BEN W. MURCH HOME AND SCHOOL ASSOCIATION
General Meeting
Meeting Minutes December 4, 2018
HSA Co-Presidents Elisa O’Keefe and Jess Regan called the meeting to order at 7:10 PM on December 4, 2018 in Room B112 of Murch Elementary School.
- Executive Board Members present: Elisa O’Keefe (Co-President), Jess Regan (Co-President), Ashley Webb (1st Vice President), Julie Lobb (2nd Vice President), Virginia Marentette (Past President), Diane Beasley (Secretary), Paula Cuevas (Assistant Treasurer), Chris Cebrzynski (Principal), Marcy Hairston (Teacher Representative), and Jason Levin (Fundraising/Community Engagement).
Other Members in Attendance: Robin Goracke (Budget Chair), Michele Murphy (Teacher).
- Approval of prior minutes – Diane Beasley
- Diane presented the minutes for the November 5 general meeting, which were posted to BaseCamp for review on November 14 and sought the Board’s approval of the minutes.
- Diane made a motion that the Board ratify the previously posted minutes for the November 5 meeting as the official record of that meeting. Jess seconded the motion, there was no objection, and the motion passed by unanimous voice vote.
- President’s Report – Elisa O’Keefe and Jess Regan
- Book Fair. Jess reported that Murch Book Fair raised $1,283 for the HSA and that two Co-Chairs are already lined up for the next Book Fair. Discussion ensued regarding the length of the fair and the potential to make it a week-long event, ensuring that all teachers (including those without classrooms) receive slips, and the possibility of allowing kids to visit the Book Fair with their classrooms to make wish lists and purchase books during the school day.
- Performance Committee Update. This year’s HSA budget includes $10,000 for school presentations and performances. Eagle Bear came to Murch last week and put on performances for the classes and Step Afrika! will put on a performance in January. The movie “Finding Kind” will be presented on December 12 and is being promoted on the website. Julie noted that pictures of the performances should be featured on the HSA Instagram account.
- Tree Mulching. Tree Mulching will be held on January 5. Ashley will set up a Sign-up Genius to solicit volunteers for the event. Virginia noted that last year most donations were paid in cash, so cash handling procedures must be in effect. Ashley added that she and Julie will split coverage of the event so that an HSA Board member is always present.
- SOS Campaign Update. Elisa informed the Board that the SOS donations are currently at $73,000 (total goal of $120,000), which is about the same as this time last year. However, we are not expecting the same amount of December donations as last year. Discussion ensued on how to publicize and encourage more SOS donations to meet the goal by the end of the calendar year. Ideas included holding a grade-level participation contest with an extra recess as the reward, displaying a thermometer showing progress, and publicizing the campaign at the Festival of Lights.
- Principal’s Report – Mr. Cebrzynski
- Mr. C reported that the library floor has been repaired and the entire space will be open to the students starting Monday. He noted that a new DCPS chancellor has been named and that the citywide School Report Cards will be released this Friday. A discussion meeting to review the School Report Cards will be held on Monday, December 10. Lastly, Mr. C discussed an issue with older (middle school age) children using the Murch playground immediately after school. A small subset of these kids has been disruptive and Mr. C floated the possibility of getting a group of parent volunteers to monitor the playground from 3:30-4:30pm. Paula suggested involving the Safety Committee or working with the aftercare programs.
- Treasurer’s Report – Paula Cuevas
- Review of Monthly Statements. Paula provided a summary of the monthly financials. She first reviewed the Income Statement, which showed that the HSA has raised 61% of the SOS goal to date. In terms of Operating Expenses, she noted that some of the line items have been depleted (enrichment) or are close to being depleted (custodial supplies). Elisa pointed out that DCPS didn’t provide enough mops, brooms, etc. so the HSA purchased several of these to accommodate the new larger building, but these are one-time custodial expenses. Paula then reviewed the Balance Sheet and pointed out that many of the smaller Non-Current Liabilities are being spent down, which is a good thing.
- Fundraising/Community Engagement Update – Jason Levin
- Results from Guapo’s Restaurant Day. Restaurant Day at Guapo’s was held on November 15. The event raised $1,600 for the HSA. Jason stated that we will likely hold another Restaurant Day at Guapo’s towards the end of the school year.
- Giant A+ Rewards Contest. There was a three-way tie for the enrollment contest (Mr. Travitz, Ms. Creswell, and Ms. Hsu) and the winning classrooms will celebrate with a cake and ice cream party. Giant A+ Rewards enrollment is now up to 132 (compared to 66 at the start of the year).
- Alton Lane Fundraiser. The Alton Lane whiskey tasting and fundraiser will be held in January. The HSA will earn 5% on first $10,000 spent on bespoke menswear (percentage will increase after this threshold), and the fundraiser will run through the school year.
- Winter/Spring Restaurant Nights. Jason is working to set up several more restaurant nights in 2019 with a broader range of venues.
- New Business
- LSAT Update (Robin Goracke). Robin attended the December 4 LSAT meeting and stated that the LSAT is planning a school-wide survey in January to identify school budget priorities. After the survey results have been aggregated, the LSAT will put together the school budget priorities, starting in February, in order to help inform the 2018-19 budget.
- Murch Winter Movie (Ashley Webb). The Murch Winter Movie will be held at the Avalon Theater on January 12 at 10am. A potential selection is “The Secret Life of Pets”, although Ashley said she is open to other suggestions. Discussion ensued regarding other potential movies, and a suggestion to have a school-wide vote via the website was raised. Ashley noted that the auditorium rental is $425, while the cost of print generally runs from $300-400.
Elisa and Jess adjourned the meeting at 8:10 PM.