Early online registration for this year’s California State PTA Convention opens February 1-April 30 at www.capta.org. More information on registration, events, and convention grants here.
Northern California Arts Education Forum
Want to learn more about arts education? The Northern California Arts Education Forum which was originally set to take place on December 12th has been rescheduled for Wednesday, February 1st. We hope that you will be able to join us on this day as we have a great lineup of arts education leaders who will be presenting on three panel discussions.
In addition, we are excited to have Susan Stauter as our keynote speaker! Arts education and advocate Susan Stauter is currently Artistic Director for the San Francisco Unified School District and was instrumental in the creation of SFUSD’s internationally recognized Arts Education Master Plan. An award-winning credentialed teacher of Theatre and English, she was the founding Chair of the Department of Theatre for the Los Angeles County High School of the Arts, and went on to serve as the Conservatory director for the Tony Award-winning American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.), where she oversaw all educational programs. Ms. Stauter also works throughout the U.S. and internationally as a keynote speaker, workshop leader, teacher, writer and trainer in the area of arts education. She has consulted for the North Carolina School for the Arts, Great River Shakespeare Festival in Minnesota, the Grammy Foundation, and the Leonard Bernstein Center for Education at Gettysburg College.
Please help us also to spread the word by forwarding the invitation to your mailing lists and posting to your websites. We hope to see as many of you as possible on February 1st!
California PTA Endorses Ballot Initiative
Today in Sacramento, The Our Children, Our Future: Local Schools and Early Education Investment Act was submitted to the Attorney General for title and summary for the November 6, 2012 ballot.
California State PTA supports this bold initiative, which will provide approximately $1,300 per student in new funds each year that must be spent directly at school sites with local parent and educator input.
In particular, the funding must be used by schools to provide a well-rounded education that supports college and career readiness for every student, including a high-quality curriculum that includes the arts; music; physical education; science, technology, engineering and math (STEM); and vocational and technical education courses. It can also be used for smaller class sizes, school libraries and librarians, school nurses and counselors.
California State PTA had a role in crafting the final ballot measure language, and we plan to actively engage in the broad, grass-roots effort to qualify and pass this measure.
In the coming weeks we will continue providing information about this important initiative and how you can get involved to help.
More information, including the full text of the initiative, can be found at:www.OurChildrenOurFuture2012.com.
More on the National PTA Dues Increase
By now, most PTA presidents should have received a postcard from California State PTA outlining the details of a fifty-cent dues increase that goes into effect this year. Here is some more information for your units.
Details of the Dues Increase
At the National PTA Convention, held this past June in Orlando, delegates approved a fifty-cent ($0.50) per-member increase to National PTA’s portion of dues, from $1.75 to $2.25 per member. This increase became effective on July 1, 2011. California State PTA’s dues portion remains at $1.25 per member, and 17th District PTA’s dues portion remains at $0.50 per member.
All PTA units will now need to submit to 17th District $4.00 per member in per capita dues (or fifty cents more than in prior years), plus any council dues that may specifically apply to in-council units. 17th District’s remittance forms have not yet been updated to reflect this change, but they will be within the month.
How the Change Will Apply to Units
PTA units can choose to submit the additional $0.50 per member without increasing your member dues at all (thus reducing your unit’s retained portion by fifty cents), or by passing the increase onto your members by increasing your members’ dues by $0.50.
If you decide to pass the $0.50 increase onto your members, the executive board will need to vote to do so. It is also recommended that you consult with your membership before making this decision.
How Your Bylaws are Affected
ALL UNITS will need to manually write this dues increase into your bylaws: Article IV, Section 4(a) needs to be updated by striking “one dollar and seventy-five cents ($1.75)” and replacing it with “two dollars and twenty-five cents ($2.25).” This change is automatically effective and cannot be rescinded by any vote of your board or membership.
If your executive board votes to pass the $0.50 increase onto your members, the rest of Article IV, Section 4 should be updated to reflect your unit’s new membership dues. California State PTA has stated that they will not require units to submit their bylaws up through channels for approval prior to enacting a fifty-cent increase in membership dues to offset the increased dues.
Please note that the submission exemption only applies to an increase in your unit’s dues for this specific situation. Any other proposed increase in your unit’s dues will still need to go through the standard bylaws submittal process.
Questions?
If you have any further questions about this dues increase, please contact Susan Bell, 17th District President.
