The February School Board report was submitted to the PTO by Karen Wise.

Rumor Clarification  about Professional Development Time :   At a previous Board meeting, we had a presentation from a committee that studied Professional Development options.  An article in the local paper followed that meeting and did not make it clear that different scenarios presented were possible options and not voted changes. A change or increase to Professional Development time-frame has NOT been formally recommended by the Superintendent, therefore, no action has been taken by the Board for implementation. There will be more information from the committee presented at the the Feb. 22nd meeting of the Board of Education.
Kindergarten Up-Date: - House Bill 30 (Gardiner-R) which is design to abolish the all day kindergarten mandate is scheduled to be voted on in the House of Representative Weds. Feb. 16th. It is expect to pass the House and move into the Senate where hopefully it will also pass and we can make solid plans regarding our Kindergarten Program for next year.  (Note at publication:  Bill was passed by the House 2-16, introduced in Senate 2-17.)
Technology Program: At the past Board meeting, we engaged in a interactive demonstration with students K-3 using iPod Touch devices with Math and Spelling applications. It was informative and very entertaining! Special Ed. Teacher Mr. Lathrop demonstrated how he uses the ipods for speech lessons with his students. The Board also met a number of very talented 6th graders that shared how they are using netbooks in the 6th grade pilot program. I can confidently say that the district money spent in Technology is money well spent and has gone beyond all expectations for staff and students.

In attendance:  Board – Julie Andrews, Katherine Collins, Angie DeBernardo, Lisa Fredrickson, Beth Judge, Gwenn Klose, Gigi Kuper-Lewis, Maggie Kwasny, Laurie McCormack, Meg Nachtwey, Liz O’Neil, Franny Ross, Alissa Stinson   Guests – Rick Bondy, Cindy Dean, Rachel Gebler, Bill Koons, Steve Thompson, Bill Koons

The meeting was called to order at 7:35pm by Gwenn Klose.

Secretary’s Report-Beth Judge

• Shared thank you notes.
• Thanks for prompt reports from presenters before meeting.

Treasurer’s Report – Katherine Collins

• Monthly financial report (click to download)

First Vice President’s Report – Gigi Kuper-Lewis

Membership:

Total membership : 350

Total gold membership : 59

Total $ deposited : $7364

Total staff/teachers : 83

Calendars :

Fireside – 229

Heinens – 80

Walk thrus – 108

Meet the teams – 7

Open Houses – 49

Soccer – 2

HS Bookstore – 17

Pupil Services – 5

MS – 2

New Parent Tea – 2

Bus Garage (1/2 price ) – 28

Total sold – 529

*Started with 1008 calendars, were charged for 1000 (7 were defects)

*sold 501 at full price

* 28 at ½ price

* gave away 240 comps

* 237 are left

*** total should be approx. $5150

Second Vice President’s Report -  Meg Nachtwey

Financial Vice President’s Report – Laurie McCormack

• School Supplies – We received rebate check for $2,253.
  • Shopping Credit Programs –

o   We have 323 families registered for GE (291 registered last year)

o   Heinen’s will not release 1st round of numbers until November.

o   Announcement is approved and submitted to district and all schools for web pages and newsletters.

o   Boosters and after prom committee sent out eblasts to their members.

o   Will send out eblast to PTO membership.

• Fundraising –

o   Gross receipts for fundraiser are $39,345 plus online Cherrydale orders to date of $1,219 totaling $40,564.

o   Cherrydale online ordering goes through December.  This will be advertised in each Newsletter and on the website.

o   Pick up is November 10^th from 2-8 in the Rec.

o   We will be getting $800 check from our Otis rep to cover the prizes that we bought.

• Grants – We received 7 requests this month.  1 HS and 6 Gurney.

Comments and Discussion

• Grants

o   PTO policy: no funding of field trip grant requests.  However, Gwenn noted funding exists for a student(s) in need if requested.

o   Gwenn noted submitted grants should be considered as a whole, before approving individual less than $500.  This is particularly important for repeat requests, which, perhaps, should be considered as school budget line item, such as field trips.

• PTO website

o   Contain only PTO related items, but the school calendar is included.

o   Angie noted PTO email membership list is a great tool for PTO marketing purposes.

o   Procedures and guidelines for utilizing the PTO email membership list are being developed.

• The efficacy of PTO General Meetings, due to repeat low attendance of the membership, was discussed. Options are being investigated so as to match the annual trend of low attendance and realities of the digital age, which makes physical presence significantly less important.

Meeting adjourned at 9:15pm.

Minutes approved via email by Gwenn Klose and Maggie Kwasny.

Chagrin Falls has held on to the Excellent with Distinction rating despite tougher standards.

School District News

The District Report was presented by Superintendent Steve Thompson.

Click to download the October District E-Blast (137).

• Chagrin Falls School District enjoys a long history of excellence.  This year was no exception.  For the tenth consecutive year, we received the highest rating possible in the State of Ohio – Excellent with Distinction, meeting all 30 standards on the state report card.  For the third year in a row, we also met another tough standard, “value-added”, which measures whether at least a year’s worth of expected growth has been achieved by each student in grades 4 through 8. (For a decent description of “value added”, see this site. )

• Our overall performance index score on the District Report Card was 108.1 up from last year’s 107; our mean ACT composite score was 25.8 and mean SAT scores in reading, math and writing were 576, 605, and 572 respectively ranking # 1 in Northeast Ohio.

• The Board and Administration continue to be fiscally conservative in all areas of operating our district and again came in under budget this year.  As the economic crisis in our country continues, everyone is faced with difficult financial decisions. Our schools are not exempt from these challenges. However, despite these economic conditions, I’m pleased to announce that the expected spring 2011 general operating levy be delayed for at least one year. We believe that this delay will not adversely impact the quality of education offered to the students of the district. Based on current financial projections, we anticipate being on the ballot in the spring of 2012.

• The extension of the levy cycle has been achieved due to the hard work and dedication of the entire Chagrin Falls School District staff, Board of Education, and both the teachers and non-certified staff unions. The ability to extend the levy cycle has been made possible due to budget changes. Examples of these changes can be seen in the following areas:

• Staffing
  Staff reductions were made in 2007. Since that time, we have been able to reallocate resources and hire new staff while continuing our traditional level of academic excellence.  Since these staffing changes were implemented, the Chagrin Falls School District has earned the following honors:

1.     Excellent with Distinction rating on the Ohio Report Card for 4 consecutive years (2007-2010) (View the the full report.)

2.     The Intermediate School (2009) and the Middle School (2010) were each recognized as National Blue Ribbon Award schools. The federal award is the highest recognition a public school can receive.

• Energy Conservation
  Implementation of an energy conservation plan which includes computer controls on all HVAC systems, and new guidelines which require custodians to turn off all unnecessary lights at 3:00 p.m.  every school day have proven effective.
• Maximized Grant Opportunities
  A memorandum of understanding was submitted between the teachers union (CFEA), the administration, and Board of Education to participate in the Race to the Top grant program. As a result of this collaboration, the Chagrin Falls School District was awarded $100,000 in federal funding.
• Budget Cuts
  The technology budget was reduced by $85,000 entering the current fiscal year. (See explanation in the October District E-Blast (137).)
• Union Concessions
  OAPSE (the union that represents non-certified staff) voluntarily changed their health insurance coverage which has benefited the school district with a net annual savings of $23,000 per year.

The Chagrin Falls School District’s entire staff and Board of Education will continue to diligently weigh each fiscal decision in order to continue these successful outcomes.

School Board News

The School Board report was presented by Liz O’Neil.

• Board agreed with the Superintendent’s recommendation at October 18 Board meeting that the expected spring 2011 general operating levy be delayed for at least one year. Based on current financial projections, we anticipate being on the ballot in the spring of 2012.

• The extension of the levy cycle has been achieved due to the hard work and dedication of the entire Chagrin Falls School District staff, Board of Education, and both the teachers and noncertified staff unions.

• We are thankful to the OAPSE membership for their voluntary decision to make an insurance coverage change to help the Chagrin Falls School District save money. It’s estimated that this change will save the district about $23,000 per year.

A new garden in the CFHS Commons courtyard.

Click to download the September 10 District Newsblast (78) sent by the District.

The Board of Education’s Report was presented by  Karen Penler.

• The District earned an Excellence with Distinction on the State Report Card this past summer (view the district report card by clicking here.) Value added component was met.
• Reports by grade detail are available via Chagrin Falls Board of Education.
• Goal: Improve Student Learning:  Passage rate (3 and above) on AP test scores have dropped from 80% to 74%.  Board of Ed has asked High School to evaluate this drop.
• HB264 – $1.2M bond initiative with debt repayment achieved through energy savings.  Retrofitting lights in buildings and boiler in Intermediate School.  (HB 264 information at this site.)
• New Learning Center in High School Upper Library
• Board retreat in October – will discuss next levy cycle.

All our sports teams are doing well this season despite a rash of injuries. Thanks to the cheerleaders for all the clever "cup signs" on the school fence!

The Administration’s Report was presented by Charlie Barch (Athletics) and Kurt Gabram (Business Manager).

Charlie Barch:

• Charlie is new athletic director – worked at Notre Dame College for 6 years before coming to Chagrin Falls as the associate athletic director. I also worked one year at Brush High School as the faculty manager. I am very glad to be at Chagrin, it is a great community with many great support organizations. I look forward to having a great year.
• Team Updates- Teams are doing great, the girls cross country team just won the Ray Sweeny Invitational. The golf team is undefeated in match play. The girl’s tennis team is 7-1 and off to a terrific start. Football is 3-0 and the volleyball team went 2-1 at the Rocky River Invitation this past weekend. Both soccer teams are off to a good start.
• Weekly Varsity Home Contests- boys golf plays Aurora at home on Wednesday along with Volleyball playing Perry at home on Wednesday. The football team hosts Aurora on Thursday.
• Misc Updates-
  • The football game will be broadcast live via the internet on sportstalkcleveland.com. This same website will be hosting a high school sports show at the new Panini’s in Chagrin Falls.
  • New Hire – girl’s lacrosse coach KC White. She was the assistant lacrosse coach last year.
  • Volleyball and girls soccer team are working with Darby O’Brien and Kristin Weitzel to have a “Network of Strength” week (1^st week in October). This week we will be raising funds to support a group that helps raise money for breast cancer support groups. It is different from Susan G Komen because it is not for research, but support for breast cancer survivors and/or patients. The website for the group is www.networkofstrength.org.   Team and Athletic Dept selling pink tee-shirts with the groups logo on it. Everyone who comes to either the volleyball match (10-7) or the girl’s soccer match (10-5) will get in free with their pink shirt. We will be trying to have a “pink out” similar to some school white out (everyone wears a white tee shirt) for each event. I attached a flyer that has when and where the tee shirts will be sold. (More information and flyer available for download here.)

Kurt Gabram:

• Ben Needham was hired to manage the PAC. Ben has a long resume in the area of set design. Ben will be responsible for scheduling, supervision and upkeep of PAC. He will also be teaching set design and construction for the Academy, and will assist in Chagrin Falls Schools’ productions.
• Marti DeSantis was hired as our food service supervisor. Marti is a registered dietician and has her Master’s Degree from Case Western Reserve University. She has been working with an insurance company as a wellness consultant. Marti was a big part of Tuesday’s movement day at the middle school. She worked with students concerning nutrition.

Side by side comparison of the courtyard in front of the High School entrance. The left side is before repair - the right, after. Great job!

• Facilities Update: The HS courtyard has been completely renovated.   This was a project that desperately needed to be done. The new benches, retaining wall and Commons picnic area give the courtyard a very collegiate feel. We also completed the new learning center project.   This is a state of the art facility where we can provide assistance to students that meet many of their learning needs. Our custodians, grounds and maintenance crews did a fabulous job in preparing the buildings for the return of students.
• HB 264 gives us the ability to implement energy conserving upgrades to all of our facilities. The State funds that are used for a house bill come at a 0% interest and the savings generated pay back the loan so there is truly no cost to the tax payer. We are in the process of reviewing the final contract.

District PTO reports were presented by the following officers:

Secretary’s Report – Beth Judge

• Shared thank you notes.
• May 2010 approved minutes on the PTO website. Minutes are approved via email and will post on the web within a week or so of meeting.

Treasurer’s Report – Katherine Collins

• Approval of 2010-2011 budget budget pdf (91) by Meg Nachtwey and Gigi Kuper-Lewis, unanimous by those in attendance.
• Monthly financial report (73) available for download.

First Vice President’s Report – Gigi Kuper-Lewis

• PTO Calendar Sales– Approx. 200 calendars left as of last week.  Approx. same number calendars sold as last year. For next year, we need to evaluate if we want to spend the extra money printing the books with so many pages, tabs, etc. or try to keep the cost down.
• Membership – Gwenn put staff membership envelopes in all the teacher/staff calendars and we haven’t had many teacher join PTO. Anticipate 300 memberships for $5,000 total.
• Website / Publicity – The website looks great.  We asked Angie to please keep only PTO items on the website.  We are no longer going to include other district announcements, events, etc. on the website.
• Welcoming – Many welcoming “teas” were held in the fall to welcome our new families. Gwenn suggested considering revamping welcoming next year due to low new parent attendance.

2^nd Vice President’s Report -  Meg Nachtwey

Responsive Community is no longer an active PTO committee, as Amy Price, the long-time leader is no longer chairing the committee.  In an attempt to keep the movement afloat, Meg will be speaking with the guidance counselors at all of the schools to offer our help and support, and also inform them of the $550 in funds available for responsive community type of programming.  Meg will also work to maintain relationships with groups such as SAY   and CPFY  and offer our support of their programming.

Financial Vice President’s Report – Laurie McCormack

• School Supplies –
  • Gurney

Sold 202 school supply boxes, up from 193 last year.

Sales for Gurney totaled $12,234, up from $10,090 last year.

• Intermediate School

Sold 192 school supply boxes, down from 206 last year.

Sales for the Intermediate School totaled $ 13,769, down from $15,981 last year.

• Middle School

Sold 80 school supply boxes, up from 54 last year.

Sales for the Middle School totaled $5,653, up from$3,382 last year.

Summary – Number of boxes sold for the district were up by 19 boxes. Total sales were up by $2,203. Our rebate from Innisbrook is estimated to be $1,583, up $110 from last year. Gurney purchased 5 boxes for students in need. One box was requested by the Middle School and purchased by the PTO. I would recommend continuing the protocol of families requesting boxes be purchased for them first ask the school, for privacy reasons. If the school declines the offer, the section rep or school supply rep can request that PTO purchase the box.  I would also recommend that as long as the school can verify the family is in need that PTO use rebate funds to purchase the boxes.  Again, for privacy reasons it would be best if the family could work through the school with the school ordering the box, and PTO reimbursing school.

• Shopping – Heinen’s registration has started.  If you haven’t already, click here to re-register your school choice for 2010 .  PTO gets credit for all purchases made between October and April regardless of when you register.  Giant Eagle registration will begin in next 2 weeks.  The link for that will also be on the PTO website.  The Giant Eagle school credit program runs October through March.  You must register for Giant Eagle prior to October, to get credit for the full timeframe, it is not retro-active.
• Fundraising – TheDistrict Fundraiser 2010 is Otis Spunkmeyer and Cherrydale wrapping paper and gifts.  Gurney and Intermediate schools will get catalogs for both.  High School and Middle school will get the Otis Spunkmeyer.  Incentive programs are: Gurney/CFIS:  for every $30 in sales or donation they will have one raffle ticket entered into a drawing with prizes of 2 family Kalahari water park packages(4 tickets each), a Nintendo DSiXL, a Apple iPod touch, and lots of gift cards. Prizes totaling over $1000.

MS/HS:  for each 10 tubs of cookie dough sold, receive a ticket to Kalahari water park.  For every $30 sold, have one raffle ticket entered into a drawing for a Kalahari package of 4 tickets. Kathleen will cut us a check for $800 to be used for the raffle prizes and is providing the 3 Kalahari packages. Sales packets will go home with students on Sept. 15^th.  Sale will run through Sept. 29^th.  The high school would prefer that we do not hand them out to all students but would rather have them available in the office for pick up.  They generally find them all over the high school and not making it home if passed out to all via 1^st period classes/homeroom.  There will be a kickoff assembly at CFIS and during lunch periods at Gurney.  We will have extra packets at the middle school open house which is the same day as our kickoff.

• Advertising – Information fliers in beginning of year “mailings”/folders; PTO website and school website advertising; school newletters and email blasts; open houses with product samples; glass case at Gurney with samples and info; sandwich boards; periodic announcements at schools once sale starts. Kristin Reboul has been great as a co-chair and we have been able to collect some volunteers via open houses, volunteer forms, etc but will still be able to use more for our pickup day shifts!
• Grant Requests Update – Karen O’Hearn

o   Gurney – Rachel Jones – $2,800 for One Book, One School initiative unanimously approved.

o   Intermediate School

1.     Jansen/Mitchell – Two sets Student Clickers for $1,800 unanimously approved. Remote controls that work with classroom computer to collect student data instantaneously. Will be used primarily in math classes but can be used in all subject areas. This will assist the educator is gather data and developing appropriate curriculum for students.

2.     Ms. Gill – PTO approved payment of tuition portion ($1,680) of Ms. Gill’s teacher development trip to Israel, a meeting with the International Reading Association.

Announcements

• Thank you to Jessica Gardner for all her work on PTO fundraiser, kicking off on 9/15.
• Gwenn reminded PTO of signup sheet for sandwich board in PTO closet as well as plentiful supplies in closet.

Drawing by Ariel Dreicer, Grade 12 Chagrin Falls High School.

The Board of Education report was presented by Mary Kay O’Toole.

• A big thank you to PTO for your $5,185.77 in donations for the months of February, March and April, 2010.
• Negotiations with the teachers’ union have been progressing and a tentative agreement has been reached.  The union will be voting on the agreement in the next few weeks.
• At our next Board Meeting we expect to approve a contract for Dr. Bill Koons to serve as our High School Principal.
• Screening of candidates for Assistant Principal is currently underway.
• It is the administrations intent to keep the number of minutes for the Advanced Placement Science courses to the same schedule we are currently using, that is one and one-half periods.
• Preliminary results indicate that our OGT test scores were very good this year.

The District Administrative report was presented by Chuck Murphy.

• Teacher Interviews

We have been very busy hiring a math teacher for the high school and middle school and a social studies teacher for the high school.  We are down to three candidates for the math job and 2 candidates for the social studies position.  There are many layers to this process before we decide on our recommendation to the Board.

• New Electives at the High School

The High School will be offering two new electives next year.  They will be offering digital photography and video broadcasting.

• PE Curriculum

The PE curriculum has been revised and approved by the Board this year.  We are offering many new exciting and cutting edge things in the curriculum.  We will be offering a course called GYM that will feature things like fitness folios, pre and post fitness assessment, goal setting, use of fitness software/Tri Fit, testing equipment, heart rate monitors, pedometers, the Wii, DDR, and Geo Motion mats just to name a few things.

Sculpture by Mike Fields, Chagrin Falls High School, Grade 12. Presented at the Spring Art Show.

District PTO Reports (Final Meeting of the Year)

PTO BOARD REPORTS

Comments from the President – Gwenn Klose

• Gwenn is currently filling Committee chair and school representative positions. If you or someone you know would like to get more involved in PTO through one of these positions, please contact Gwenn.
• Incoming/Outgoing Executive Committee members, please plan on attending a meeting Thurs June 3^rd at Gwenn’s house. This will be a chance to share any information with the Incoming Committee members and help them with their new positions. Outgoing committee members, please be sure to have your notebooks updated and organized to pass on to the new members at this important meeting.

Comments from Secretary – Kathryn Williams

• Thank you notes shared.

Comments and Treasurer’s Report – Jen Ganger

• Treasurer’s monthly financial report distributed and reviewed.

Comments from 1^st Vice President – Colleen Mahoney

• Welcoming: Maggie Mayes reports the following end of the year numbers for new students in the Chagrin Falls School District:

• • Here is the list of new student numbers by building:
  • Gurney Kindergarten:  ****Although there were approximately 140 new kindergarteners, only 60 of them came from homes where the parents were brand new to the district****
  • Gurney 1st- 3rd:  21
  • Intermediate School:  16
  • Middle School:  8
  • High School:  24

Please note: These are student numbers, not new families and these are approximate.  Some of the paperwork I received was missing information like grade level.  Also, because of the way the form is and the fact that parents may fill it out months in advance, sometimes parents mistakenly put the grade level which asks for “current grade” but they student comes to Chagrin starting in the next grade up!  It’s a little confusing, but the new welcoming chair will have all of last year’s data to look at and consider.

• Store Credits: Kelly Hendricks reports that Heinen’s has distributed checks to each of the school buildings for our Heinen’s Rewards Program.  We received a total of $7,876 ($2,711 from the High School, $991 from the Middle School, $1,840 from the Intermediate School and $2,334 from Gurney.)  The checks have been collected from building principals and turned over to Jen Ganger.  Heinen’s requires all district residents enrolling in the rewards program to designate a specific CF school.  The year- end checks are sent to each building and then collected for deposit into the PTO account. Next year, the checks should come directly to PTO.

• Website: Angie DeBernardo reports:  We are closing out the year with 57 “followers” for our RSS feed.  We average about 181 independent visits a month.  We’ve had over 200 items downloaded since the download tracker was installed. At least a select group of people are using the site regularly now.  I’d like to see it grow as an information source for parents in the next school year.  I think that only happens with time.  The site needs to consistently provide new information for people to use it.  This year, I did monthly updates using the reports from the schools to the PTO meetings as the main information on the site.  We could add in more posts about the “special events” that happen all year if the PTO leadership thinks that wouldn’t be interpreted by parents as “spam”.   I’d like to put up the welcoming rep info and school supply pack ordering info if people that move in over the summer might be able to utilize it.  Next year, the PTO should try the Evite system to advertise electronically if we are staying away from paper flyers and folders.  I have our email list of 440 members set up in 4 distribution lists.  I can set up the Evite system for next year if we have an event we’d like to try that way.I’m making up a summary sheet with all the info needed to run the website and instructions.  I’ll make it a new “folder” for the exchange.   I think we should consider making up access instruction sheet to some parts of the PTO web resources and putting it in the folders of some of the executive committee members.  That way, executive members could access email, Evite or post information on their own.I would like to transfer the account annual payment to the PTO somehow if we are sticking with our current setup.  Last year, I paid the site fee and was reimbursed  but that won’t work if the job gets handed off each year.  That’s all for 2010-2011.

• Calendar: Lori Newbauer will be calendar chair for the 2010/2011 school year calendar.

Comments from 2^nd Vice President – Gigi Kuper-Lewis

• Art Show went VERY well!  Art was beautifully displayed & the student work was wonderful!!   Thank you to Bridget Roush and her committee for a SUPERB job! (Editor’s note:  See work form the art show displayed here on the May Reports for the High School and the Middle School.)

• At the May 3^rd BOE meeting :

• • The H.S. P. E. teachers presented about the “New P.E.” program: more focus on fitness, activity, movement rather than games, sports, competition. Incorporating heart monitors,

T-Bows, tension bands, etc.    The Board recognized Edmund Leopold for his generous contribution to the “new P.E.” program.

• • Several staff members presented the district’s new RESPONSE TO INTERVENTION program.  It is a district wide program to initiate consistent assessments, providing students with needed intervention and a lot of follow up to see if the chosen interventions are working.

• • Mr. Charles Barch was introduced as the new athletic director.  He was previously the Athletic Director at Notre Dame College.

• At the May 15^th Board of Education meeting:

• • The Spanish teachers presented a class trip for 2010 – 2011.  It’s a trip to Spain.   It will be over Spring Break and the students will take classes while there and live with a Spanish family.

• • Mrs. Hamid presented a class trip for 2010 – 2011 to Egypt.  The students while stay in hotels.  It is also over Spring Break with a couple of days of school missed as well.

• • The baseball coach requested to continue to take his players on Spring break to play in Florida.

• • Ms. Malone presented a summer camp for the soccer team at West Virginia University.  It includes soccer camp and a white water rafting trip.  Mr. Thompson and Mrs. Penler do not think it is a good idea to school sanctioned white water rafting trip.

Comments from Financial Vice President –Laurie McCormack

• Financial Planning Committee - Ann Thomas has sent out letters to the PTO grant recipients. The letters inform them of the grant approval and explain to them the protocol for receiving the items requested.

• School Supplies – We have all lists from grades 1-8 and quotes back from Innisbrook.  Grades 1-8 can be ordered online and shipped directly home.  No calculators or protractors (8^th geometry only) will be supplied by Innisbrook.

Email blast has already gone out for MS.  Other grades should also get one.  It will also be in the newsletters.  The deadline to order is in mid June.

• Membership – there is 1 additional member.

• Fundraising – We are just starting to look at our options for next year.  Gwenn, Jessica and Laurie met with rep from last year.  The Entertainment book is now a small pamphlet customized to our geographical location with online access to additional coupons.  The company has also replaced Otis Spunkmeyer with another cookie dough company, Classic Recipes.  For the same price, there are 48 rather than 36 cookies per container.  Sally Foster will no longer be door to door catalog sales.  The kids would sell gift cards to go onto their website, order and have it shipped directly home.  Shipping charges start at $5.95.  We would receive $8 per $20 gift card sold and 40% of additional online purchases.  Last year, we received 50% of total purchases.

We are meeting with the Otis rep tomorrow and hope to make a decision next week.

These cracks in the CFHS courtyard will be repaired this summer. More facility repair projects are being discussed due to potential funding from HB 264.

The Board of Education Report was presented by Mary Kay O’Toole.

• On March 25th the board of education held our annual retreat which means we met in Sands Community Room with the Superintendent and Treasurer from 8:00 am until 2:50 pm.  We reviewed the District goals, talked about personnel issues, curriculum revisions, facilities plans, and we went spent time discussing budget considerations and went through a draft of the budget for next year.
• At our April 5th meeting the board accepted the resignation of Marva Sickinger with the understanding that she will be rehired at half time for next year.
• At our April 19th board of education meeting we had an update by Mark Donnelly about the financing and timeframe of a HB 264 project.  Ohio State House Bill 264 allows school districts to use low interest bonds (zero interest if we can get federal stimulus money) to finance energy conservation projects such as lighting upgrades, steam trap repair, and unit ventilator retrofits.  The bonds are paid back with the savings generated by the energy conservation.
• The board accepted the resignation of Jason Starynchak effective the end of the school year.
• This is the time of year when we “non-renew” many limited contracts.  At a future meeting once our needs and our budget are more clear  many of these personnel are rehired.  For example all of the retired/rehires are non-renewed at this time, as were the 2 kindergarten teachers that were new this year.
• We did reduce the contract of Paula McVey from full time half time due to Reduction in Force for declining student enrollment.
• Contracts for these administrators were extended through July 31, 2012:  Bob Hunt, Christine Jackson, Rebecca Holthaus, Chuck Murphy, Rachel Jones, Mark Donnell, and Bill Holzheimer.
• You are all cordially invited to attend this year’s Chagrin Falls School District’s Town Hall meeting on Tuesday, April 27, 2010, at 7:00 p.m. in the District’s Performing Arts Center lobby.  All Community members are encouraged to attend to hear a brief up-date regarding the state of the schools (video here; power point download here (93)) and then an opportunity to address questions to the administrative staff and board of education members.  The night’s agenda will include a look at the future vision for the Chagrin Falls School District as well as a conversation on the fiscal health of our schools.
• The board was pleased with the news that the Safe Routes to School committee was awarded a $577,000 grant to make our community safer and more walk able.   All those that were part of that committee are to be commended for all of their efforts. Go to Safe Routes Chagrin for more information.

The Administrative Report was presented by Kert Boedicker.

Upcoming Dates:

• Learning Center Update – Upper Library – High School
• Bridge to the World program
  

August 15 – 30 – Hosting 13 Chinese students

• April 23-25    Hamlet Fine Arts Show-
• April 27          State of the School – PAC Lobby
• April 30          Student Council Speeches
• May 3 – May 12        AP Testing
• May 11            Professional Development Day – early release 1:25
• May 13            Senior Awards Night     (Dessert) 7:00 p.m.
• May 14            Springfest (seniors last day)
• May 15            Prom (Cleveland East Marriott) (Info and forms here)
• May 16            After Prom  (Info and forms here)
• May 17             Senior Project Begins

District PTO News

Comments from the President – Gwenn Klose

• A special thank-you to Laurie McCormack and the Financial Planning and Research Committee for their hard work. We will be voting on their recommendations for Grant requests this evening.
• Gwenn will be filling Section Rep and Committee Chair positions. Please, contact her if you are interested in a position or if you know someone who is.
• The year end wrap-up meeting date will be announced, soon.

Comments from Secretary – Kathryn Williams

N/R

Comments and Treasurer’s Report – Jen Ganger

• Treasurer’s monthly financial report distributed and reviewed.

Comments from 1^st Vice President – Colleen Mahoney

• Calendar:  Looking for a chairperson
• Store Credit:  Kelly Hendricks reports that Heinen’s will not yet release the dollar amount that we will receive but listed below are the final number of registered families for each school:

• Gurney                     111              121

• CFIS                         100             102

• CFMS                        45                45

• CFHS                       156              169

• CF exempted            80               84

Heinen’s will send checks mid-May.

Kelly placed orders for teacher requested items from the Giant Eagle Rewards Catalog.  Teachers will be informed this week whether or not their requests were granted.  Below is a list of granted requests:

Brittany Lawrence – PIS – classroom calculator set, fadeless paper for bulletin boards

Transportation Dept. – 6 buckets of chalk for bus safety program

PIS recess – 6 swing- n- hops, 6 playground balls, 6 set junior footballs, 7 basketballs

MS athletic dept. /math dept. – mouse for laptop

Spanish teacher 2^nd-6^th grade – classroom set of markers/crayons

• Website: Angie DeBernardo has been able to track the number of downloads from the website.  Tracking for the past month shows that 18 “Funding Request Forms” were downloaded. Meeting minutes are also being downloaded (32 downloads for Oct., Nov., and Jan., minutes), along with Intermediate School Spirit Wear forms (14).
• Welcoming: No report this month

Comments from 2^nd Vice President – Gigi Kuper-Lewis

• Art Show opening reception at Hamlet Atrium, Thurs. April 22 7 – 9 awards are at 8.

NEW THIS YEAR: Dad’s Club Award, art students help with set up, Kenn Hetzel (art teacher) built new display showcases for 3D work, new display system for  quilts, quilts/pillows presentation, article about show in SUN NEWS, Highway Garage is sponsoring the reception cake, new sandwich board displays so only date has to be changed, music provided by SOLE PREROGATIVE : Brian, Nathan, Evan Breitsch and Michael Mahoney.

• Board Meeting : Mark Donnelly, business manager shared that a decision needs to be made about the energy/facilities contract

• Board Meeting : several Ts have been riffed, but may be rehired depending on enrollment  plus Marva Sickinger is now a retire/rehire teacher – I believe will return on a half time basis

*   SAFE ROUTES  TO SCHOOL won a $577,000 grant.  Now the real work begins!  Volunteer meeting : Tues. May 11   7:00   at Chagrin Falls library

Comments from Financial Vice President –Laurie McCormack

• Financial Planning Committee – The Ballot of Grant requests was passed out and voted on by the attending members. The grant requests were all approved. For a copy of all grants approved, download the 2010 PTO Grants information sheet. (89).

• School Supplies – We have all lists from grades 1-6 and quotes back from Innisbrook.  We expect to get the Middle School requests very soon.  As we did last year, the boxes for 1-6 will be ordered online and 7 and 8 will be sent to the school for pickup at the walk through (or orientation).  MS can’t be ordered online and sent to the home because there are too many combinations of boxes since kids have options in what classes they take.

Once quotes are set we will do an email blast and hopefully a reminder in the newsletters.

• Membership – there are 21 additional members totaling $235 in dues.

• Fundraising – We are just starting to look at our options for next year.

Comments from Past President-Lisa Fredrickson-

• PTO Constitution-The updated PTO Constitution has been presented to the members for their approval. The PTO Constitution is reviewed and updated about every seven years. This helps to make it a working document and hopefully clarifies job descriptions and the funding process. Lisa asked for a motion to approve the new constitution.  It was made by Julie Andrews and seconded by Wendy Pierce. The attending members all approved the motion and the updated constitution. Each new Committee member will receive an updated copy in their notebooks

Lisa would like to thank the Constitution Committee members for their hard work- Jen Ganger, Kathryn Williams, Mary Kay O’Toole, and Meg Nachtwey

• Nomination of the New Executive Committee- The slate of members for the new Executive Committee has been presented to the members. Lisa asked for a motion to approve, which was made by Kristen Wood and seconded by Kelly Hendricks. It was approved and the new executive committee is as follows:

President:  Gwenn Klose

First Vice President:  Gigi Kuper-Lewis

Second Vice President:  Meg Nachtwey

Financial Vice President:  Laurie McCormack

Treasurer:  Katherine Collins

Secretary:  Beth Judge

Financial Planning and Research Committee Chairman:  Karen O’Hearn

District Fundraising Chairman:  Jessica Gardner

Lisa would like to thank the Nominating Committee of Loretta Schwalm, Laura Fricke, Lynn Hardacre and Kristin Wood for their help with this important task.

Announcements

Next Executive Board Meeting – Wednesday, May 12th, 12:30 p.m. at Gwenn Klose’s home

Next General Meeting – Wednesday, May 19^th, 7:30 p.m. at Sands Community Room