Yorkville Community School PTA General Membership Meeting
MINUTES
2014-2015 School Year
Tuesday, January 20, 2014
8:45 AM
Welcome and Call to Order
Michael and Nesli called the meeting to order at 8:56am
Reading of Last Meeting’s Minutes from December 16, 2014
A motion to waive the reading of the December 16,1014 Meeting Minutes was
made and unanimously approved. The minutes were distributed to the meeting
attendees.
Co-Treasurer’s Report
Alison Dow and Nancy Marti distributed and reviewed 2 documents, which include
the 2014-2015 Budget vs Actuals, and the Summary of Parent Donations to the
General Fund.
Monthly Financials and Status of General Fund Donations:
Alison informed to the PTA members that as of to date we are at 63%of the
projected income. Compared to the same time last year, we have collected
$50,000 less funds.
Cash Balance $171,696
Parent Donations to date $44,401
Expected income from Parent Fundraising $140,000
Alison and Nancy also proposed to the PTA members a budget reallocation based
on some changes to the cost of some enrichment programs. In particular these
are: a reduction of $6,000 of the Asphalt Green Recess Program, a reduction of
$3,000 of the Chess program, an increase of $8,000 of the Salvadori Project. They
clarified that this proposed changes are not affecting the overall estimates of the
yearly expenses.
The motion to reallocate the budget was approved by the members of the PTA. No
votes against this proposal.
Yorkville Community School Parent Teacher Association
421 East 88th Street New York, NY 10128
pta@yorkvillecommunityschool.org
www.yorkvillecommunityschool.org
Principal’s Report
Miss Samantha mentioned that the 92Y programs are now running across all
grades. She also mentioned that other enrichment programs like the Salvadori
Project and the NY Historical Society are running smoothly. Miss Samantha
confirmed that the Test Prep Academy is also now running in the mornings for the
3rd, 4th and 5th graders.
On other topic, Miss Samantha said that a notification was going to be sent to the
parents about the Learning Leaders program, this is a volunteer program with the
objective to help the children at school. More information will be sent in the
children’s backpacks.
School Leadership Team (SLT) Report:
Nancy Marty said that in the last meeting with Miss Samantha they talked about
the enrichment programs and how these programs help in YCS students overall
social, artistic and intellectual learnings. Nancy also invited the parents present in
the meeting to suggest some topics and/or special workshops for parents.
Co-President and Subcommittee’s Report
Special presentation: John Keller, Member of the Committee Education
Council District 2
Mr. Keller came to the YCS PTA Meeting to share an update on the talks around
the Middle School admission process among other topics.. He mentioned that
even though the NY Schools Chancellor said she would like to return the
management of the schools to the districts there’s still a lot progress to do in that
regard. The Chancellor said she will send more resources to the districts to
support that initiative. Other topic for discussion among the Council members is
the overcrowding specially in schools downtown. He also mentioned that there is a
project to support more Arts programs in the schools.
As co chair of the committee that has to do with middle school admissions, he
invited the YCS parents to a meeting at PS 290. He mentioned that the topics of
this meeting will be around the issues parents have during the admissions
process. For instance, the test scores will only make 50%of the decision to admit a
child in the school. But also, there needs to be a more transparency in the process
and assurance that the value of the choice system as an element to reflect the
sense of community and diversity in the schools.
Coin Drive
Ruth mentioned that the drive is in a great track. Many boxes have been already
returned.
Yorkville Community School Parent Teacher Association
421 East 88th Street New York, NY 10128
pta@yorkvillecommunityschool.org
www.yorkvillecommunityschool.org
Health Snack Friday
Diane reported that the effort generated around $300 and all the goods sold were
donated. This was a great win for the PTA.
YCS Movie Night on Friday, Feb 27th
The organization of this community event is on track. The initial agreement is to
have 2 movie features, but that still is to be determined.
Spring Auction on Saturday, May 2nd
The initial meeting with the organizing committee took place. The forms to donate
items and to participate as a volunteer went out.
New Business
One of the parents, Derek Pierce, mentioned that there is a way for the YCS to get
additional funding for special school projects. This is via the Participatory
Budgeting Process that takes place in April. Between September 2014 and April
2015, residents of participating districts will directly decide how to spend at least
$1 million of their Council Member’s funds – for a total of approximately $25
million. Residents of each district will propose and vote on local infrastructure
projects, such as improvements to schools, parks, libraries, and housing. The
Council Members will then submit the projects with the most votes to Council. The
YCS project is a roof garden with an edible concept.
Adjourn
Nesli and Michael adjourned the meeting at 9:45am
Yorkville Community School Parent Teacher Association
421 East 88th Street New York, NY 10128
pta@yorkvillecommunityschool.org
www.yorkvillecommunityschool.org