Montgomery Blair High School PTSA

Minutes of PTSA Meeting --- June 21, 2005

BE SURE TO JOIN THE PTSA--YOUR MEMBERSHIP HELPS BLAIR!

THE NEXT MEETING WILL BE JULY 26, 2005 AT 7:30

23 people were in attendance
Fran Rothstein chaired and opened the meeting.

Minutes were approved unanimously with one correction. Dan Parr was looking into the use of Ride on Buses by students during exam week. The Transportation and Pedestrian Safety committees were to be involved.

TREASURER'S REPORT by Treasurer Sonni Malinoff

Discussion: Sonni is paying the final bills for the past fiscal year. She will present the budget at the next meeting. As of May 31, there was $17,776 in saving and $18,896 in checking with some outstanding bills. Sonni expects to carry over approximately $2446 to the next fiscal year once all the bills are paid. There were some mini-grant checks that were not cashed and Sonni will continue to track down the people who received them.

Individual follow up: Contact Sonni with budget issues.

Slate for Nominating Committee

Announcements: To round out the slate, Deborah Stoll was nominated as Co-President, Ron McClain as Administrative Vice President, Linda Simon and Herb Edelstein as MCCPTA representatives.

Slate was accepted unanimously as follows:

President and Co-President: Fran Rothstein and Deborah Stoll
Administrative Vice President: Ron McClain
Academic Vice President Bonnie Malkin
Secretary: Sara Rosen
MCCPTA Reps Linda Simon and Herb Edelstein

GIFT PRESENTATION TO BETSY SCROGGS--Many thanks for your years of service as President! We look forward to your continuing involvement in other capacities.

PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

1. There will be staff cuts this year. The hope is that as there is evidence of an increase in class size the allotments will be given back.
2. Right now the 9th grade numbers are a little over projection. Sally Taber offered that 500 9th graders were to come in with choice and another 175 with the Math and Science Magnet and Communications Arts Program

3. Graduation Location : A week before graduation Superintendent Weast's office called to say that the location needed to be changed but reason prevailed and it remained at the Jericho City of Praise Church. Next year the Equestrian Center has been booked for graduation. Fran Rothstein has been compiling comments from the listserv. The MCPS Policy f or graduation is: MCPS secures DAR Constitution Hall for all the high schools in the county. From the outset this facility is too small for Blair. If a high school wants to go elsewhere, they can and MCPS gives them a budge of $1500 to do it. No matter where Blair goes, they need a minimum of approximately 700 seats for the graduates and 1400 for their parents or guardians and this does not even put grandparents or siblings into the equation.

Individual Follow Up:

1. There are 3 suggestions--a petition, form an organization, or counter sue (but there has been no suit so far, just a request.) In addition rising seniors need to advocate for the venue of their choice through the SGA and and senior class.
2. PLEASE WRITE THE SCHOOL BOARD ABOUT THIS ISSUE. No law suit was threatened--a request to cover all religious icons and have no religious invocation was made by the Organization of the Separation of Church and State. All of these requests have been fulfilled already.

DISCUSSION: Someone needs to be in charge of issues as they come up and post guidelines for how to move opinion.

3 of Principal's Report Marsha Johnson from Prince George's County's Northwestern High School has been appointed Head of the Guidance and Resources.
4. President Bush will be visiting in a few days JUne 23rd and MCPS has been sending people to do some fixing up.
5. Dr. Andrew Coleman has been named new Assistant Principal for the 9th grade. He comes to us from Churchill.

Brainstorming session:

What went well in 2004-5

1. There was marked progress in Communication with the school. Both Linda Wanner and Pat Hurley, vice principals, helped keep the lines of communication open for sharing information. Many thanks to them!!!
2. The Blazer looked good and was very informative
3. The student intern with the Counseling Office organized Latino parents especially the senior parents. It was helpful and she was missed once she was finished with her internship.
4. Staff appreciation events were great and much appreciated by the staff.
5. The mini grants were applied for and appreciated by the staff. The hope is that more can be offerred in the future.

Things to Improve on

1. There was not enough coordination and communication around the calendar. There seems to be some confusion about who is in charge of calendar issues and who is allowed where.
2. Some people felt that there was a lack of publicity for Blair Fair.
3. There is a need to have the Blazer translated into Spanish. This would make it more user friendly for the Latino community.
4. 9th grade registration needs some streamlining. It was suggested that the procedure stay the same from year to year despite personnel changes.
5. Back to School Night should focus on membership rather than fundraising.
6. After Prom needs some ideas on how to get volunteers. The Prom will be on May 6th next year.

Discussion: There is some simultaneous translation equipment that some schools have.

Individual follow up: David Ottalini will speak with Lynn Grasso and Rose Sanchez about money for these machines at Blair.


Cluster Report

1. The Capital Improvement Program is on the table and the cluster is putting together a letter about its position.

Individual Follow up: Ray Scanell will take care of following the letter on behalf of Blair

Newsletter Request

Suzanne Jacaloan of the Special Education Department is requesting that $400 be made a line item on the PTSA's budget to cover postage for a newsletter that goes to all special education families. The newsletter's aim is to improve communications with Transition Families to help them prepare their children for the world of work, advanced study, etc.

Membership Committee Carolyn Packer Henreich

1. The committee hopes to increase incentives. Right now a member gets a t-shirt if they donate $50 which includes membership dues. Presently there is also a ticket incentive. The committee will report back to the PTSA about their decisions.

Sex Education Committee Carolyn Packer Henreich

1. Right now the committee is trying to determine what the best thing to do it.

Fran Rothstein encouraged parents to join staff committees. Contact Lisa Hack in the Media Center

New Business

1. New Marquee will be installed by the end of May
2. Right now parent feedback on teachers is being collected. The next step is to figure out what to do with it.
3. Parent Handbook and Student Handbook need some direction.
4. The new principal coffees have not been well attended.

The July 26th meeting will focus on budget, calendar and membership issues. Please come and give the group your input!

 

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