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Sixth District Legislative Round Table
L
isten and/or join in the discussion with our local legislators,
and their staff on three hot education topics:
Adequate Funding,
Raising Teacher Status, and
Early Childhood Education.
Thursday November 16
6:30 pm - 7:00 pm- Meet & Greet
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm - Legislative Round Table
FUHSD Professional Learning Ctr (rear building)
Fremont Union High School District Office,
589 W Fremont Ave, Sunnyvale [map] [campus map]
To inform our discussion, please [
click here]
for more on this year's topics. What can be done legislatively or on the Nov. 2018 ballot?
Come discuss these three topics with our legislators and parents!
Adequate Funding
- "We have an obligation and a responsibility to be investing in our students and our schools." - Barack Obama
- Even with the Prop 55 extension of Prop. 30 taxes, our funding is below average, and California's schools rank in the bottom 5. LCFF improves equity, but does not address adequacy. How can we restore long-term increased stable funding for our children's schools?
Raising Teacher Status
- "Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is the most important." - Bill Gates
- In countries with high-performing schools, teachers are better trained, better paid, better supported, and better respected than in the US. How can we change the way we view the teaching profession, so that we can better recruit and retain and properly compensate our children's teachers?
Early Childhood Education
- "The best investment is in quality early childhood development from birth to five for disadvantaged children and their families." -James J. Heckman, Nobel Prize-winning economist.
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Santa Clara County's Superintendent of Schools says the County Office's work on early learning is its highest priority project. How can we improve access to high quality, affordable, early learning for
all
of California's children?
- Only 13% of California's low-income children are in the kind of high-quality preschools that can improve outcomes.
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New Insurance Guide for 2018
Presidents - Please check your mail for your
insurance and financial mailing
from CAPTA.
- Included is the PTA insurance guide. It is sent to each president. It includes the "red light, yellow light and green light" pages which describe things that are covered or not covered by insurance.
- It also includes an "incident report form" which needs to be filled in when there's an accident at a PTA event.
- If you ever have questions about insurance or events, the insurance contact information is in this guide.
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Are you running your PTA in compliance
with your bylaws?
- Do you have the officers listed in your bylaws?
- Are your standing committees represented at board meetings?
- Are your meetings held on the day that is listed in your bylaws?
- What month is your nominating committee elected?
- Have you increased your membership dues?
Do you want or need to make changes in time for your elections or for next school year? Are your unit bylaws up to date or were they last updated three or more years ago?
For both situations, now is a good time to form a bylaws review committee.
Bylaws should be reviewed every year and they MUST be updated, even if your unit has no changes to make, every three years.
Start with the president forming the committee at an executive board meeting. If your unit has a parliamentarian, then they would be the chairman. Follow Easy Steps for Bylaws Review to work through the bylaws process. Submit an updated set of bylaws for approval as soon as possible.
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Reflections Entries Due
Reflections winners are due to the Sixth District PTA office by
NOON on Friday, December 1
. Our office is located in the Library of the Santa Clara Office of Education, 1290 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose.
Reflections Reception will be held on Monday, January 9 at Santa Clara Office of Education.
- 6:00 - 7:00 - Gallery/Open House
- 7:00 - 8:00 - Awards Ceremony
Questions? Please email Susan Canty
, Reflections Chair.
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Is it an Onion, an Opportunity Drawing
or a Raffle?
Onions and onion rings, opportunity drawings and raffles...oh so close but not the same.
If we sell tickets and we call it an opportunity drawing...
- Nice try. No. The California Attorney General says that if participants are required to purchase a ticket in order to have a chance to win a prize then it is a raffle.
Can we hold a 50/50 raffle?
- Nope. From the Attorney General, "90 percent of the gross receipts generated by the sale of raffle tickets for any given draw are to be used by the eligible organization for charitable purposes. For example: An organization raised $100 in ticket sales. It would be required to spend $90 of that amount to further its charitable purposes, and only $10 could be used to help pay for expenses or operating costs associated with conducting the raffle."
- So ... 50/50 raffles are illegal because 90 percent of the gross ticket-sale revenue is not used for charitable purposes.
- But... the organization is not precluded from using funds from sources other than the sale of raffle tickets to pay for the administration or other costs of conducting the raffle.
I want to do right, what should I do?
- Register for a Raffle Permit with the California Attorney General's office at least 60 days before your raffle. Cost is $20 for the year.
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Do 1 Thing - Monthly Reminder
Small steps toward being prepared for an emergency
Do 1 Thing
is a 12-month program that makes it easy for you to prepare yourself, your family, and your community for emergencies or disasters.
November: Emergency Supplies
Remember important items that may be overlooked when leaving your home in an emergency.
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To Reason or Not to Reason
"You might be looking for reasons but there are no reasons."
- Nina LaCour, Hold Still
Which means you don't even need to think about it, your PTA just has to file the
990n/990EZ/990, 199n/199, and RRF-1 every year
...
- if your PTA is filing a 990n, 199n and RRF-1, you MUST file by Nov 15, since the IRS does not allow for extensions.
- if your PTA is filing 990EZ/990, 199 and RRF-1, and you will NOT finish the 990EZ/990 on time, then you must file for an extension before November 15 (aim to file extension before Nov 10). Please file Form 8868 which will give you an automatic 3-month extension for all three returns (990EZ/990, 199, and RRF-1).
Information for filing your taxes:
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PTA Calendar of Essential Requirements
November 2017 -
- Taxes - due officially to IRS, FTB, and AG no later than Nov 15
- Nominating Committee - start asking for volunteers [Info] [Toolkit]
- Founder's Day - Start planning now for February
- Insurance Premium - $228 for units
- Please thank your October Volunteers
- Give thanks with your family and friends
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Previous Issues
Nov 8 - Is it an Onion, an Opportunity Drawing, or a Raffle
- Sixth District Legislative Round Table
- Reflection Entries Due - Dec 1
- Do 1 Thing - Monthly Reminder - Emergency Supplies
Nov 1 - Who Appoints the Nominating Committee
- To Reason or Not to Reason - Taxes
- The Most Important Committee - Nominating
- When You Turn 18: A Survival Guide for Teenagers
- Sixth District Legislative Round Table
Oct 25 - Its the Treasurer's Fault - Wrong Answer
- Finance for All Officers - Why?
- Tax Help Day
- Ever Have Problems Accessing Your e-Bylaws Account Online?
- Saturday Community Symposium:
Creating Partnerships to Lead Beyond Limits
Oct 18 - How to Help the Communities Effected by Fire (and Hurricanes)
- Questions to Ask During the Parent Teacher Conference
- E-Membership Cards are Available
- Training Opportunities: Finance for All, Parliamentarian, Auditor
- School Funding: Is Bad Good Enough
- Tax Help Day - Oct 30 and Nov 7
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Feel free to forward this e-newsletter to any and all PTA officers, members and other interested persons, and encourage them to
join our mailing list.
As always, you are encouraged to send us your suggestions for articles and additional information you would find useful. Thanks!
Questions? Comments? Contact
News You Can Use and News Flash e-newsletters
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