October 21, 2003
Bethesda Chevy Chase High School, PTSA Meeting, held in the Choral Room at Bethesda Chevy Chase.
Following a new parents’ reception from 6:00 to 7:30, the president, Paula Ott, called the meeting to order at 7:37 p.m. As this was the first meeting of the new year, no previous minutes were read.
Those in attendance were: Katy Harvey, Paula Ott, Debbie Lyle, Nancy Leopold, San Dee Ostrach, Bonnie Fedchock, Donna Akinson, Debby Joseph, Deborah Dokken, Jeff Day, Don Bowie, Joyce Somsak, Pegy Robbins, Barbara Levine, German & Chossi Velasco, Teri Salus, Amy Ross, Paula Spencer, Dee Rubin, Pam Feinstein, Bob Loesche, Carole Brand, Linna Barnes, Lucy Swartz, Sam Hoxie, Beverly Braw, Mary Jane Nasol, Barbara Llewellyn, Nancy Wolfe, Suzanne Richman, Robin Lawson, Kevin Bromberg, Cindy Costello, Debby Friedman, Ben Beach, Chris Hanrahan, Rheta Rasum & Chantel Greene.
Election of MCCPTA Representative: Debbie Lyle was nominated for the position of MCCPTA Representative. The motion to elect her was made and seconded, all members in attendance voted in favor, none voted against. The Motion to elect Debbie Lyle as BCC MCCPTA Representative was passed.
Principal’s Report: Katy Harvey reported that BCC’s school vision is “All students will graduate from high school ready to enter college without remediation.”
Testing: 670 9th, 10th & 11th grade students will be taking the PSAT; scores will be back in December. The Maryland State Assessment (MSA) is given to 10th graders and tests Reading comprehension and Geometry. For a school to pass the MSA, 95% of each subgroup (eg FARM, ESOL, racial demographics) must be tested, and each group must pass. Every year, each group needs to gain 3 points on the test. The math component of the test is not published, and it currently targets students who will be taking geometry in 12th grade. BCC is 4th ranked in Montgomery County for Reading comprehension (our scores break down as follows: 61.5% advanced reader, 16.4% proficient reader, 22.1% basic reader.)
Report Cards will be sent home with the students on November 17th. They will NOT be mailed.
Budget Report:
Treasurer: Bob Loesche handed out copies of the draft 2003/2004 PTSA budget and the following budget information was presented:
According to our budget as written, our $ in goal = $45,600; our $ out goal is $57,500. Although we expect to pay out more than we’ve budgeted to bring in, that’s okay. We have a large surplus carryover from last year. To date, the PTSA has 415 members; we’ve received $6,800 in contributions.
Directory: Sam Hoxie. The directory had good ad participation and sold well at back to school night. We’ve earned $613 in profits from the directory.
Banter: We expect to produce five publications and should be right on target with the budgeted cost of $9,000.
Staff Appreciation: Paula Ott reported that we increased the staff appreciation budget to $2,500.
College Tracks: Nancy Leopold reported that College Tracks, a program to help seniors work their way through the college scholarship process, started last year. They helped 40 kids last year; they meet Tuesday and Thursdays.
Website Support: Sam Hoxie. The funds for website support go towards maintaining and updating the website.
Giant $: Pam Feinstein. BCC operates two Giant programs, Giant A+ Bonus Program (and Safeway) and Giant Gift Card sales. Currently BCC has only ~200 people signed up for Giant A+ program (Safeway ~100.) Giant Gift Cards, BCC receives 4% of the sales. We’ve earned ~$2,500 already this year.
Used Book Sale: Barbara Levine. The sale will be held February 1st. Next dropoff date is November 15th from 8:30 to 11:00. They still need food committee people/ad committee and sorters.
Summer School: Paula Ott. We’ve budgeted $4,000 for 9th Grade Academy (which benefits at-risk students) and $5,000 for the Cluster Academy.
Wish List & Handbooks: Paula Ott. We’ve budgeted $12,000 to the wish list, $1,000 per department, and $12,000 for handbooks.
Motion to Approve the Budget as Written: The motion to adopt the budget as written was made and seconded, all members in attendance voted in favor, none voted against. The Motion to approve the 2003/2004 budget was passed.
Motion to Amend the Two Signature Rule for PTSA Checks: State PTSA rules require two signatures for every PTSA check that is written. This is overly burdensome with small checks. A motion to allow one signature for checks in amounts < $500 was made and seconded, all members in attendance voted in favor, none voted against. The Motion to allow one signature on BCC PTSA checks less than $500 was passed. All checks =>$500 will still require two signatures.
Bylaws Report: Lucy Swartz handed out a copy of proposed changes to BCC PTSA’s current bylaws and reported most provisions where the PTSA has discretion stayed the same from the previous version to this. She also recommended a few changes:
1. Document should be changed to be gender neutral.
2. The president elect should be established as a member of the executive board.
3. That we decide which committees are standing committees for the purpose of membership on the executive board.
Motion to make changes so bylaws are gender neutral: The motion to make changes so that bylaws are gender neutral was made and seconded, all members in attendance voted in favor, none voted against. The Motion was passed.
Motion to make the president elect a member of the executive board: The motion to make the president elect a member of the executive board was made and seconded, all members in attendance voted in favor, none voted against. The Motion was passed.
Motion to keep all other elements of the bylaws as previously written: The motion to keep all other elements of the bylaws as previously written was made and seconded, all members in attendance voted in favor, none voted against. The Motion was passed.
Motion to Adopt the BCC PTSA Bylaws as Amended: The motion adopt the BCC PTSA Bylaws as amended was made and seconded, all members in attendance voted in favor, none voted against. The Motion was passed.
Committee Reports:
Paula Ott reported that the Sports Boosters are meeting on November 20th
Drama Boosters: Debbie Friedman reported Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland is playing currently. In December the Drama Dpt will be putting on Who’s Tommy (showing December 5th, 6th, 12th & 13th.)
Music Boosters: Carole Brand reported the Music Dpt. Will be selling fruit, the money goes towards the trip to New Orleans. February 21st is the Cabaret fundraiser.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:12 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Chantel Greene, Secretary