HSES PTA Board of Directors meeting

February 19, 2008

HSES Media Center

 

The HSES PTA Board of Directors meeting convened at7:08 pm on February 19, 2008 in the HSES Media Center. There were 9 PTA members, 2 administrators, and 1 teacher in attendance.

 

Jeannie began by passing around an agenda.

 

Principal's Report (Glenn Heisey):

 

Glenn described his challenge to the students and staff of shaving his beard if the school makes 80% of its goal in basket bingo donations.

 

He met with the instruction team leaders. The principals received the projected enrollments from which they will determine the number of teachers needed per grade for next year. They are projecting the need for four kindergartens which seems low compared to the general expectations. Kindergarten registration starts next month.

 

Mrs. Hatcher had a baby girl, Kiera, this past weekend. She will be returning right after spring break. Amanda Tshrigi will be substituting until her return. She was previously a 1st grade teacher. Mrs. UrbanÕs last day is this Friday. Susan Hunt will replace Mrs. Urban. She was previously a middle school assistant principal, a curriculum administrator, and an ESOL teacher. Each substitute teacher shadowed their respective teacher for a week.

 

Lots of testing is planned for April and May. The MSA Reading tests will take place the 1st week of April, MSA Math tests will take place the 2nd week, and the 3rd week will be the Stanford 10 for the 2nd grade. The MSA Science test will be given in May. The Science MSA will be administered via the computer to all students.

 

The 2008-2009 calendar is available. The holiday break is 16 days long with the days covering 12/19 through 1/5 since Christmas and New YearÕs fall on a Thursday, the Board of Education including the Friday following each holiday in the days off. The start of the school year will include a full week of school, so the children will not get the Friday before Labor Day off as in previous years.

 

There is a whole new custodial staff. Mr. James started as the new evening building supervisor.

 

Treasurer's Report (Laura Smith):

The treasurer was ill so no report was given.

 

Staff Report (Ann Marie):

The teachers once again thanked the hospitality committee for the wonderful dinner during the parent-teacher conferences.

 

 

Help Mt. Hebron committee (Linda Dombrowski): Linda presented a comprehensive review of the current plan to renovate Mt. Hebron high school as presented on 1/22/08. The plan has gone further than previous plans in meeting the needs of the students and teachers, however it was still deemed insufficient. The main concern was centered around the number of classrooms that would not meet the size requirements set by the Howard County Education Specifications of a minimum of 700 sq ft. All new classrooms would meet the spec but 9 classrooms would be shy of the standard. In addition the total number of the classrooms falls five classrooms short of the needed number. A modular system of 18 units is being considered as temporary classrooms during the construction. The plans include a modernization of the current HVAC system that is comprised of 13 separate systems. There would not be a new HVAC system as reported in the paper.

 

Linda asked for the support of the HSES PTA in recognizing the planÕs insufficiencies. The HMH committee has proposed a set of changes that would make the plan viable. To hear more about the options and to show your support there is a community meeting on March 4th. On March 6th there is an opportunity to hear testimony given to County Councilman, Ken Ulman, regarding the inadequacies. The committee is looking for supporters to come out and wear black and gold on March 6th.

 

The current cost of the 1/22 renovation plan is estimated at 54 million dollars. The HCPSS has a self-imposed cap of $50 million to cover the renovations. The plan doesnÕt address how the discrepancy will be handled.

 

Linda Dombrowski made a motion for the HSES PTA to support HMHÕs concerns over the insufficiencies with the current plan and see that the deficiencies are addressed. Patapsco Middle school and Mt. HebronÕs PTAs currently support HMHÕs position. The motion was seconded. All were in favor and none opposed. The actual wording of motion will be emailed to all participants following the meeting for review. If there are suggested changes or oppositions in part or in whole, the PTA members can suggest changes to the motion or reverse their support. To increase the distribution of the current plan a paper flyer will be sent out providing a brief description of the status and where to get more information.

 

Committee Reports

 

Membership (Monica Machovec):

Currently there are 429 members.

 

President's Report (Jeannie DeCray):

 

Green Program: The paper drive is coming up a bit short of its goal. Several ideas were presented to increase the contributions to paper recycling. The Spirit committee chair, Christine Daugherty, suggested organizing a group of volunteers to pick up donations left outside homes over a weekend.

 

6+1 Writing Traits Program: The meeting describing the 6+1 Writing Traits Program was well attended by 37 parents and educators.

 

International Family Outreach program: The International Family Outreach program is looking for conversational partners for Korean parents. The PTA asked for volunteers to be a partner to help the Korean parents get more comfortable with English.

 

2008-2009 Nominating Committee: Jeannie asked for volunteers to serve on the nominating committee for next year. Monica Machovec agreed to serve on the committee and is looking for 2-3 more people to serve on the committee.

 

Meeting adjourned at 8:13 pm.

 

 

 

Addendum to the PTA Board of Directors meeting.

 

Following the PTA meeting Linda Dombrowski provided a written version of the HSES motion to support HMHÕs efforts to continue the discussions of finding a more comprehensive solution to the current problems at Mt. Hebron. The motion was emailed out to the PTA members. Any comments, suggestions, and changes were encouraged. It stated:  

 

HCPSSÕ efforts to abandon earlier plans that were limiting the Mt. Hebron projectÕs success are to be congratulated.  The Hollifield Station Elementary School PTA recognizes that the latest design (January 22nd ) is creative and demonstrates outside the box thinking.  However, more progress is necessary. 

 

We believe that too many space needs are unmet with the January 22nd design concept.  Classrooms renovated to dimensions below ed spec need to be revised to ed spec.  Additional space needs to be incorporated into the plan because too much of the existing general classroom space is being lost and other space deficiencies remain unresolved.  We also believe that the portables space use should be incorporated into the building.  Furthermore, the conceptÕs level of disruption is too great; it needs to be further minimized.  Uncertainty as to how HCPSS specifically defines ŌgivensĶ, Ōmajor renovationĶ and Ōminor renovationĶ needs to be clearly stated and understood by the community.

 

The Hollifield Station Elementary School PTA supports Help Mt. HebronÕs and the Mt. Hebron Planning Committee's efforts to continue discussing and exploring options in conjunction with HCPSS to ultimately develop a concept that provides:

 

With respect to funding, we believe that the Board of EducationÕs request for funds be revised to reflect the newest HCPSS cost estimates.  We do not support the self-imposed cap and the strategy to hope that bids come in below budget in order to accomplish the projectÕs goals.

 

We strongly urge the Board of Education to direct the Department of Education, and encourage the Mt. Hebron Planning Committee and Help Mt. Hebron to continue exploring solutions.

 

The Hollifield Station Elementary School PTA believes that a viable solution, supported by the community, is possible.