federal government cut Title I funds (which funds elementary schools), impacting all other schools in the district; had to cut $75,000 from the operating budget; Budgets for programs, such as band, drama and athletics, were cut by 25%. David froze all money last April and was able to roll over $35,000. Ø Student demographics: right now Southridge is 51% white; 49% minority (25% Hispanic w/little mobility; 8% Arabic; a smattering of Asian minorities). In about two years we will become a minority/majority school, the whole district will become a minority/majority district. Ø Vision for Community Building: 1) Having a PTO that is malleable; that can be seen as a part of all aspects of the school; sharing resources to support each other 2) Creating opportunities for families to ask questions and work towards predicting the needs of our families and helping them with those needs. Ø Plaza: Repairs need to be made to the hawk & globe, as well as the replacement of several letters that have fallen off the walls due to the extreme heat. The hope was to have these repairs made in time for the Memorial game next Friday, 9/22. Since that won t happen, David has planned events and activities next week to increase the student s awareness of our service members, and there will be special attractions at the game. The original Plaza Board established a $3500 fund with the intent of adding name plaques to the walls (i.e. Wall of Hope; Wall of Memory, etc.), but it was never developed how to identify the people who would grace the walls; instead the school is going to identify quotes that embody the meaning of each wall. It was agreed that the PTO board should manage the $3500 and determine how the money is used. Also looking to replace the ticket booth which is beyond repair and improve the stadium speaker system. Old Business Ø Motion was made to approve the PTO minutes from August 15, 2017 and seconded. All attendees were in favor. Grad Night Committee Report Jen Moser: Ø Grad Night Committee held their first meeting on Tuesday, Sept 12. Location is booked; party event planning is booked; several fundraisers are in place. Ø Students registration: Currently, there is no way to register online, but a solution is in the works. Ø Still needs to talk to administration about the protocol for handling security issues at grad night.
Ø Pop sockets are being sold, $9, in the Skymart and at all events (i.e. football games); there are four designs. Mountainside asked if Jen would order a supply for their school; Jen thought this may be a way to make a profit, with proceeds going to Southridge Grad Night. Ø You ve Been Squawked signs have started circulation; once a family has been squawked they get to choose the next family to be squawked; the signs come with a suggestion to donate $20.18 towards Grad Night (deposit box is located in the school office). Volunteer Update Kristin Wood: Ø Currently, we have 750 parents in the volunteer database; trying to push people to get their background check so they can opportunities to volunteer and become involved; has contacted all athletic coaches and other program directors and asked them to identify a point person who can help get the word out to parents none have replied. Ø New parents to Southridge have to request to be linked to Southridge even if they have already had a background check for a different school within BSD (i.e. their student s middle school). Skymart Update Diane Scannell: Ø Wheel of Fortune: an event in Skymart that occurred once a month last year, which allows students a chance to win a free item or coupon towards a purchase; promotes new customers; encourages students to try new food items. Due to the budget cuts, it was suggested that the Wheel of Fortune be held only once every two months. Ø School Supplies for Math Dept still waiting on list of items and quantities from Mr. Smith. Ø David was given, with the promise he would reimburse the PTO, a Southridge water cup and snacks, totaling $20. He also has awarded free t-shirt coupons to five students; one student came in today to claim their t-shirt. Joanna to follow up with David on payment. Ø Diane said she asked the district about selling items in the store that didn t meet the state s standards, and was told that if the Principal approves the items, we can sell them; she plans to discuss this with David. Sales would increase greatly if we could sell popular food items, such as bagels and Cup of Noodles. Ø David does not want Skymart to sell any energy drinks. Treasurer Report Joanna Wilbur: Ø 2017-18 Budget o $8000 originally budgeted for the check writing campaign; so far we have received $5100; budget was adjusted to $6000; suggestion was made to place an article in the Quill with a direct link to the PTO webpage that allows for online donation payments. Ilirija will submit the article to DeAnna.
o We are now a couple of months into our fiscal year and, not surprisingly, have a net loss; mainly due to the purchase of inventory to stock Skymart and Concessions. New Business: Ø New Board Openings: Co-President, Co-Treasurer, Social Media Lead, Fundraising Lead, Student Dance Representative, Staff Appreciation Coordinator o Most urgent need is for a Co-Treasurer; someone who can shadow Joanna this year, since it is her last year; if we are unable to fill this position, we run the risk of having to dissolve the PTO. o Current President has acquired a full-time plus job that does not allow her to fulfill her duties; a Co-President will relieve the burden significantly. o Kristin to look at Volunteer Request Forms for parents expressing an interest in helping at the dances or with staff appreciation, and sending an email asking for a lead. o Need to get the word out to the Southridge community the dire need to fill these positions, otherwise the PTO will have to suspend/cancel certain services to the school. Ø Grant Requests o $5,000 has been budgeted towards grant requests. o The Plaza Committee is requesting $600 to help with costs associated with repairing the hawk and globe, and for replacing several letters that have fallen off the walls due to the high temperatures we had. It will actually take $1200 to make these repairs; $600 is being covered by the Keller & Garske families. The motion was made to approve the request and seconded; all were in favor. o Junior Class Literature teachers are requesting $1450 towards funding the Membean Vocabulary online training tool that has proven to increase students ACT scores. The PTO has approved this request for the past two years. The motion was made to approve the request again this year and seconded; all were in favor. Ø Concessions o A temporary restaurant license has been obtained in the school s name; PTO is no longer required to police concessions. o PTO continues to struggle to get volunteers to run Concessions and the Concessions manager is no longer a resource due to personal issues. o The PTO board approached Principal Nieslanik and asked if Athletics might be able to take on the responsibility of providing volunteers to work concessions; PTO would give 80% of the profits to the Athletics department; PTO would keep 20% for managing the money, purchasing inventory, and providing support.
o The PTO Board met with Trisha Shoemaker, Athletic Director, and discussed a transition plan that would hopefully hand over 80% of the responsibility to the Athletic Director by the end of this year. Trisha reported that she developed a Google document and shared it with all of the athletic coaches, which allows them to sign their program up to provide all of the volunteers needed for a specific event. o Discussion was held as to how we can convey to the parents of the athletic programs, especially off-season programs, to volunteer so we can open for all events. One suggestion was for coaches to make it a mandatory requirement of the parents to volunteer at one event. o Indoor concessions will not be opened for the Volleyball game this Thursday, 9/14, since we do not have the volunteers to support it. Adjourn: The meeting adjourned at 8:02pm.