PiE Meeting 12/7/10

PIE Meeting
December 7, 2010

In attendance:
Kate Dodge (co-facilitator), Heather Way, Steve Hyde, Jenny Cianciola, (music teacher), Ann Thomas, Lisa Falcone, Bob Goodreau, Ali Douglas, Elisabeth Garvey, Alyssa Lasher, Patty Drew, Jen Prue, Kelli Brown

1. Gathering and introductions
2. Review of Agenda
o Giving Tree
o PIE open house table
o List of initiatives
o School Budget
o PIE Finance Decision process
o Communications
o Approve By Laws
o Roles filled and confirmed

3. Giving Tree: Emily (8th grader at HCS) from 6,7,8 student council spoke to group about benefit for Hinesburg children. To sign up slips are available on the HCS website and at the office. Form can be completed on-line. Dec10 information will be distributed in a confidential manner about the profile of the child (age, gender, holiday wish/need). Gifts need to be in by 12/17. Student council will be wrapping gifts and distributing them. Students benefiting from this will be kept confidential. The hope is 1-2 gifts will be gathered for each student. Please fill out forms (paper or on-line) if you are interested. A poster will be made available for the Open House to promote the project. Candy cane and candy coin sale is also going on: proceeds to benefit the Giving Tree Project. They will be delivered the day before the holiday break.

4. Open House:

• Table will be set up in the hallway to promote the group. PR board has been created. Magnets done (thanks Lindsy and Matt for the logo!!)
• Main goal of the table is to communicate to parents of the school what PIE is and ideas about how they can get involved.
• Parents will be able to sign on for initiatives that they have gifts and talents and interest in supporting.
• Patty, Elisabeth, Steve have all agreed to be available at the table during the open house.
• Bob agreed to help provide a table, 2 chairs, an easel and pens available around 4:45 pm for the PIE table(prior to the Spaghetti dinner)
• Brochure is completed, but it has not yet been printed. Patty will finish the brochure and have it available before the dinner.

5. Initiatives

• A list of proposed initiatives include:
• Completion of Playground Project
• School nutrition
• Enrichment Programs
• Math transition (Bridges)
• Staff appreciation, K-4 Drama/play
• Parenting programs
• Parent Advisory
• Four Winds
• Athletic Fields
• “Green Team”
• Welcoming committee for Kindergarten/new to HCS parents
• Parent responses will be reviewed at the next PIE meeting and point people will be identified for each group (for those initiatives with enough people to support the effort).
• Data collected from the initiative sign ups will also help drive the priorities for the following year.

6. Budget (presented by Lisa Falcone and Bob Goodreau)

• Challenge for Change number is approximately $379, 000.
• Draft handouts were distributed to showing enrollment projections and budget reductions scenarios.
• The school board has established classroom size guidelines. K-3rd grade should have an average class size of 20, and grades 4-8 should have an average class size of 25 students. These guidelines and projected student employment help project staffing needs.
• The reductions that have been presented to the board to date, have approximately $282, 000 in cuts ($100,000 short of the goal reduction).
• Sue Hoeppner has gathered the information received from the parent outreach for Challenge for Change responses into a single document. The school board has this document and is currently reviewing it.
• Any more ideas for consideration can be sent to the school board via the school’s web site.

7. PIE Financial Decision Process

• When HCS stopped having a formal PTO, the saving account check book went back to the school. Heather Way has contact numbers for Cynthia and Susan and will be getting that information for PIE to utilize re: funds available.
• At the moment, there is no active fundraising going on. Jen proposed that the group define how to raise money and how to makes these funds available.
• In the past, the PTO had a form available to teachers to request funds. Decisions were made based on the PTO members present. September’s fundraising went directly to the teachers (based on what students raised from their homeroom). Book Fair money went to the playground effort.
• Bob suggested hosting a broader conversation about the level of fund raising wanted/needed by the school community. The PIE initiative board may help share where interests lie in this area. Currently fund-raisers have been narrowed to a few school-wide efforts. Other in-house efforts (student council, etc) may occur, but are on a smaller scale and student-led.
• Creating a master fund raising calendar may be a good idea in spreading out the financial requests being made from students/parents throughout the year.
• Lisa shared that auditors (on a state level) also prefer to see a separation and protocol from PIE like organizations.
• Money revenue ideas shared included a variety show and a ½ day program (on a ½ day having a program after school to attend run with small groups run by parents).
• Action steps to address this area include:
• Collecting data/interest from the Open House (put price tags on the top initiatives)
• Look at fundraising calendar (school wide to establish school-wide bake sales and name opportunities for smaller sales throughout the year…if wanted)
• Establish goals and protocols for fundraising.

8. Next Agenda items

• Look at initiative idea information from open house night.
• Fund raising conversation
• Communication (who’s doing what in organizing blog and webpage)
• Approve by laws
• How can parent representatives share information with other grade level parents?
• Play ground: Phase 2 ($40, 000 left to go) Heather to get latest balance from the old PTO funds and will share balance at the next meeting. New playground items will attach to the main structure or be free standing.
• Next PIE meeting is slated for January 4th at 6 pm .

9. Action items

• Patty will finish the brochure and Elisabeth will set up the table for tomorrow night’s Open House.
• Heather will get financial information from outgoing PTO bank accounts. She will also ask Susan Able to gather remaining playground plans and ordering information.
• Baker for the January meeting is Jen (thank you in advance!)