BRIARGROVE ELEMENTARY PTO BOARD MEETING MINUTES
November 3, 2011
The Meeting of the Briargrove Elementary School PTO Board was held on November 3, 2011 at the home of Michelle Baird. The Meeting was called to order at 12:00 p.m. by President Aimee Verheeck with a quorum of members present.
Ms. Verheeck welcomed Members to the Meeting and asked everyone to read the Roadrunner Recognitions on the back of the Meeting Agenda. Ms. Verheeck then asked Secretary Beth Richey to read the Minutes from the previous Meeting. A motion to dispense with the reading of the minutes was made by Ms. Khater and a second was made by Ms. Knolle. Ms. Verheeck then asked for the Treasurer’s Report.
Ms. Spears directed the Members to review the Financial Documents provided. No questions were posed. Ms. Spears reminded the Board that the checking account at Sterling Bank would be closed soon, and anyone holding a reimbursement check drawn on Sterling Bank must cash it immediately. In addition, anyone who has not turned in Carnival reimbursement requests should do so now.
Ms. Verheeck then delivered her President’s Report beginning with a discussion and reminder about the Buzz and Buzz Lite and how those publications facilitate communication and serve as marketing pieces for the school. The day meetings have been well-received, and the next meeting will be at the school in February. In January, there will be a Trustee Appreciation function to honor Harvin Moore, who has been invaluable in dealing with enrollment issues.
Ms. Verheeck then brought up an issue for voting before the Board. The counselor has worked well this first semester, and Ms. Verheeck proposed covering the cost for those services again next semester with the funds to be taken from the General Fund. A motion was made by Ms. McConn to pay for the counselor next semester out of the General Fund, and the motion was given a second by Ms. Knolle. Ms. Verheeck asked for a show of hands vote, and the Board voted affirmatively to spend the funds.
The Principal’s Report was then given by Ms. Russell. The counselor, Heather Payne, has been a positive addition to the school. She is a doctoral candidate in psychology from the DePelchin Center, and we will receive a different doctoral candidate next semester. Ms. Payne is on campus every Tuesday and she receives referrals from parents and teachers. After an initial meeting with a student, she asks for permission from a parent/guardian before proceeding further with the child. Because of the affiliation with DePelchin, there are many resources to which parents can be directed.
Ms. Russell discussed the enrollment issues facing the school, and the alternatives for how those problems might be solved. The use of a temporary building has been suggested by the district, but because of our small area of property it might not be feasible. Ms. Russell would like the district to examine the property and acknowledge that we cannot accommodate a temporary building. An overflow school at the Post Oak YMCA is an alternative which has been used in the past, but this solution poses some logistical problems. The most likely solution, at least for the short term, would be to cap enrollment at a certain point. Fourth grade is just been capped.
The School at St. George was also discussed as it could more easily house temporary buildings and it is not currently full, so overflow can be sent there if needed. Ms. Russell will have more information about the capping process as the year progresses.
Committee Reports were then delivered to the Board.
Sallie Guerino stated that Grandparents’ Bingo was such a success that a Parent Bingo Night is in the planning stages. The Kindergarten Open House for prospective families was also a success with 40 families in attendance.
Courtenay Nichols reported that the Carnival made a net profit of $27,000.
Andrea Brooks reported that School Supplies were ordered in the summer, so after a few weeks, newly-enrolled students were told they had to purchase their own supplies because the PTO packages were sold out. There are still 83 outstanding bills for supplies.
Ellecia Knolle gave a report for the Family Fundraising Chair. A letter with an enclosed envelope was just mailed to families who will be asked to make their one-time donations to the PTO.
Leah Eknoyen talked about plans for the Spring Auction. She sent around a sign-up sheet for volunteers to help with the event. The theme is “Everybody is Somebody at Briargrove”.
The Book Fair will be held shortly and the Essay Contest has 150 entrants. The Chairs would also like volunteers to help with check-out/cash machines.
Patriots Day is scheduled for November 10th and plans are ongoing.
The report on Curriculum Enhancement was given by Christina Manero. The Journalism Club is interested in producing a paper and a local anchorwoman who is also a BG parent will be taking them on a field trip. Speakers are also planned for the Spring. Piano lessons and public speaking are going to be offered next semester. The Jogging Club needs volunteers every Wednesday morning or it will have to disband.
Mercedes Bonnet reported that the library is functioning fine, but could use more volunteers.
Science Day will be November 22. Ms. Felton is in charge of the planning. Mad Science will be giving presentations and individual experiments will be taking place in the classrooms. Volunteers are needed for these activities. In addition, the Multi-Purpose Room will be in use for this event, so the Room Parent Coordinators were asked to solicit volunteers to eat lunch with the classes so the teachers can get a break.
Ms. Knolle, House and Grounds, reported that rose beds will be installed in a few days.
Ms. Cochran reported on activities at Grady Middle School. The new building will be ready shortly and BG parents will be asked to come for a special tour. The 7th and 8th grades are planning a school trip to Boston and the basketball season is underway.
There being no further business, Ms. Verheeck adjourned the Meeting at 1:35 p.m.
This next letter is from Houston ISD Trustee Harvin Moore in response to recent concerns about classroom and school overcrowding at Briargrove Elementary:
This next letter is from Houston ISD Trustee Harvin Moore in response to recent concerns about classroom and school overcrowding at Briargrove Elementary:
Thank you for contacting me recently concerning the discussions about dealing with overcrowded conditions at Briargrove Elementary School. First, let me say that no decision has been made about how to deal with these conditions, and second, that I want to solve the problem, at least in the short run, with little, and preferably no, change to the attendance zone.
As you may know, Briargrove is a very popular and successful school, with an enrollment that has been on a steady and continuous increase since 1985. Unlike many schools, Briargrove has no transfer students because it is so popular in its own zone, and today there are more children going to public school in Briargrove's original attendance zone than at any time in its 53 year history.
Briargrove's popularity has presented challenges for many years because, even with the new school we built in 2008, Briargrove has found it impossible to stay within state-mandated class size rules because so many families want their children want to go to school there. The shameful public education budget passed by the Texas Legislature this summer cut $5.4 billion statewide, and $200 million from HISD this year and next, and exacerbated class size problems. And while the Legislature claimed the cuts were necessary due to the poor economy, in actual fact they were necessary primarily because the two previous legislatures had cut revenue streams associated with public education, including using $3.3 billion of federal education stimulus dollars to supplant state education funding (if you are interested in knowing more about this, please read my article that is published in this week's Memorial Examiner: http://harvinmoore.com/turning-to-the-courts-to-untangle-texas-school-finance-mess/ )
In any case, times are tight and Briargrove is more popular than ever before, with the result that Briargrove has more class size waivers than any other school in HISD except one, and the school and its parents are determined, understandably, to get back into compliance. Each year, dozens of families enroll their children on the first few days before or after school begins, and continue to do so well into the Fall, making scheduling and planning extremely difficult and exacerbating class size problems.
The school held a large, well attended meeting about a month ago for parents to discuss these issues with each other and with representatives from central office and myself. The purpose of the meeting was to lay out the facts and the possible choices for action to deal with this continuing problem, and to discuss community preferences. We discussed short term solutions such as capping class sizes, turning school public areas into classrooms, moving temporary buildings into the parking lots, and shrinking the attendance zone. We discussed long term solutions like adding an additional story to the one-story sections of the school, building a new elementary school and splitting the zone in half, or starting a new school at an external location like the Post Oak Y. Nothing was off the table in our discussion, and none of the choices were attractive. The clear sense of the parent community was that capping class sizes, and therefore turning away students once capacity has been reached, was the first choice, although we all know that in the long run, bigger changes will have to be made as more and more area parents send their children to Briargrove.
Since the meeting, I have worked with HISD administration to review the demographic data, school attendance in all nearby schools, and attendance zones, as well as the costs and challenges associated with all the other choices. Briargrove PTO leadership will be meeting again in the next few days to discuss the status of this work. In the meantime, PTO and other parents are communicating with friends in the area, including their friends in Del Monte I and II, and with other community resources, such as real estate agents, to get all possible information about the best way to deal with this problem in the short run and the long run.
I told those at the large meeting last month that I wanted to make a decision that would have the support of the vast majority of the school population, but that no solution would satisfy everyone. As I look at the information assembled so far, I do feel it is possible to handle Briargrove's overcrowding, at least in the short run, with an attendance cap and not a change in the zone. But there will be frustration when someone moves to the area after the start of school and must join a waiting list - again, no choice is ideal.
I really thank you for reaching out to me about this issue. All of us want strong public schools, and learning environments within those schools that continue to attract parents - in one sense, today's cchallenges are good problems to have. Decisions about what to do in this situation at this time will made with the continued input of the school community, and the Briargrove PTO will be continuing discussions over the next few months, so that a final decision can be made early in 2012 to ensure everyone can plan for the following school year.
I am cc'ing this email to Ami Verheeck, the President of the Briargrove PTO, so that she can keep you advised of any major developments on this issue.
Thanks again for writing.
Sincerely,
Harvin C. Moore
HISD Trustee, District VII
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