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Meeting Agenda

General Meeting Minutes

Kendall Parent Teacher Association

Date | Time 04/23/2024| 6:01 pm  

Meeting called to order by President Noah Beckman

In Attendance: 23 members with voting privileges including Noah Beckman (President); Shari McMahon (Vice President); Franklin Torres (Treasurer);  Genie Gertz (Secretary); Anna Ramach (Ex Officio); Tara Miles (Liaison); Kitty Monahan-Sewell, Brandi TenEyck-Martell (Parent Representatives); Paulo Martell (Staff Representative); and Jess Stultz (KILT Representative). 

Members: Abi Ramroop, Harish Ramroop, Chad Taylor, Adrian Rivera, Sheila Maynard, Chris Sewell, Evelina Gaina, Mickie Brunton, Reut Beckman, Andy Tao, DeLasha Singleton, Najma Johnson, Norma Moran.

President Beckman:

Reviewed and voted on minutes from February 6, 2024. Need to make a correction in minutes on Adrian Rivera’s name (instead of Bruce). The minutes were accepted as corrected.

Nominations are open until May 21st, when the elections will take place and will be conducted on Zoom. Two positions are up for election: Vice-President and Secretary.

The board had their retreat and decided on dates. KPTA meetings (both general and board) will always happen on Tuesdays.

Still working on getting the review of ASP started. Had conferred with several administrators to get this started. Want to have a review on standards and what changes happened between two administrations where ASP is concerned.

Update on the legal situation given by Chad Taylor:

A lawyer from Morgan Lewis, working pro bono, successfully represented KPTA in a case won before the onset of COVID. However, the work begins post-decision, as the lawyer now needs to gather all financial information to strategize on debt collection. A lien has been placed on the house involved, but due to COVID, there has been no progress in the last three years. Now there is a change in legal representation bringing it to four years without action. We need to decide on the next steps, which could include wage garnishment or involving a collection agency (which involves substantial fees and splitting the collected funds). The individual involved is currently freelancing at Gallaudet, which is triggering for many people. Pursuing a Persona Non Grata (PNG) status was suggested for her due to the situation. She owes over $250K (embezzlement, interest rates, legal fees) and it would be in her best interest to settle this debt. She has been misleading others by claiming the issue was a misunderstanding and that she suffered a mental breakdown and was hospitalized during the court date, though records show she was present.

Norma Moran clarified that PNG is no longer used, and now it is CAR (Campus Access Restriction)

Vice President McMahon:

Website has been revamped, but still struggling to get it on the original URL, so she is still working on it. Hoping to update it further with pictures of the bulletin boards inside of KDES so parents can enjoy their child(ren)’s work that would not otherwise be seen. 

A question came up on the use of pictures taken at KPTA events, what is considered to be appropriate and within the parameters, and if we can even post pictures from events. 

Teacher Appreciation Week is coming up the week of May 6 to 10.

Middle School Event May 17th - update shared by Kitty and Paulo, who stated that while it was to be a movie night, the pivot happened because the middle school has had a tough year and didn't have events happening that focused on them, and it was a way to support them.

New events are coming up for the next academic year and will need to have sign-ups. It was suggested to post on KPTA Facebook page as well.

Secretary Gertz:

Membership Drive - exciting things planned - sign up!

Treasurer Torres:

Total membership dues

33 members (family, teacher, and staff combined) since September 2023

Encourage more to join

Current balance in Wells Fargo account as of 04/23/2024 

$13,828.70

Current balance in Petty Cash as of 04/23/2024 

$121.35

Current balance of total funds raised as of 04/23/2024 

$2099.00

Current balance of donations as of 04/23/2024 

$310.00

Total revenue balance as of 04/23/2024 

$14,010.05

Parent representative:

No report

Camping Weekend Chair Andy Tao:

Provided an update on Wildcat Campout: Under the Stars, June 7-9 in Centreville, VA.

Hosted camping weekends on a yearly basis until COVID which paused the activities and now is ready to bring it back.

One of the big parts for camping is the spirit amongst kids and families - we need to keep this activity on a yearly basis and it always is scheduled  the weekend right after the school year concludes. 

The campsite is an hour drive from here (KDES campus). If families cannot stay the entire weekend they are welcome to come for the day.

Families that are participating in the campout will be asked to bring one side dish per family. A cookout is being planned

The schedule and information regarding the campout is shared on the KPTA Facebook page

Need to have volunteers to help with the set up, grilling, and serving while all are to be involved with clean up.

Staff Representative Martell:

Shared that May 17th is for the middle school event to recognize middle school students. The last time they had theirs was in 2020, and this year has been a rough year for them, so it is a good way to boost their morale. The students voted on three things they wish to see happen:

Escape Game

Pool Swimming

Movie Night

They are asking if we can combine those three events into one, so they will work on that.

Ex-Officio Ramach:

School Safety Updates

Pick Up Patrol - Trial Stage. It will start in the fall as it is hard to implement new apps/programs at the end of the year. This app will also include ASP. It will have a space to comment if other people are to pick up the kids. Is user friendly and more up-to-date and interactive.

Visitu - Visitor Management System: will manage who comes in and who visits the facility. It will also have alerts if the visitors should or should not be on campus. It will be implemented in 3 buildings: KDES, MSSD, and Dorms.

The goal is for it to go live in August 2024.

Social Studies Textbook Committee: Have met regularly throughout the year and are now down to two companies. The committee will seek input from teachers before finalizing.

24-25 School Calendar Reminder - Posted online

Key Dates:

First Day of School: August 26, 2024

Fall Break: November 25 - 29, 2024

Winter Break: December 23, 2024 - January 3, 2025

Spring Break: April 14 - 18, 2025

Last Day of School: June 13, 2025

Update from Jess Stultz regarding the Middle School. Shared that unlike other schools where the middle school is typically housed in separate buildings or campuses, at KDES it is merely across the hall within the same building. This arrangement doesn't promote the same level of excitement or sense of advancement. To address this, it has been decided to organize a separate orientation specifically for middle school parents and is scheduled for May 3rd.

Liaison Thomas:

FED’s Social Justice Committee is setting up the AAPI Food Tasting Festival scheduled for Wednesday, May 1st.

The Family Academy’s Recent Sexuality Education Workshop was very successful and as a result, several conversations happened if we could plan for Part Two.

FED is preparing and will be launching a parent/caregiver survey to gauge the need in order to help plan next year’s workshops and events. The survey will go out in mid-May.

Proposals

Proposal #1:  To discuss legal strategies and further action regarding the lawsuit. No vote needed. 

By next year JN would owe us 303K

Need to have six months in order to determine what action to take.

CAR from Gallaudet

Pressure on her needs to increase. She is becoming complacent and gets away with it.

The situation is public information, so we can share and work on banning her from attending all events except for her kid's games

She is now working at Gallaudet University as a freelancer and has access to a lot of information which is triggering to many people

Important to hold her accountable

Want to max out all the legal avenues with this situation

Will collect all financial information including wage garnishment, and should go public with this information

A committee is to be set up to determine the next steps, and Chad Taylor will take the lead on this committee.

Announcements:

Looking for Chairs and Volunteers for the upcoming PTA events:

May 6 - 10, 2024 (Week of May 6-10): Teacher/Staff Appreciation Day

May 17, 2024: Middle School Dance

June 7-9, 2024: Camping

Important Dates to remember for future KPTA meetings:

May 21, 2024 (Elections - on Zoom)

October 1, 2024

January 14, 2025

March 11, 2025

May 6, 2025 (Elections/Special Meeting)

Important Dates to remember for future KPTA Board meetings:

September 17, 2024

November 12, 2024

February 11, 2025

April 8, 2025

May 13, 2025 (Retreat)

Important KPTA Events 2024-2025:

September 8, 2024: Memorial Car Show (postponed)

October 19, 2024: Gallaudet Homecoming Bake Sale

October 26, 2024: Trunk n Treat

February 15: Winter Love Dance

May 5 - 9: Teacher Appreciation Week

May 17, 2025: Touch-A-Truck

June 13 - 15, 2025: Camping

April 2026 - GALA (TBA)

President Noah Beckman adjourned the meeting at 7:53 pm.