Chesterbrook PTA Friday Digest (No.18)

Friday Digest

No.18

In This Issue

Nominating Committee Volunteers

Fun Fair Kick-Off Meeting

2009/2010 Yearbook Cover Art Contest

Yoga

Federal Funding for FCPS

H1N1 Vaccination Clinic

Holding Children Accountable

PTA Online Auction

Little League Spring Registration

The Friday Digest Will Return In January

REQUEST For Volunteers For The Nominating Committee

The main piece of business during the Tuesday, January 9th PTA Meeting (8:30 AM in the Library) is to nominate the Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee is charged with recruiting PTA Members to run for Executive Committee Officer positions. We need at least three PTA members to serve on the Nominating Committee.

Here is how it works:

PTA Members interested in participating on the Nominating Committee identify themselves by attending the January 9th PTA Meeting.
The PTA Executive Board -- includes Executive Officers and Committee Chairs -- approves the nominees for the Nominating Committee. This will be done by electronic vote the week of February 8.
The PTA President prepares a Letter of Instruction that gives broad guidance to the Nominating Committee.
The Nominating Committee chooses a chairperson and goes about the business of identifying candidates to fill positions on the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee includes the President, two Vice Presidents, Secretary, and Treasurer, however just three of these positions need to be filled.
During the Tuesday, May 11 Evening PTA Meeting, the Nominating Committee reports to the Executive Board their recommended slate of candidates for the Executive Committee.
The slate is elected during the Tuesday, June 15 PTA General Membership Meeting.

See Article VIII, Section 4 of the Chesterbrook PTA Bylaws for more information.

Contact Greg Brandon at president@chesterbrook.org or 703-848-4796 for more information.

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Fun Fair Committee Kick-Off Meeting

The Fun Fair Kick-Off Meeting is scheduled for Friday, January 15th at 9:00 AM in the Cafeteria. The Fun Fair is a major fundraiser, along with the Online Auction, for the PTA. It is also the only fundraiser that requires a large team of co-chairs and general volunteers to produce. The general volunteer requirements are such that each class -- K through 6 -- provides four to six adult volunteers to help with set-up, run arcade games, police the moonbounces, sell tickets and food, and clean-up. We also rely on our Chesterbrook alumni network who have moved up to Longfellow MS and McLean HS to return to help run the arcade games.

Candace Stromberg and Melinda Settles are our Fun Fair Co-Chairs. If you are interested in helping lead and manage the Fun Fair, drop them an email at funfair@chesterbrook.org, or show up on January 15th.

Thanks, Candace and Melinda!

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2009/2010 Yearbook Cover Art Contest

This year, we would like to involve all interested students in the cover art for the Chesterbrook yearbook. The 6th grade will own the front cover, and Kindergarten through 5th grade will own the back cover. Put your creative minds to work over the holiday break and come up with an awesome cover for this year's yearbook.

Here is how it will work:

Design your idea for a cover on a regular 8 � " x 11" sheet of paper. You must leave �" border of white margin around all sides [simply measure, draw a box, and then keep all art inside the box]. Any medium is o.k. - paint, pencil, crayon, markers, etc.
The name "Chesterbrook Elementary" needs to be on the cover, as do the years 2009/2010.
Theme? Your choice -- Chip and Dale, the school building, what school means to you, students, backpacks, events over the years, a cool design...

Please enclose your flat un-folded design in an envelope or folder and mark it "YEARBOOK COVER" along with your name/teacher.

Due Date: January 13 to your teacher. Teachers will make the first round of judging, and then Mr. Fuqua and Mrs. Paper will make the final call. All entries will be displayed in the school after the judging. The winner will be announced in the Friday Digest and the Morning News.

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After-School Yoga: 5 Seats Remain Open for the Thursday Grades 3-6 Class

Class starts Thursday, January 14 and runs for 10 weeks. Tuition is $100.00 (scholarships are available).

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Federal Funding Sources Included in the FCPS FY2010 Budget

[The following is straight from the Approved FY2010 FCPS Budget with editorial comments provided in brackets. Please note that we are in the middle of FY2010. Dr. Jack Dale's proposed FY2011 FCPS Budget will be released on Thursday, January 7. We intend to review that budget during the weeks leading up to the Tuesday, February 9 PM PTA Meeting.]

Federal Mandates (page 15). The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) - This Act was a major expansion of federal authority over state and local educational programs and places significant administrative and fiscal burdens on local school divisions. Based on the most recent statewide data available, in FY 2008 more than $16.3 million needed to comply with the law was unfunded. In addition, in the first six years of implementation (FY 2003 - FY 2008) FCPS has spent $517.7 million on prevention strategies to ensure that schools achieve Adequate Yearly Progress.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) - In 1975, the federal government made a commitment to fund 40 percent of the excess costs of special education. However, excluding ARRA funds, federal funding currently only covers 13.8 percent of FCPS' costs, a shortfall of almost $61.9 million.

Impact Aid - A federal program designed to minimize the fiscal inequities caused by both the presence of tax exempt federal property and the increased burden of providing education to large numbers of children whose parents reside and/or work on federal property, has not been fully funded for decades. If this program were fully funded, based on current funding formulas, Fairfax County would be eligible for an additional $15.8 million. [Every Fall parents receive an Impact Aid Student-Parent Survey from FCPS. FCPS uses the data from the forms to support its request for Federal Impact Aid funds.]

Federal Aid (page 38). Federal aid is projected to be $84.0 million in FY 2010, an increase of $34.0 million, or 67.9 percent, over the FY 2009 estimate. This increase is primarily due to an additional $42.6 million in funding for public education under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The $8.6 million offset is due to carryover in the FY 2009 estimate. Major sources of federal funds are provided through the Impact Aid and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) programs. Additionally, ARRA includes three primary sources of funding: State Fiscal Stabilization Funds (SFSF), IDEA ARRA, and Title I, Part A ARRA. Title I, Part A ARRA funding is accounted for in the Grants and Self-Supporting Fund. FCPS also receives an additional $33.4 million in federal entitlement funding for the No Child Left Behind Act. This funding is also accounted for in the Grants and Self-Supporting Fund.

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (VA Dept of Education webpage) (page 40). ($42.6 million and 442.5 positions) Although significant budget reductions were necessary to balance the FY 2010 budget, the federal stimulus package, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), enabled FCPS to restore some advertised budget reductions and to avert even more reductions ("Grim" budget reductions) that would have been necessary due to the combination of declining revenues, level county funding, and projected enrollment growth. Of the total ARRA funding, $18.9 million is targeted for programs funded by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, http://idea.ed.gov/), $6.7 million is targeted for Title I schools. FCPS also received $23.7 million in state fiscal stabilization funds that was used to prevent an additional increase in the size of general education classes. Stimulus funding will be provided to FCPS for two years, however, only one year of funding is included in this budget. Title I ARRA funding is accounted for in the Grants and Self-Supporting Fund and not reflected in the total above. The adjacent chart details specific stimulus expenditures from the Operating Fund. In FY 2010, ARRA funding enabled the restoration of $1.4 million to replace equipment that is unserviceable or obsolete and provided $1.7 million for extending learning opportunities in elementary schools. ARRA funding also allowed FCPS to avert a general education class size increase beyond 0.5 students and the loss of 274.0 teacher positions. Further, FCPS averted the loss of 66.0 teachers that would have resulted from the increase of special education Category A and B class size. ARRA funding also averted the elimination of the Student Accountability program and the resulting loss of 16.5 teaching positions.

Grants and Self-Supporting Programs Fund (page 189)

The Grants and Self-Supporting Programs Fund is a special revenue fund and consists of two subfunds: the Grants Subfund and the Summer School and SOL Remediation Subfund. The FY 2010 budget for this special revenue fund is $78.9 million and includes 480.5 positions.

The Grants Subfund contains programs that are funded from federal, state, and private industry sources, or are self-supporting. The FY 2010 approved totals $62.3 million and 475.5 positions. Since actual grant awards are unknown at this time, FY 2010 program estimates are based on FY 2009 awards. Adjustments due to actual award notifications are usually made in the first quarter of the fiscal year.

[A few Federally-funded Grants include:

Title I, Part A (http://www.ed.gov/programs/titleiparta/index.html) "This program provides financial assistance to LEAs (Local Education Authorities) and schools with high numbers or high percentages of poor children to help ensure that all children meet challenging state academic standards."

Title II, Part A (http://www.ed.gov/programs/teacherqual/index.html) "The purpose of the program is to increase academic achievement by improving teacher and principal quality. This program is carried out by: increasing the number of highly qualified teachers in classrooms; increasing the number of highly qualified principals and assistant principals in schools; and increasing the effectiveness of teachers and principals by holding LEAs and schools accountable for improvements in student academic achievement."

Title IV (http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg51.html) "The purpose of this part is to support programs that prevent violence in and around schools; that prevent the illegal use of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs; that involve parents and communities; and that are coordinated with related Federal, State, school, and community efforts and resources to foster a safe and drug-free learning environment that supports student academic achievement."

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