Dear Parents,

Thank you for participating in the Findley Fundraising Survey! Your Findley Fundraising Survey response rate exceeded 30%, which provides a good foundation for understanding the areas in which you would like to see focused improvement.

The Tuesday, May 20th 7:00pm PTO Meeting agenda includes:

· Presentation of Fundraising Survey results

· Voting on the proposed 2014-2015 School Year PTO Budget, which includes priorities identified in the survey.

May 2014 PTO Agenda
2014-2015 Proposed PTO Budget
Findley Budget Details (includes helpful information on Findley programs and budget line items; new items and changes are in red)

We encourage you to attend!

Fundraising Survey Overview

The fundraising committee was formed in February 2014 (see February 21, 2014 Dragon News, p.3) based on needs expressed by the Findley teaching staff and with input and assistance from a concerned group of parents. Findley is a public school, but your private donations to our PTO provide critical funding for classroom materials, teacher training and resources, and important learning programs (including art, science, and business). We thank you for taking the time to share your views in the survey.

Priorities for Improvement

Your priorities for improvements at Findley are (based on 203 responses):

1. Enrich the Curriculum – 63%

2. Enhance or Upgrade Outdated Learning Tools/Technology – 24%

3. Improve the School Grounds – 14%

Giving Preferences

75% of respondents prefer Write-A-Check fundraising (rather than organized fundraising events).

$150 per child is the preferred contribution level to fund desired improvements (proposed PTO budget adjusts this to $131).

For those who prefer a Write-A-Check program (for example, Dragon Dash), 149 respondents indicated a preference for the following giving levels (this data includes write-in responses):

Write-A-Check programs to Findley PTO are always optional and contributions at every level are valued.

Donations to Findley PTO provide funding for academic programs1, community development2 (including charitable giving), teacher support3, technology and infrastructure, and administration.

Plans

Based on these survey results, the PTO 2014/2015 School Year Budget includes additional operating expenses in the areas of Academic Programs, Technology and Infrastructure, and Teacher Support.These are:

· Inquiry-Based Learning Materials and Supplies, $20,000

Inquiry-Based Learning refers to Findley’s candidacy for the Primary Years Programme (PYP). Findley is pursuing authorization as an IB World School. These are schools that share a common philosophy—a commitment to high quality, challenging, international education that Findley Elementary believes is important for our students. These funds will cover needs beyond the flat $13,000 per school provided by the district. Because of its size, Findley must supplement training and materials to meet the needs of our student population.

· Language Classroom Setup, $2,000

Spanish language instruction will be added in 2014-2015 as part of the Inquiry-Based Learning program.

· Lego Engineering, $5,000 and STEM Supply Chain Activity Lego Kit, $1,000

Come learn about this new program at the May meeting

· Teacher Development, $10,000

This money will be used to send teachers to courses, workshops, and other development opportunities.

· Technology, $20,000

This fund will support whatever is needed after school district bond and grant awards are known. Awards will take place over the summer. If the bond passes, computers for a computer lab should be covered. Examples of submitted grant proposals include laptops for every student in 4th and 5th grade ($1000/laptop, or >$250,000) and 15 iPads per class for 2nd grade ($20-35,000). Findley currently has 103 iPads shared across all grade levels and even if all grants are awarded (which is very unlikely), there is a request from the teachers for more iPads to share across the lower grades.

· Technology Maintenance, $5,000

Provides funds to replace printers, ELMOs (overhead projection units) and other items as they break. This line item was $1500 in 2013-14 and was spent very quickly!

· Recess and PE, $2,500

This represents a $500 increase to fund new equipment.

· Workroom Enhancements, $5,000

This will support the lease of an additional copier for the school.

A vote on the 2014-2015 budget will be held during the May 20th PTO meeting at 7:00pm in the Library. Please join us prior to the meeting for an important presentation on Internet Safety from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office at 6:00pm.

Thank you!

The Findley Fundraising Committee

Findley Staff & Parents

1. Art Literacy, Passport Club, Science Fair, Biz Town, All School Read Aloud, and Field Trip Transportation,

2. Donation to Beaverton School District Clothes Closet, Field Day, Landscaping, Parties/Events, Findley Flyers running club, Findley Fall Festival (formerly Soc Hop), and Movie Nights.

3. Teacher Development (training, travel for conferences), Teacher Supplies and Books, Classroom Subscriptions, Recess and PE Equipment.