First District PTA Newsletter for Local Leaders | November 7, 2022

IN THIS ISSUE

  • President's Message
  • Office News
  • Parliamentarian
  • Special Events
  • Community Concerns
  • Membership
  • Treasurer
  • Education

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MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

MEANINGFUL FAMILY ENGAGEMENT 

 

Thank you to the wonderful group of superintendents, administrators, and PTA leaders who joined us at our annual Superintendents & Administrators Conference! We were thrilled to host our keynote speaker, Frances Frost - Chair of the National PTA Family Engagement Committee, in a collaborative and engaging presentation on the National Standards for Family-School Partnerships, including the following six key tenets:


First District PTA challenges each council and unit PTA to collaborate with your administrators this term to establish a plan for Family Engagement that is inclusive to ALL families and supports the success and well-being of EVERY child!


Best Regards, 


Jessica Sheen, President

First District PTA

President@PTA1.org

OFFICE NEWS

NEW LOCATION

FIRST DISTRICT PTA HAS A NEW OFFICE


Visit us at our new location any time Monday through Thursday from 9 am to 2 pm. Please text (626) 289-1448 when you arrive and our office manager will let you in. 


For post-marked mail or mail dropoff after hours, please continue to use the address and dropbox at the 1008 S. 8th Street location until further notice.


Patricia Ornelas-Jarquin

Office Manager

officemanager@pta1.org

PARLIAMENTARIAN

NOMINATING COMMITTEES

NOMINATING COMMITTEE PROCESS

The nominating committee is the PTA’s most responsible, sensitive, and deliberative committee. The committee is tasked with finding the most qualified nominees for each elected officer position for the unit/council.


Information about when and how a nominating committee is elected is found in the bylaws.


Unit bylaws found in Article V – Officers and Their Election



  • Section 2 – States who are officers of the association.
  • Section 4a - Nominating committee is elected by association – no date given but must be at least two months prior to the annual election meeting.
  • Section 4c – States the number of committee members and alternates of nominating committee.
  • Section 4e – The report of the nominating committee shall be submitted to the membership at least 28 days prior to the annual election meeting.
  • Section 7 – States when the election meeting is held.


Council bylaws found in Article VI – Officers and Their Election

  • Section 2 – States who are officers of the council.
  • Section 4a - Nominating committee is elected by association – no date given but must at least two months prior to the election meeting.
  • Section 4c – States the number of committee members and alternates of nominating committee
  • Section 5 - The report of the nominating committee shall be submitted to the membership at least 28 days prior to the annual or biennial election meeting.
  • Section 7 – States when the election meeting is held.


The nominating committee is tasked with choosing the best candidates to serve as officers of the PTA for the next term.


The parliamentarian will schedule the first meeting of the nominating committee where the committee will elect its own chair. The parliamentarian will give information and advice on procedures and then leave the meeting if not an elected member of the committee. The principal of the school or a faculty representative, if not elected, shall serve as an advisor to the committee. No person may serve two consecutive years and the president may not serve on the committee.


The committee reviews the requirement for nominees and officers’ duties and must engage in open discussion on potential nominees. The committee must consider the potential nominees based on abilities as well as capacity for leadership growth. It is important that all deliberations of the committee remain confidential. The committee must select only eligible nominees who agree to serve on the PTA board. 


Once the slate has been completed, a nominating committee report is signed by each member of the committee and provided to the association at least 28 days in advance of the election meeting. The committee serves until the election meeting.


Please contact me with any questions regarding electing the nominating committee.


Michelle Hurst

Parliamentarian

parliamentarian@pta1.org

FIRST DISTRICT NOMINATING COMMITTEE

SEEKING BOARD APPLICANTS

FIRST DISTRICT PTA RECRUITING FOR 23-25 BOARD


The First District PTA Nominating Committee is recruiting for the 2023-2025 term. The term begins July 1, 2023, and ends June 30, 2025. 


The following District Board of Director positions are available for the 2023 elections:

  • District President
  • District Treasurer
  • District Secretary
  • Leadership Vice President
  • Membership Vice President
  • Community Concerns Vice President
  • Legislation & Advocacy Vice President
  • Education & Family Engagement Vice President
  • District Events Vice President
  • Communications Vice President
  • District Auditor
  • District Compliance Support Officer
  • District Parliamentarian (appointed by District President-Elect)

 

We invite all eligible local leaders to self-nominate. The eligibility requirements to serve on the District Board of Directors can be found in our district bylaws, Article VII section 6 and 7.


Please note the following eligibility requirements:


a.    For the office of president, must be a member of a local association in good standing within the District PTA boundaries at least thirty (30) days prior to election.

b.    For the office of president, have served an association and/or council as president, or have served on the District board for 1 year.

c.    Any local leader that has served on the First District board, including officers of the district, presidents of councils and out-of-council units, chairpersons of standing committees, or have served on a council board in an equivalent position at least one year.

d.    Only those persons who are eligible and who have signified their consent to serve if elected shall be nominated for or elected to office.

e.    Nominees for the offices of president, treasurer, auditor, or any elected officer who is authorized to sign checks, shall not be related by blood or marriage or reside in the same household.

f.     No member shall serve concurrently in more than one elected or appointed District office.

g.    During his/her term of office, a council president shall not serve as an elected or appointed District officer.


Each job description can be found in the District Standing Rules, Duties of Officers.


Please click here to complete your Self-Nomination Form (SNF) for one or more of these positions. SNF’s are due via the Google Form by 11:59 p.m. PST on Tuesday, November 29, 2022. All interested candidates who wish to be elected to serve in a District Board of Director capacity will submit their SNF during the nominating period of each election year.


Please reach out to the First District PTA Nominating Committee Chair if you have any questions by emailing education@pta1.org

 

Thank you for serving all children with one voice.

SPECIAL EVENTS

HOLIDAY LUNCHEON

DONATIONS FOR SENIOR SCHOLARSHIPS


The Annual Holiday Luncheon will be held at the Sheraton Fairplex Pomona on Monday, December 5, 2022.


This event serves as a Fundraiser for First District PTA Senior Scholarships. Each Council and Out-Of-Council Unit will be asked to donate a silent auction basket to help raise the funds. 


We are also asking Councils and Out-of-Council Units to donate small items for raffle drawings. Examples include candles, picture frames, holiday decorations, etc. Proceeds from raffle drawings will go towards Senior Scholarships as well.


Silent auction baskets will be due to the First District PTA at the November 28 District Board Meeting.


Lenka Kendall

VP Special Events

districtevents@pta1.org

COMMUNITY CONCERNS

ASSISTING YOUTH FACILITIES

STRESS BALL DONATIONS


Each year, First District PTA philanthropically supports the students at BJ Nidorf Juvenile Hall, Afflerbaugh-Paige Camp School, and Glenn Rockey Camp School. At their request, First District PTA is asking for donations of stress balls. We are hoping to get as many as 300! Please bring all donations to the Annual Holiday Luncheon or drop them off at the First District PTA office (during office hours) by December 1.


When purchasing the stress balls please:

  • Make sure they are "hand therapy stress balls"
  • Avoid the small, child-friendly squishy balls 
  • Avoid any with liquid content


Click here to see an example of the type of stress balls to donate.


If you have any questions, please reach out to Sandy Russell. Thank you in advance for your continued support and advocacy for all children.


Sandy Russell

VP Community Concerns

communityconcerns@pta1.org

MEMBERSHIP

SUBMIT 15 MEMBERSHIPS BY NOV. 14 TO REMAIN IN GOOD STANDING 

FIRST DISTRICT MEMBERSHIP GOALS


First District councils and units are performing extremely well so far this year! As of Friday, October 21, 2022, we had 53,552 members, which is 76% of the way to our year-end goal of 70,000! Let's see how far we can go! Please congratulate all the hardworking members of your team for effectively promoting membership, and your members, for seeing the value of PTA. 


Other highlights include: 201 units have qualified for CAPTA's Ready, Set, Remit challenge, with special props to the following councils for having every one of their units meet Ready, Set, Remit: Alhambra, Arcadia, Bonita, Charter Oak, Covina-Valley, Glendale, La Cañada, Monrovia, Rosemead, San Marino, South Pasadena, Temple City, and West Covina! Congratulations!


54 units have met First District's Yield challenge (at least 10 more members than the 21-22 total membership), and 11 units have met First District's Full Harvest challenge (100% or more of last year's school enrollment). October's council bumper crop trophy went to South Pasadena, whose membership is already at 108% over last year's membership. The Yield Per Acre trophy went to San Marino, whose membership count is 84.5% of their total cumulative unit enrollment. Great work to everyone for meeting these challenges! Keep up the good work!


A reminder that in order to remain in good standing, all units must have at least 15 memberships remitted and received by First District through channels, on Totem, or a combination of the two no later than November 14, 2022. Please let Kitty Cahalan know if you have questions.


Kitty Cahalan

VP Membership

membership@pta1.org

TREASURER 

TAXES, INSURANCE & WHY PTAS SHOULDN'T USE PEER-PEER APPS

TAX REPORTS DUE 


IMPORTANT: All council and unit PTAs are required to file annual tax reports with the IRS, California Franchise Tax Board, and State of CA Office of the Attorney General.


•     Fiscal Year End 5/31 – Tax filing due date was October 15th

•     Fiscal Year End 6/30 – Tax filing due date is November 15th


Here is a list of the tax reports that every PTA must file:

  • Internal Revenue Service Form 990, 990EZ (gross receipts over $50,000) or 990N (gross receipts $0 - $50,000)
  • California State Franchise Tax Board Form 199 (gross receipts over $50,000) or 199N (gross receipts $0 - $50,000)
  • California State Attorney General’s Office of Charitable Trust Registration Renewal form RRF-1 (all PTAs) and CT-TR-1 (gross receipts $0 - $50,000)
  • **NOTE: New fee schedule for the RRF-1 effective January 1, 2022**
  • Less than $50,000 in revenue – fee is $25
  • Between $50,000 and $100,000 – fee is $50
  • Between $100,001 and $250,000 – fee is $75


California State PTA is also offering tax preparation support! If your PTA normally makes less than $50,000 a year, California State PTA can help you file all of your tax reports. They will be offering tax filing appointments from November 7 – 9. Contact treasurer@capta.org to make an appointment.


Please review our handout titled PTA Taxes: What Do We Need to File?” More information about tax filing requirements can be found on the California State PTA website (CAPTA.org) on their Tax Filing Support Center page. This page also includes very helpful annotated RRF-1 and CT-TR-1 forms.


Once your tax reports are completed, please remember these final steps:

•     Send tax reports to each agency via certified mail, receipt requested, and KEEP PROOF of MAILING

•     Upload copies of completed filings to MyPTEZ Document Management (this feature in myPTEZ is FREE for ALL PTAs to use; contact your council PTA or First District PTA for a username and password if you do not already have one)

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INSURANCE PREMIUMS DUE – NEW PAYMENT PROCEDURE


ALL insurance payments must be made directly to our insurance broker AIM (Association Insurance Management, Inc). DO NOT SEND INSURANCE PREMIUMS THROUGH CHANNELS!


All PTAs will fill out the insurance questionnaire and submit payment through the AIM Insurance Portal. Your president and treasurer have received an email directly from AIM with a link to the portal.


Insurance payments must be made to AIM no later than December 20th or a late fee applies. Please allow time for it to arrive by the deadline if you are paying by check. The deadline means the payment must be “received by,”not “postmarked by” the 20th.


CLICK HERE TO PAY INSURANCE NOW


You may pay the insurance premium via ACH transfer or unit check. A short video tutorial on how to use the portal and make your payment is available here: HOW TO PAY INSURANCE VIDEO


Don’t forget to visit California State PTA’s website to download the latest copy of the Insurance Guide from AIM. The guide is also available in Spanish here. 

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FAQs FROM THE FIELD – CAN WE USE VENMO TO COLLECT PAYMENTS?


California State PTA recently addressed a common question about the use of peer-to-peer platforms like Venmo. Here is their response:


Q: Our PTA wants to be able to accept credit card payments. Are apps like Venmo okay to use?


A: In our personal lives everyone is using apps to make payments, and folks are asking “Can PTAs use Venmo?” “What about Cash App?” The answer is no.


These types of apps are peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms that aren’t developed to serve groups, especially nonprofits like PTAs. A P2P platform’s primary role is exactly that — transactions between two individuals for personal means, like paying a friend back for dinner. Great for individuals, but not for PTAs. Read more here: 5 Key Reasons you don’t want to use P2P Platforms for PTA Funding.


PTAs should not use Person to Person apps for PTA business – period.


An alternative to apps like Venmo is Cheddar Up. For more information about their platform, visit the Cheddar Up website by clicking here. See the original blog post about this topic on the CAPTA website HERE.


California State PTA is a nonprofit and non-commercial volunteer organization and does not endorse any product, publication, or business associated with sponsorship partners.


QUESTIONS? CONTACT ME!

If you have any questions, please contact me at Treasurer@PTA1.org, and be sure to add my email address to your safe email sender list to avoid losing important information in your spam folder. If you have an urgent question (need a response in less than 24 to 48 hours), you can text or call me at (818) 653-7703.

EDUCATION

REFLECTIONS DEADLINE REMINDER

REFLECTIONS


Reminder: School site unit PTAs should check with their school district council PTA for Reflection due dates. All Reflections entry submission spreadsheets from council PTAs and all Out-of-Council PTAs are due virtually to First District PTA by Thursday, December 1, 2022.  



Any questions can be sent to Reflections@pta1.org.

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This email was sent to all unit and council PTA officers and chairpersons,
principals, superintendents, and the First District PTA Board of Directors.