Montgomery Blair High School PTSA

Minutes of PTSA Board of Directors Meeting --- August 20, 2007

August 20, 2007

Present: Debra Reed-Gillette, Bob Gillette, Beth Martin, Dave Ottalini, Nancy Newton, Patsy Hedrick, Carol Smalls, Carol Muskin, Rosanne Hurwitz, Linda Kahn, Angela Botzer, Howard Kohn, George Slenkovich

Facilitator: Dave Ottalini
Time Keeper: Bob Gillette
Recorder: Debra Reed-Gillette

Dave called the meeting to order at 7:15pm.

All members are reminded to CLEARLY print their name on the sign-in sheet for each meeting.

The minutes for the July BoD meeting were approved with amendments.
Corrections: Nancy Newton agreed to work with Carol Muskin on the display board showing how the PTSA money is spent each year.

Treasurer's Report: A discussion of budget changes and budget planning occurred. It was determined that Blazer funding should be increase due to postage rate increases. Silent Auction income will be reduced given
continued decline in those revenues. It was discussed that we would defer support of the Blair Academies until spring, depending upon the health of the budget and revenues at that time. Nancy discussed the costs of using
ACTEVA and the use of credit cards for the memberships at BTSN (Back to School Night) and the Citrus Fundraiser. Because of the cost of the services it was voted that we would NOT use ACTEVA or credit cards for memberships but would continue using ACTEVA for the Citrus Fundraiser. Barry will be asked to investigate how we could show the services charges on the on-line form so that we could recoup some of those losses for the on-line purchases, similar to on-line ticket sales services.

President's Report: Dave has ordered the vinyl banners for hanging at Blair for BTSN and other functions where the PTSA will be present. Two phone lines have been ordered by Mr. Funk. Dave is looking for 2 inexpensive answering machines where announcements, InfoFlow, and Emergency information can be played as an out-going message in both English and Spanish in a continued effort to improve communication within the school. The PTSA is supporting two breakfasts for teachers, one on Monday with funds ($200) from the staff appreciation budget, the other, on Friday, with food donations.
Look for requests for food on the ListServe.

All PTSA chairpersons and contact should review the information posted by Barry on the list serve to make sure that their contact information is correct.

The PTSA is investigating providing refrigerator magnets with all MBHS phone numbers on them for parents at BTSN. This may be provided as a service rather than as a purchase item.

Blair is currently undergoing its Middle States Accreditation and will be visited by the committee in December. Look for information about Blair's mission statement and goals soon in print, on the web, and on the listserve.

Tomorrow evening is our Meet and Greet Fundraiser for After Prom at El Golfo. Come and meet new Principal Williams and also generate revenue for After Prom on Tuesday, August 21.

BTSN activities will include greeting parents and handing out flyers and maps of the school and staffing the membership tables. Deborah Stoll has gotten a cadre of alumni parents to help out. We will have tables and
greeters at both ends of the building - the SAC and Blair Blvd near the offices.

It is projected that we will have approximately 2800 students. Passing time has been reduced to 6 minutes to allow for advisory time at regular intervals throughout the year to help in tracking student progress.

A new project can be started by interested parents. Lost & Found and Locker Cleanout result in many unclaimed items each year. These items are currently thrown in the trash at the end of the year. Someone is needed to clean, sort, and donate these items to Goodwill, Purple Heart, or another service organization.

Mini-Grants: The applications for minigrants will be earlier this year - September 28. $10,000 is in the budget this year. Last year we had $30,000 in requests and funded all requests at partial amounts. It was determined
that this was probably not the best solution as many of the grantees could not use the partial funding to implement anything and needed to wait additional funding. It was determined that this year we would fully fund
requests. Forms are available for staff, clubs, the community and other interested parties on-line. Forms will be handed out to staff tomorrow.

Painless Fundraising: Look for information soon on the listserve about the eScrip 10% summer savings. Giant will be opening their program soon. Look for information on Office Depot, Sniders, Giant, and eScrip, as well as other opportunities on the ListServe as they gear up this fall.

Blair Sports Academy (BSA): Howard Kohn and Ron McClain are here again this year as liaisons with BSA. One goal, again, is to have an academic focus all year, not just during HSAs.

Pedestrian Safety: Currently the lights at the beltway crosswalk near the YMCA on route 29 are out. A call has been made to the County and State. A new light was installed on University Blvd where two exit ramps have combined to create one exit ramp. Individuals will now be able to travel east or west when making the exit. The other exit has been closed and a new sidewalk is being installed. Student drop-off will continue on both the University and Colesville sides of the building. Look for signs and traffic direction from staff.

Dates to remember:
* August 21: El Golfo Meet and Greet for Principal Williams 5-10 pm
* August 23: Freshman Orientation
* August 27: 1st Day of school for Freshman
* August 28: First Day of school for all grades
* September 6: BTSN
* September 10: PTSA BoD Meeting 7:30 pm in the Staff Lounge
* September 18: PTSA Membership Meeting 7:30 pm Media Center
* September 28: MiniGrant Application Deadline