Scouts BSA at Spectrum Academy: NOTICE OF MEETING

The Boys Scouts of America has approached our PTO about becoming a chartered organization, thereby allowing scouting units to be organized at our school. The school has offered the use of its facilities, but in order to move forward, someone needs to step forward as a chartering organization.  A representative of the Great Salt Lake Council, Yaroch Rocque, attended our last PTO meeting to give us more information. He compared becoming a chartered organization to being a franchise owner. We need to determine if this is something we are willing and able to do.

An information meeting and vote has been scheduled during our next meeting on:

Thursday, December 6, 2018 at 9:00 a.m

In order to vote on this measure, you will need to be a member of the PTO. If you have not already joined, please visit our PTO table at Parent Teacher Conferences on November 28th & 29th. We will also be able to accept dues and enroll members at our meeting on December 6. Yaroch has been invited to our meeting on December 6th. He will also be available at Parent Teacher Conferences to answer your questions.

Please note that the measure being discussed at this meeting is whether or not our PTO can and should act as a chartering organization for a BSA unit at Spectrum Academy. We will NOT be planning said unit. All planning, organization, registration, etc. would be organized through a scout committee after the process of chartering has taken place.


We asked Yaroch if he would write a brief introduction to be shared on our blog. Here is what he wrote:

Greetings to all Parent Teacher Organization members!

To those of you I haven’t met, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Yaroch Rocque. I’m a district executive at the Great Salt Lake Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Some of you may have ran into me at the Parent Teacher Conference this past Wednesday and Thursday. I had a booth set up in the Intermediate School. The purpose was to see what kind of interest there was in doing Scouting at Spectrum.

I am happy to say that the level of interest was extremely high. I found a lot of interested parents and kids alike. I had several parents approach me to say they are committed to being leaders in Spectrum Scout units.

As many of you may already know, I had the pleasure a few Fridays ago to sit down with Krisanne Lewis and Deanna Billings, along with a couple of parents, to discuss the possibility of having Packs, Troops, Posts and/or Crews for boys and girls at Spectrum Academy. The discussion was positive. We were able to answer a lot of each other’s questions and talk about how that might look at Spectrum.  The general structure that was proposed is that the Chartered Organization for these Scout units be the Spectrum Academy Parent Teacher Organization and that we use the Spectrum Academy facilities for the meetings. The time for meeting is yet to be determined but we would want to organize it in such a way as to accommodate the students, parents and teachers.

I am writing you all to see if there is a time I can come meet with one, some or all of you to discuss this. I’d be happy to answer any of your questions by email as well. If there is a time that is convenient for you, I’d love to come meet you and talk about this.

I hope to hear back soon,

Thank you for all you do for our youth!

Yaroch Rocque | Unit Serving District Executive 

BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA
Great Salt Lake Council - 590
525 Foothill Blvd | Salt Lake City, Utah 84113
yrocque@scouting.org
801.582.3663 ext. 227 

Scouting builds character through unparalleled, life-enhancing experiences you can’t get anywhere else!

This is a big decision for our new little PTO. We really need your input. Please join us for the meeting on December 6. And if you can't attend, please reach out to one of our board members in order to help to make your opinion heard.

November 11, 2018 General Meeting Minutes

Agenda

Called to order 9:07 a.m.

Several new parents in attendance. We began with introductions

Parent Teacher Conference Dinners
Principal has asked if PTO can organize dinners for Conferences on November 28th and 28th.
Feeding approximately 30-40 staff members. Dinner is typically served at 5 but could be set up earlier.
Breann will set up a signupgenius where people can sign up to bring food. This should include a request for phone numbers so it is possible to follow up. Request for donations will be sent first to PTO members and then to the entire school as needed to fill remaining spots. An e-mail will be sent the Monday before Thanksgiving and the Monday after.

Cold items can be dropped off the day before the meal. Warm food is due during carpool (about 12:30-12:45) on the day of the meal. All food requests should serve 20 people and we will request 2 per item.

Food purchases can be logged in Compass and count toward your volunteer hours. If you prefer reimbursement, keep you receipts and submit them with the food when delivered. Purchases made with food stamps cannot be reimbursed. However, please keep in mind that PTO budget is currently small.

Rachel and Lauren will set up food and decorate. (Fall theme)

1st night: Baked Potato Bar

Rachel to base potatoes and bring in a cooler to keep warm.
Need donations of the following:

• Sour Cream
• Cheese (grated and nacho?)
• Chili
• Green onions
• Bacon (precooked)
• Ham (diced)
• Broccoli
• Butter
• Olives
• Rolls?

2nd Night Menu:

• Spaghetti (cooked in a crock pot)
• Spaghetti sauce (cooked in a crock pot)
• Meatballs (cooked in a crock pot)
• Gluten free pasta and/or meatballs (Evelyn)
• Garlic Bread
• Salad
• Salad dressings

Needed for both nights

• Drinks in drink dispensers. Water &  crystal light. Ice
• Paper plates
• Napkins
• Plastic forks
• Plastic knives
• Cups
• Extension cords (Emily has several if needed.)
  

Action Items:

Create signupgenius - Breann & Laura

Publish signupgenius - Laura

Reminder calls to people who have signed up for food - Laura

Purchase baked potatoes - Jennifer says please reach out to her about this

Cook baked potatoes - Rachel with help from Ashley

Organize gluten free menu options for pasta night - Evelyn

Soft fundraisers

Are currently being planned for January and February. These are typically restaurant nights. We have not yet chosen a restaurant and are looking for something that is accessible to the greatest number of families. These have been approved with Spectrum's fundraising committee.

Activities
There was very, very brief discussion about a December or January PTO social activity along the lines of a cookie exchange or dessert pot luck.

Also we very briefly discussed teacher appreciation week in the spring and possibly doing some smaller scale teacher appreciation activities before then, such as a popcorn bar.

PTO does not have any Christmas activities planned. The school will have a music performance December 6 at 6:00 p.m for grades 3-5. No PTO assignments.

We very briefly discussed that the school does not currently have a Christmas tree but one could be placed near the office if it were donated.

Boy Scouts of America

Last parent teacher conference, a representative from the Boy Scouts of America name Yaroch Rocque (nicknamed by this group "Super Y") set up a table and talked to parents. He came today to present the results and ask our help. He said that there was "overwhelming" interest in creating a unit as Spectrum Academy.

It has been proposed that the Intermediate PTO become the chartering organization for this scout unit. This basically means that our organization would be the "owner" or the "franchisee" of the unit. PTO would pay an annual chartering fee of $44. This fee includes insurance.

The PTO would operate as an institutional head and designate someone (probably the president) as a signer. We could then turn all operational control over to a Chartered Organization Representative and Scout Committee to be in charge of all other details of running the unit. The unit would operate mostly independently of the PTO as their own entity with their own fundraising, bank accounts, committee, etc. However, any funds raised or property purchased for the unit would belong to the unit (and it's chartering organization), not to BSA. Spectrum Academy has offered use of their facilities for scout meetings and these facilities will be covered by the BSA insurance included in registration fees.

In addition to our fees, each scout and scout leader will pay a registration fee of $33 which also includes insurance.  There would be additional operating expenses that the unit could decide the best way to cover (fundraising, troop fees, etc.) The committee includes a treasurer responsible for this bookkeeping. These decisions and expenses would fall under the responsibilities of the scout unit itself and not the PTO.

We had a lengthy question and answer period with Yaroch, which for brevity's sake, will not be included in these minutes.  However, he will write up an introduction that we will publish on the PTO's blog. Logistical questions such as number of scouts, number of leaders, unit-level fees or fundraising, types and sizes of units, involvement of units designed for girls, meeting times and frequency, etc. are all decisions to be made by the scout key leaders and/or committee after the unit is chartered, not by the PTO. Each unit is different and varies based on the people involved.

However, it is worth noting that the BSA and Great Salt Lake Council have offered a great deal of support and training through the organization process. They are offering support to recruit, train, and organize a strong unit. Scouting as an organization has leader training and background checks, ongoing training and a self-contained support structure that they would provide independent of our organization.

At this point, the PTO needs to vote to determine if we want to become the chartered organization for a Spectrum Academy scout unit. This is accomplished by a vote of the registered membership of the PTO. (Those members who have paid dues and filled out registration paperwork.) To this end, a vote will be held at our next meeting. The PTO will post notice of these meeting on our blog and via an e-mail to the PTO membership. Anyone wishing to vote but not already registered may register at our next meeting or at parent teacher conferences.

The next PTO meeting will be held on December 6 and 9:00 a.m. The location will be announced based on room availability.  All meetings are held the first Thursday of the month. This meeting will be held during daytime hours so that it does not conflict with evening holiday events. However, in January, we will resume a schedule that alternates morning and evening meetings. To make the vote available to members not able to attend the meeting, a Google Poll vote will be created by Emily and published via e-mail the same day.

Yaroch left a new organization packet that is available for review by anyone interested and he is also available for questions.

Yaroch Rocque - Unit Serving Executive, Boy Scouts of America, Great Salt Lake Council
Yaroch.rocque@scouting.org, 805-637-1300

Girl Scouts

Rachel expressed a strong interest in inviting the Girl Scouts of America to become equally invested in creating a unit at Spectrum Academy. BSA does currently allow girls as scouters as well. However, to pursue this, we would want to find someone in the Girl Scouts organization offering the same sort of support that BSA is currently offering.

Website

Emily has started to create a blog and is working to get it online ASAP. These minutes can be published there. As can information about the proposed relationship with the Boys Scouts of America and upcoming meetings and activities.

Meeting was adjourned at 11:30

Minutes prepared by Emily Hoopes