PTO Meeting Minutes

The meeting was called to order by PTO President, Mary Beth Crosson. Mr. DiPippa, Principal, led those present with a prayer. The following board members were present: Mary Beth Crosson (president), Theresa Storey (vice president), Jennifer Callahan (corresponding secretary), Suzanne Dowd (member at large), Kim Vu (treasurer), Lynn Williams (recording secretary), Cynthia Washington, Deborah Ball (faculty representatives), and David DiPippa (principal).

Treasurer Report:
Ms. Vu reported that there was a balance of $56,474.33 in the two PTO accounts. This past month deposits included $67.86 in interest from our Dial Account, gift wrap rebate of $1698.76, SCRIP sales $850.00, and Spirit Wear sales of $250.75. Expenses included: reimbursements of $1163.95 to Mary Beth Crosson for a Spirit Wear order, $808.10 to Niamh Lowry for SCRIP, $58.04 to McCabe’s Printing Group, $50.00 to the Catholic Diocese of Arlington for the Science Fair and $20.36 for printing allocation. Discussion followed regarding the overall success of the Innisbrook fundraiser this year. The Board voted unanimously to continue with this fundraiser/company. Despite a slight decline in sales from previous years, the decline was not as significant as initially reported now that final numbers are in.

Diocesan PTO meeting report – Silvia Neves.
Mrs. Neves reported on the December 6, 2008 Arlington PTO Council general meeting. Minutes from this meeting will be posted as soon as they are finalized by the DPTO. The Board welcomed Sr. McManigal, BVM to the group. Sr. is the new Superintendent of Schools. She updated the Board on the issues currently being addressed by her staff. These included: curriculum design/mapping, initiatives to strengthen the teachers and provide them with the tools they need to do their jobs well, and legislative priorities such as use of buses by the non-public schools. The Board also discussed the marketing strategy initiative which was focusing on better ways to market Catholic School education to prospective families. Mrs. Neves also stated that the 2009 Congressional Advocacy Days are Sunday March 15- Tuesday March 17th.

Fundraising:

• Mrs. Dowd updated the Board regarding the change of date to February 13th for the Fairfax Ice Arena and McDonald’s fundraiser. Instead of collecting for the Parish child in need, students will be allowed to dress out on February 13th if they bring $1.00 in for the Kidney Kid fund.
• Chick-Fil-A cheesecake fundraiser. The PTO will be selling cheesecake vouchers from March 12 – 26th. We will have a cheesecake sampling in afternoon carpool on March 12th. Cheesecakes will cost $25.00 with $5.00 coming back to the PTO.
• The Let’s Dish fundraiser will continue all of February through April. A portion of the proceeds from Saint Leo related sales will be given to the PTO. Mrs. Dowd will send an email for the newsletter.
• Discussion was held considering a Dad’s night fundraiser. Local businesses considered included Hard Times Café and Red, Hot and Blue in Fairfax City, and the Pan Am Shopping Center Glory Days. Mrs. Crosson will contact Hard Times Café to inquire about such an event.

Funding Requests:

• A motion was made by Mrs. Crosson to support the teacher’s request for the purchase of an additional Ellision Die Cut Alphabet, at a cost of $700.00. Mrs. Storey seconded the motion. A vote was taken and unanimously approved by the Board.
• Mrs. Crosson also presented a request for Auction Pay software. This $2,600.00 initial expense and $800.00 annual fee would be split between the development committee and the PTO. A vote was postponed until all Board members have had a chance to review the software company’s website. All Board members were asked to submit their votes by the end of the following week via email.
• Listening Library - Mrs. Ball will follow up with Mrs. Craven regarding the listening library to make sure she has ordered what she needs before the end of the year.

Quiz Bowl:
Quiz Bowl will be held on March 14th. A question was presented from one of the teachers regarding whether the teachers will be expected to pay their own admission. Discussion was held and decided that no complimentary passes would be given for this event.

Open House:
Mr. DiPippa stated that the next Open House will be on February 18th. Responses for enrollment so far have been very encouraging.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:15. Remaining items on the evening’s agenda were tabled until the next meeting on March 10th, 2009 at 7:15 in the faculty lounge.

Respectfully submitted,
Lynn S. Williams
PTO Recording Secretary