June General PTA Meeting Minutes – PS 372

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Thursday, June 17, 2021

This meeting was held remotely.

Welcome – Michelle Dobson & Liza Gouger, PTA Co-Presidents

  • Welcome to the last PTA meeting of the year. We really appreciate you joining us tonight. 

School Update – Ms. Rosa Amato, Principal

  • Please take a few minutes to complete the NYC survey. It gives you a voice and we use the data to drive our decisions as we move forward.
  • Happy Father’s Day to all who celebrate this weekend.
  • September 13 will be the first day of school this year, please make sure to view the NYC DOE calendar for 2021-22.
  • Today the Federal Government recognized Juneteenth as a national holiday which is great news and will be added to the school calendar for 2021-22.
  • Summer school begins on July 2. You will hear from us if you have a general education child in need of reading support. We are now able to bring in some gen-ed students this summer after receiving funding.
  • Thank you to Frank and Bridget for staying the course, remaining supportive and being on the side of the kids and The Children’s School. 
  • Please remember to thank your teachers!

Update – Ms. Yvette Agas-Bautz, Parent Coordinator

  • Please fill out the NYC School Survey! You can access it at schools.nyc.gov. Last day to fill it out is June 18.
  • It gives the school important feedback, and also gives new families considering our school information.
  • Please return chromebooks and DOE iPads by June 25
  • Friday, June 25 is last day of school and is a FULL day (dismissal 1:45 p.m. and there will be bus service)

Elections

  • Melissa Melkumov – joining the Executive Board as New Parent Representative
  • Voting was conducted and the poll results were as follows:

Budget Report – Tania Ahmed, PTA Treasurer

  • Fundraisers for the PTA 
    • General return to pre-COVID funding levels
    • Expecting favorites like Pizza Friday to be back (hopefully, based on what DOE rules are next year)
  • Expenses
    • Classroom grants and general support
    • Arts enrichment programs may be able to return: chess, opera, dance, jazz, photography, architecture, etc.
    • Lunch clubs and studios will be returning
    • Planning for school-wide events again
    • Funding for technology and other enrichment programs

Proposed Budget Vote

  • The proposed budget was voted on and approved as follows:

Technology Purchase Vote

  • Normal purchase every three years – 75 Chromebooks
    • Full set for either 4th or 5th grade classes
    • Includes warranty to cover repairs
    • Included in PTA annual budget as a reserved amount
  • Unusual circumstances this year
    • Able to support our families by sending home ALL of our Chromebooks to students who needed technology for remote classes
    • Wear and tear was higher than usual, and we now need to replace more computers
    • When we purchase our computers through the DOE we get a five-year warranty
    • Need to purchase an additional 25 Chromebooks
    • Expect the supplemental cost to be $13,000
    • Sufficient funds are available from our reserve to cover this extra expense
  • The technology purchase was voted on and approved as follows:

Technology Funding Drive

  • Due to this extra tech purchase, we would like to replenish the PTA reserve. We are going to do an end-of-year technology fundraiser. There will not be a separate button on the website, we will just have it be through our standard annual appeal but will send an email to ask the school  community to donate some extra funds to help rebuild our reserves.
  • Please go to Direct Appeal link on inclusions.org to donate.
  • Look out for an announcement on Konstella.

Planning for Fall

  • PTA Stay & Play after school program will be happening in fall.
  • We are still working out protocol and guidelines.
  • We are bringing on some new staff since Merideth, Dan, and Janine are leaving.
  • Gabriel Snyder (on PTA EB) will be taking the lead on this program
  • There will be more info sent out in August and we hope to have Stay & Play begin on the first day of school.
  • Please look out for an email in August with important information about pre-registration as spots may be limited.

Announcements

  • We hope to have as many of our usual PTA events next year as possible. We will work closely with Rosa, Frank, Bridget and Yvette to determine how many in-person events will be possible.
  • To get a 2021-22 DOE calendar, go to schools.nyc.gov
  • First day of school is September 13, 2021

Thank Yous

  • To the PTA Executive Board for bonding together this year to do amazing things given the restrictions we have had. A big thanks especially to Merideth Finn-Beers who is leaving PS 372!
  • To Brad Eichmann for all of his hard work on our website.
  • To our community and the administration for everything they have done this year in working so hard to get our kids back into the building, and to make the remote students feel so included. It has been a tough year for us all, and we can’t thank you enough.

Have a wonderful summer!

Number of Attendees: 25

Submitted by Mimi Stauber-Levy

PS 372 PTA Recording Secretary

7/12/21