Meeting was called to order by Heather

Southern Boone County PTA Meeting Minutes
February, 2008

Meeting was called to order by the President, Heather Miles-Mange.

1. Discussion regarding increased involvement of fathers in the educational process and in PTA. Handed out materials regarding the Dads of Great Students (DOGS) program. This is a national program which places dad volunteers in the school to ensure safety of provide role models to the kids. Mr. Salmons also handed out information regarding the importance of the involvement of fathers in the educational process. Basically the men present stated that men prefer to show involvement by participating in very specific activities or projects rather than attending meetings. Suggestions were made to hold events like father/daughter banquets, Dads and Dominoes (very successful event already held), a sports field day and a PTA sponsored trip to a MIZZOU sporting event. Other suggestions were to recognize a dad who has been very involved and celebrate “Families at School” week.
Next Steps:

a. The principles will provide a list of dads who are already very involved who may be interested in participating in DOGS. They will also provide a list of duties they feel dads could assist with. Mr. Simpson suggested getting a small cadre of dads together first and then building on this success towards “bigger things”.

b. Jennifer will get names of people to participate in a conference call re: the DOGS program. She will send conference call information out to those interested.

c. Keith Grabner will check on information re: a MIZZOU sporting event we could sponsor: Many people mentioned baseball may be fun.

2. Minutes were distributed by Nancy. Lana made a motion to accept them as written, Jennifer seconded, motion carried.

3. Amy reviewed the budget. Amy also informed members that SOBOCO PTA had received a “HUGS” postcard from State that recognized us for sending in membership information promptly.

4. Teacher Appreciation: Nancy described staff appreciation activities. There was discussion re: some individuals being forgotten during the holidays. Nancy informed membership that there were plenty of holiday gift cards, but there was confusion regarding who was to distribute to whom. This has been resolved and adjustments made so the appreciation items for Feb should be distributed to everyone.

5. By-LAWS: The bylaws were revised by Heather and Nancy. There was question re: charging only 10.00 for a business membership. It was decided to leave as is for now and re-visit at a later time. They are due to the State organization by 3/14.

6. Transportation: There have been a few issues regarding bus transportation. Mr. Salmons requested that anyone who has issues with the buses contact him. Mr. Salmons distributed a handout regarding protocol for schedule changes. Members were encouraged to sign up for e-mail / text message notifications of cancellations. We will add this to the newsletter as well and ask Bruce to promote this in the paper. The bus drivers have begun to receive information from the principles about positive behavior support and have been informed to notify the principles if they have behavioral concerns. They have expanded the “Caught Being Good” project to the buses for the smaller kids who are excited about this new opportunity for praise.

7. Fund Raising: Amy Collette continues to send in Mosers and Box Tops. We are getting about 600.00 a month from Mosers! Heather has asked the membership to consider doing a “Back to School” fundraiser at Ci-Ci’s Pizza in Columbia for next year. Ci-Ci’s would designate 1 night as SOBOCO night and a certain percentage of all sales would go to us. We also discussed potentially having an outdoor movie night next summer.

8. Legislative Updates. Individuals interested in getting on a legislative update listserve should contact Jenny. The issue regarding Tax Vouchers for private schools has been raised again. There is also a bill pending regarding liability protection for school administrators who want to provide information regarding employees to new places of employment.

9. March Meeting: The March Meeting will be held 3/11/08 at the Primary School in the music room. It will begin at 6:30. It will feature a presentation by Charlotte Miller re: the upcoming bond issue on the April ballot. Mr Salmons is also looking for volunteers to help with promoting the district’s plan. School Board Candidates will also be invited to the March Meeting and will have a chance to introduce themselves, briefly state the issues they think are important, and field questions. We will not have a business meeting.

10. A planning meeting for the April Carnival will take place on Tuesday Feb 26 at 6 pm at Pizza Haus.

11. Jenny made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Lana seconded. Motion passed.