11/15/2023

This is a meeting summary. All members are entitled to review the official minutes, but they are not posted online in order to protect the privacy of our members and the PTA's internal discussions. Please contact the PS 111 PTA Board to request meeting minutes.

  • Meeting Type: General Membership
  • Call to Order: 6:33 pm
  • Called to Order by: Caitlin Canfield, President
  • Meeting Adjounment: 7:37 pm
  • Attendance: 35

Board Members in Attendance

  • Caitlin Canfield
  • Sally Atkinson
  • Christopher Canfield
  • Ana Kostic
  • Thu-Loan Dinh
  • Sonali Khandwala
  • Maria Messer
  • Negesti Thompson

School Staff in Attendance

  • Edward Gilligan, Principal
  • Gloria Jean-Bernal, Parent Coordinator

Agenda

  • Updates from Principal Gilligan
  • Approval of October 2023 minutes
  • Treasurer's Report
  • SLT Expedited Election
  • Call for Volunteers
  • Upcoming Family Engagement Event
  • New PTA Website
  • Parent Q&A

Motions & Votes

Title Summary Result
Approval of October 2023 Minutes The October 2023 Minutes are approved. Approved on Motion
Excess Reserves into CDs In order to secure a better return, the Treasurer would like to move a portion of excess reserves into three CDs at the Bank the PTA uses for its savings account. Approved by Vote
Reduce Insurance Appropriation The Treasurer would like to reduce the insurance appropriation in the budget to match the actual amount that it will cost. Approved by Vote
Approval to use electronic payment method The Board requests approval to use eletronic funds transfer (EFT) to pay for the PTA's insurance, up to the amended appropriation. EFTs are more secure than sending checks through mail, as EFTs cannot be intercepted and washed. NYC DOE regulations require membership approvals for all uses of electronic payment methods. Approved by Vote
Increase financial fees to $700 The Treasurer requests an increase of the financial fees expense in the budget to $700. This increase is needed because (1) certain financial fees were netted against income last year, and weren't properly accounted for, and (2) the Treasurer may need to pay up to $72 to get one year of missing account statements for a closed account, which must be reviewed. Approved by Vote
Expedited SLT Election Amy Parker nominated for SLT seat. Elected by Vote

Summary

Principal Gilligan

  • Improved rankings in US News and World Report and Public Schools Review.
  • Principal Gilligan discussed family survey results; overall positive, but families looking for more variety of programs/classes/activities, and more communication from teachers.
  • Parent Q: can we gather results on how our children compare to other schools? Principal Gilligan showed the school performance dashboard where these results are available.
  • Additional programs will begin in mid-December or early January, and KING recess support will start in December.
  • Winter Wonderland event will be returning this year, for first time since 2019!
  • Pre-K through 2nd would have a winter concert on 12/20, and that there would be a mini-concert/sing-a-long for all grades on 12/22 - parent volunteers will be needed.

Treasurer's Report

  • Presented by Christopher Canfield, Co-Treasurer
  • Covered 10/18/2023 through 11/15/2023
  • Krispy Kreme fundraiser was a huge success, raising $1980!
  • Individual donations are on track with projections, thank you!
  • Treasurer continues to not have access to an account that is needed for our financial review and the IRS Form 990.
  • Permission received by IRS to delay Form 990 filing by up to six months.

Proposed bylaw change

  • Reduce quorum for board meetings to 50%, from 50% + 1, to ensure that the board is able to complete its work.

PTA Website

  • The PTA has a new website!
  • Previous website went offline in Spring 2023, because hosting was not paid.
  • Could not reuse previous website, as it was a Weebly site.
  • New site created by Christopher Canfield, Co-Treasurer.
  • Hosting and domain costs donated. Will likely eventually cost ~$70 per year.
  • Designed to conform to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 Level AA, which exceeds the DOE's requirements for its websites (we don't need to follow DOE accessibility requirements, but it is the right thing to do). In the process of being certified.

Parent Q&A

  • Parent suggested raffle as a fundraiser. Will look into this.