September 11, 2007 Executive Board Meeting

Respectfully Submitted

Attendance: Jennifer Arrogancia, Cathy Berger, Kevin Burns, Laura Cole, Lindsay Conboy, Susan Deise, Amy Elbers, Anne Ertel, Robin Evans, Cathi Forbes, Beth Foster, Aimee Grable, Jennifer Helfrich, Andrea Hodge, Lea Ann Howard, Sue Parts, Lisa Pyle, Michele Rowland.

Jennifer Helfrich called the meeting to order at 7:10pm. Introductions were made, and as there are no changes to the minutes from the August 28th General Meeting, they will be published as written.

President’s Report: Jennifer stated that our PTA Bylaws have been approved and are in the new format required by the state. A mandatory change in the Bylaws is the former “Executive Board” is now called the “Board Of Directors” and consists of all the PTA Officers (President, VP of Volunteers, VP of Chairmen, VP of Programs, Treasurer, Recording Secretary and Corresponding Secretary), along with the RFES Principal and an appointed Faculty Member. PTA Committee Chairpersons and PTA Coordinators are not part of the Board Of Directors but are represented therein by their respective Vice Presidents. The coordination between the committees and Vice Presidents is detailed in the PTA’s revised Standing Rules, which Jennifer will be distributing. An important item in the Standing Rules is that any committee that wants money must have a Plan Of Work submitted to and approved by the Board Of Directors. Committees that need funds before October of the next school year (such as the Ice Cream Social for Sept. 2008) must have their Plan Of Work approved before, or at, the last Board Of Directors Meeting of the 2007/2008 school year (Tues. June 3, 2008). The Standing Rules also outline the responsibilities of committees. Jennifer also said the PTA calendar will be posted to the PTA website.

Treasurer’s Report: Lea Ann Howard distributed the Treasurer’s Report for the month of September. She pointed out that the PTA’s expenses are increasing this year due to the increase in the number of both students and the number of Before And After School Clubs provided. It is important for committees which need funds before October of next school year to get their Plan Of Work approved before the last Board Of Directors Meeting of this school year to ensure that those funds are set aside. Lea Ann asked how PTA dues and insurance are handled. Cathy Berger and Jennifer verified that our PTA is billed once per month for dues, and we pay for as many memberships as we issue. We will be sent a bill for our insurance, which is due in March. The items are outlined in Susan Drake’s Plan of Work for the Membership Committee. Lea Ann said that the Ice Cream Social was a big success, collecting close to $2,000. Anne Ertel, Michele Rowland and Cathy Berger will discuss the budget for Generations Day.

Vice President of Volunteer’s Report: Lindsay Conboy distributed At Home Volunteer Time Sheets for keeping track of hours spent outside of school. If you need volunteers, please give Lindsay two weeks’ notice, if possible, to line up help for you. Lindsay will be getting a new email address, which she will share with everyone, and will be out for surgery on her foot October 12th. Her recovery will require one to three weeks. Lindsay made a request that if your committee does not currently have a procedure book, which can be turned over to a future chairperson, that you create one. If you are not returning to your current position, please try to find a replacement for yourself. At the December meeting, a nominating committee of three people will be appointed. Names of officer nominees can then be submitted to this committee.

Principal’s Report: Mrs. Deise gave Jennifer a copy of Mother Theresa’s Prayer for her to hand down to the next PTA President. Mrs. Deise thanked the PTA for the handsome new Lobby furniture and Cathy Berger in particular for her hard work in making it all happen. She also thanked the PTA for the Teachers’ Welcome Breakfast, the materials provided for our expanded kindergarten classrooms, and the Ice Cream Social. Mrs. Deise stated that our current enrollment is 628 students. She was pleased to announce that Kate Balsamo (a RFES mom) has joined the school staff as a speech and language pathologist. Mrs. Deise said the school still needs a part time Occupational Therapist.

Committee Reports

Capacity Study: Kevin Burns and Cathi Forbes reported that they, along with Mike Ertel met with Mr. Don Dent, the Executive Director of the Department of Planning, Support and Operations regarding the overcrowding of RFES. While final numbers are not yet available, our school is currently about 240 students over capacity. (Growth projections are typically based on new construction bringing new students to an area, but existing housing turnovers to families with young children have currently brought us to a student population we were not expected to reach until the year 2016). Tues. September 18th at 7:30 in room 114 of the ESS Building, the Board of Education will present both its short-term and long-term solutions to the issue. The short-term capital project would occur in 1-2 years (being implemented for the 2008/2009 school year), and the long-term capital project would occur in 3-4 years. The office of the County Executive is aware of the proposal, and the funding is available for the projects. Our local legislators, Susan Aumann, Jim Brochin, Bill Frank, Vince Gardina, and Steve Lafferty are all supportive of the proposal. Mrs. Deise and the committee report that the Strategic Planning Office is very pleased with the constructive, well-informed approach the Rodgers Forge School Community has taken regarding our growth. The School Board will be scheduling an open meeting in November with the families of RFES where they will take questions from parents about the proposed solutions. The Board is also aware that the school has current issues such as cafeteria and bathroom capacities as well security. Cathi said The Capacity Study Committee will be kept in the loop and will have a say in what happens. Mrs. Deise pointed out the foresight provided to her on this issue years ago by Mike Ertel who anticipated this tremendous growth.

Committee Plans of Work

Hospitality: The Hospitality Committee’s Plan of Work proposed a budget of $1,100. The budget approved at the General Membership meeting shows $800 budgeted for this committee. The Plan of Work was changed to $800 and initialed by Anne Ertel. Anne will verify requirements for Generations Day. The Plan of Work was voted upon and approved.

Ice Cream Social: As no bill has been received yet from Uncle Wiggly’s, Jennifer wrote the amount approved in the budget, $600, on the Plan of Work. It was voted upon and approved.

Before And After School Clubs: Cathy Berger’s Plan of Work requests $4,300 (as approved in this year’s budget) to conduct a total of 8 clubs (4 in the fall, 4 in the spring) this year. Costs include teacher stipends, supplies and expenses. The Plan was voted upon and approved.

Membership: Susan Drake’s Plan of Work requests $20 for postage and anticipates a net income of approximately $1,240. The Plan was voted upon and approved.

Health and Safety: Sarah Achenbach and Krista Collier’s Plan of Work requesting $1,200 was over the budgeted amount of $1,000. After some discussion, Jennifer revised the amount allotted to the 4th Grade Health Club from $300 to $200, and the amount allotted to the 5th Grade Health Club from $200 to $100. The Health Expo in March is to remain at $600. The content of the new 5th Grade Health Club will need to be written as an addendum to this Plan of Work. The plan submitted with the idea to focus on emotional health issues could conflict with Baltimore County Guidelines, and our overstretched School Counselor would not have the ability to provide all the guidance to keep us compliant. Jennifer suggested the 5th Grade club focus on physical wellness. The Plan was voted upon and approved.

Jennifer called for a vote to extend the meeting by five minutes in order to complete the Plans Of Work. The extension was approved.

Teacher Appreciation: The committee’s plan, with a budget of $400 was voted upon and approved.

Back To School: The committee’s plan, with a budget of $1,300 was voted upon and approved.

Buzz Book: The committee’s plan with a budget of $1,300 was voted upon and approved.

Spirit: The committee’s plan with a budget of $4,500 was voted upon and approved.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 pm.

Announcements: Tues. Sept. 18th Bd. of Ed. Mtg. regarding overcapacity 7:30 pm. ESS Bldg. Rm.114

Tues. Oct. 9th Program 6:30 pm./General Meeting 7:30 pm.