Newsletter - January 2026

-- by Anne Emfinger (President)

president@ninthdistrictpta.org

Ninth District PTA 2025-2026 Membership Goal

During 2024-2025 we had a total of 47,416 (green) PTA members. Our goal for 2025-2026 is 50,000 (blue) PTA Members.

September 30, 2025 - 30,396 (red) PTA Members.
October 31, 2025 - 38,674 (pink) PTA Members.
November 30, 2025 - 40,866 (orange) PTA members.
December 31, 2025 - 41,699 (yellow) PTA members.

Keep up the great teamwork, and your membership drive!

Save the Date - Reflections Showcase

March 12, 2025

More information on this event will be sent out soon!

--Jemima Dutra (Reflections Chairperson)

reflections@ninthdistrictpta.org

Taxes

Hope you all knocked out those 2024-2025 tax and attorney general filings! It’s crucial for keeping your non-profit status intact and staying in good standing with the PTA. If you haven't gotten that done yet, seriously, reach out to your council leadership or me ASAP.

So, what do you do with all those documents now? Head over to the new Future Fund Connect website to upload them.

-- Deborah Childers (Treasurer)

treasurer@ninthdistrictpta.org

Uploading to Future Fund

A quick heads-up: most of the stuff you just finished closes out the last fiscal year. Don't instinctively dump everything into the 2025-2026 folder.

If you were on top of it and uploaded to myPTez before October 31st, your docs should be there already. Just double-check that everything transferred to the right spot. Good news is that you can now upload more than one document for a filing. You can also view what you uploaded without downloading it first!🤗 Here’s where everything goes:

For the 2024-2025 Fiscal Year:

2024-2025 End-of-Year Financial Report
2024-2025 End-of-Year Financial Review
2024 990N or 990EZ
2024 199N or 199
2024-2025 RRF-1 with CT-TR-1 or 990EZ

For the new 2025-2026 Fiscal Year:

2025-2026 Budget
2026 Insurance Certificate
2025 Workers Compensation Report

If you need a hand with the uploads, California State PTA has webinars on their website and new training sessions coming up in January.

-- Deborah Childers (Treasurer)

treasurer@ninthdistrictpta.org

Workers’ Comp Report (Deadline was Jan 31!)

Around December 15th, all unit presidents and/or treasurers got an email with the subject line: “NOW OPEN: 2025-2026 Workers’ Compensation Annual Payroll Report Filing Window.”

Every unit and council has to file this report, preferably online to AIM, by January 31st. Even if you didn't pay anyone (zero payroll/paid vendors), you still have to submit it!

The report covers payments to workers/vendors from Jan 5, 2025, through Jan 4, 2026. Hopefully, your predecessor made a list of those payments for you—otherwise, you might need to do a little digging. The form takes between 5 to 15 minutes for most units, so do it today!

The email you received has all the specifics on how to complete the forms, and you can also check out the California State PTA toolkit for more info.

-- Deborah Childers (Treasurer)

treasurer@ninthdistrictpta.org

A Few Quick Nudges:

Treasurers: Get those books ready for the mid-year financial review—it’s highly recommended!
Presidents & Secretaries: Make sure all those authorization forms are signed off on!
Secretaries: Get your meeting minutes ready to go to the financial review committee.

As always, if you run into questions or need a hand, just holler at your council leadership or us here at Ninth District PTA. We're here to help!

-- Deborah Childers (Treasurer)

treasurer@ninthdistrictpta.org

Getting Ready for The Annual Election

It’s that time of year again! To make sure PTA/PTSA elections run smoothly, it’s time to form the Nominating Committee.

According to our bylaws (Article V, Section 4), this committee needs to be elected at least 60 days before our annual election. Since PTAs/PTSAs hold elections in March or April, now is the perfect time to add "Electing the Nominating Committee" to the January or February meeting agenda.

Remember, electing this committee is a required step to keep the PTA/PTSA in good standing and ensure there are great leaders for next year.

Need a hand? We are here to help! If you have any questions about the process, please reach out to:

Your Council Parliamentarian - if you’re in a council
District Parliamentarian: parliamentarian@ninthdistrictpta.org

-- Sue King (Parliamentarian)

parliamentarian@ninthdistrictpta.org

10 Reasons to Conduct Elections Per Bylaws Timeline

Bylaws indicate when elections are held. But WHY is it important to elect new officers before the current school year ends and not when the new school year starts? If the new school year begins without officers elected in the spring: 4 months of transition and planning time is lost. The new board can begin meeting and planning right after their election. Here are the first 5 issues you will experience if you don’t conduct elections when specified in the bylaws:

The program and budget committees have inadequate time to plan prior to the first association meeting in August or September for approval.
The PTA executive board must play catch-up. It can take months to feel organized and prepared to effectively lead the association.
Banking, check signatures and bill paying can be delayed if previous officers have moved on and financial issues have not been addressed at the end of one fiscal year and the beginning of another (July 1 for most units)
The transition of officers and chairmen after an extended break loses the momentum of sharing and passing on information and materials. If past officers or chairmen move to another campus or community, materials and procedure books often become lost.
Newly-elected officers miss the opportunity to participate in training provided by the district and council PTA in the spring, as well as convention. Bylaws state the president-elect is entitled to represent the PTA at the annual California State PTA convention, if the budget allows. The annual convention is always held in late April or very early May.

By following your bylaws and electing officers this spring, your PTA/PTSA guarantees a strong start to the next school year, maximizing every opportunity to support your students and school community. Part 2 next month!

-- Denae Senise (Leadership)

leadership@ninthdistrictpta.org

Ready to Lead? Make Your Mark on the 2026-2027 School Year!

Have you ever thought about joining the PTA Executive Board? Whether you want to

lead the charge as an officer or simply ensure your voice is heard during our annual

elections, now is the time to get involved.

To run for a position or cast your vote at any PTA meeting, you must be a member for at

least 30 days. Joining today ensures you’re eligible to help shape the future of our

school!

For the fine print on eligibility, check out Article V, Section 5a of our bylaws.

-- Sue King (Parliamentarian)

parliamentarian@ninthdistrictpta.org

Ninth District PTA

Annual Meeting & Founders’ Day Breakfast

Celebrating 129 Years of PTA!

Wednesday, March 11, 2026

8:00 am Doors open / 8:30 am-9:30 am Breakfast / 10:00 am Meeting

Sharp Prebys Innovation & Education Center

8695 Spectrum Center Blvd. San Diego, CA 92123

$35.00 - Reservations received by February 20, 2026

$50.00 - Reservations received between February 21- March 6, 2026

Online (Pay by ACH or with Credit Card) at:

Click Here to Register

Registration note: To avoid extra online processing fees, simply select “Other” in the optional fee section when checking out on Zeffy.

PTA Spotlight

If you know of a PTA/PTSA that should be spotlighted in our February Newsletter please fill out this Google Form and submit it by midnight of January 26, 2026.

-- by Sonya Vargas (Vice President, Communications Director)

communications@ninthdistrictpta.org

6401 Linda Vista Rd., Annex A

San Diego, CA 92111 • (858.268.8077)

www.ninthdistrictpta.org

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