March 3, 2025

Notes From The President

This time of the year is filled with so many activities including conducting elections and planning for next year. It can be exciting but also overwhelming. I encourage you to stay open minded, adapt to situations as they arise and reach out for help when you feel overwhelmed.

Here is a short list to help you stay on track:

Current Presidents:

• Post slate of officers at least 7 days before your election meeting.

• At the election meeting, appoint your budget committee for the 25-26 budget. Your standing rules usually state who is on that committee, which should include the newly elected president/treasurer. If not, they should be invited to attend the budget meeting.

• Encourage your board to reach out to their new counterpart to assure a smooth transition.

• Invite the new president to participate in as many events, meetings, etc. as possible. Introduce them to admin and key staff members for the following year.

• Confirm the outgoing treasurer files the 990 with the IRS.

• Stay available at least until financial reconciliation is complete.

• Thank your volunteers/board for their dedication to our school and community and encourage them to continue to volunteer.

Newly Elected Presidents:

• The newly elected officers MUST meet within 30 days to appoint standing committee chairs, parliamentarian as well as any remaining open positions. During this meeting, check signers should be decided as well as bank statement reviewer for 25-26. Discuss if there is a need to approve tax free days for back to school.

• Attend the budget committee meeting and make sure that there is money in the budget for Launch.

• Host a planning meeting with your entire board, invite your principal to attend, and decide on the calendar for the following year BEFORE school lets out in May.

• Encourage your new board to attend Launch as well as spring training with Council.

• Make sure to attend Launch!

• Contact council if you have any questions or concerns

Jyothi Reddy

President, Allen ISD Council of PTAs

president@allenisdcouncilpta.org

Welcome New Sponsor: Rogue Mobile

We welcome Rogue Mobile as our new Eagle's Nest Sponsor. Rogue Mobile offers affordable phone plans starting at just $5/month.

Please sign up at https://wireless4schools.com/ using the coupon code generated when you select Texas, Allen Council of PTAs and your local PTA from the dropdown.

To become a business sponsor of the Allen Council of PTAs, visit https://allenisdcouncilpta.membershiptoolkit.com/sponsors

It’s Not Too Late To Sign Up For The Eagle Run!

The Eagle Run is Saturday March 8, 2025 https://runsignup.com/Race/TX/Allen/AllenEagleRun2021

Thank you to our current business sponsors!

Want to become a business sponsor for Allen ISD Council of PTAs?

Click here to apply!

Treasurer’s Corner

Reconcile all accounts on a monthly basis. At the end of each month, ensure all bank accounts have been reconciled with bank statements. Reconciling accounts now assures that your financial reports have the correct balance for financial reconciliation.

Clear up outstanding payments and deposits. Confirm with all Board/Committee members and volunteers that all outstanding fund requests have been submitted and checks have been deposited.

Propose budget amendments to bring your budget to actuals at your next Membership Meeting. By bringing your budgeted income and expenses to actuals for income received so far, your PTA will have a better idea of how much money is left in your budget to finish out the year. If you have raised more money than expected, look at increasing the amount you can spend on Spring programs. If you did not make your planned budget, you might need to consider eliminating or reducing the planned expenses for upcoming programs/events.

Quarterly sales tax filings for Q1 2025 will be due by April 20th. Remember that even if you have no taxable sales, you must complete an informational file.

Did your PTA receive a 1099-K for 2024 from your payment processor (e.g., Stripe/LumaPay)?

Per Texas PTA, a 1099-K summarizes payments your PTA received for goods or services during the calendar year and must be sent by the payment processor to the IRS and the PTA by January 31st each year.

The IRS (starting in 2024) lowered the reporting threshold for payment card companies, payment apps, and online marketplaces. Previously, a 1099-K was only issued if an organization received over $20,000 AND had more than 200 transactions in a year. For 2024, the threshold has been reduced to $5,000, which means many more PTAs are now receiving this form. As long as your PTA is correctly and timely reporting financial information on your Form 990, there is nothing extra you need to do with the 1099-K. Simply keep it for your records.

Check out additional “Questions of the Month” from the Texas PTA Treasurer’s Corner newsletter here.

Questions? Email treasurer@allenisdcouncilpta.org.

Membership Updates & Achievements

Allen ISD Council of PTAs Membership: 6966 (96% of last year's membership)

Thank you for helping us earn these membership awards:

- Shining Star Champion Award at the Silver level

- Golden Apple Award

Congratulations To The Shining Star Award Recipients!

These PTAs stand out with more than 100% of the previous year membership, have achieved Good Standing and received a special recognition in the Superintendent's report card.

o Allen High School and Lowery Freshman Center PTSA

o Bolin Elementary PTA

o Boyd Elementary PTA

o Green Elementary PTA

o Lindsey Elementary PTA

o Reed Elementary PTA

Congratulations To The Golden Apple Award Recipients!

PTAs that received a Golden Apple Award are listed below. Thank you to the amazing staff and faculty for helping our PTAs get this recognition.

o Bolin Elementary PTA

o Boyd Elementary PTA

o Chandler Elementary PTA

o Cheatham Elementary PTA

o Evans Elementary PTA

o Green Elementary PTA

o Kerr Elementary PTA

o Lindsey Elementary PTA

o Marion Elementary PTA

o Olson Elementary PTA

o Preston Elementary PTA

o Reed Elementary PTA

o Story

Elementary PTA

o Ford Middle School PTSA

o Curtis Middle School PTA

o Ereckson Middle School PTSA

Life Member Banquet

When: Wednesday, April 2, 2025 from 6:00 - 8:30 PM

Where: Allen ISD Performing Arts Center (300 Rivercrest Blvd. Allen, TX 75002)

Wednesday, March 19, 2025: Deadline to submit ticket order for the banquet. Ticket prices are $20 per person.

Ticket purchase information is available at:

https://allenisdcouncilpta.membershiptoolkit.com/packet/1489

Order awards from TX PTA as soon as you decide recipients: https://www.txpta.org/volunteer-recognition

Send recipient information to Council here.

Upcoming Awards Deadline:

Lucky Leprechaun – Mar 31

April Showers – Apr 30

May Flowers – May 31

Legislative Update: Allen ISD Students Advocate at PTA Rally Day 2025

On Monday, February 24, 2025, Allen ISD students, staff, and parents, and education advocates from across Texas attended the PTA Rally Day in Austin this week, demonstrating their commitment to public education advocacy.

The delegation departed Allen High School before dawn and participated in a full day of activities at the state Capitol. Allen High School Student Body President Isaiah Fields represented the district as one of just five students selected for the Texas PTA Student Caucus panel.

During the panel, Fields highlighted initiatives to boost student engagement: "We really want to make sure that everyone has a voice, so we've created strong programs to encourage engagement." He noted that motivating student participation remains their biggest challenge, emphasizing the need for stronger connections between students and teachers.

Following the caucus, Fields joined fellow students Daelyn Knight and Autumn White, along with Principal Matt Russell, in meetings with state officials. The group discussed school choice, school safety, funding, student engagement policies, and mental well-being concerns. Custom gifts were presented to local representatives that were created by Allen ISD STEAM Center students.

The 15-hour day of civic engagement reinforced the importance of student voices in education policy development and demonstrated the impact of active advocacy for Texas public schools.

Texas PTA Legislative Priorities For The 89th Legislative Session

Improve Public School Funding

Resolve Teacher & Staff Shortages

Increase School Safety

Transform School Accountability

Keep Public Dollars in Public Schools

Counselors Roundtable: Strengthening Student Support

On February 26th, the Allen ISD Council of PTAs hosted a Counselors Roundtable at the Allen ISD Service Center, bringing together school counselors, parents, and PTA leaders for a meaningful discussion on student support. The event was expertly moderated by Becky Wiginton, Director of Guidance and Future Readiness, who guided the conversation with valuable insights.

Topics included mental health resources, academic pressures, and building student resilience. Counselors shared challenges and solutions, emphasizing the need for stronger collaboration between home and school to enhance student well-being.

A key takeaway was the importance of advocacy for increased mental health support and social-emotional learning programs. Counselors also highlighted available resources and intervention programs designed to help students navigate challenges, ensuring they receive the support they need.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to the 10 counselors from various grade levels who participated, offering their expertise and perspectives to make this discussion impactful.

Thank you to everyone who attended and contributed to the conversation! Pizza and cookies were generously provided by the ACPTA. Stay connected for more ways to support our students. For questions or feedback, contact:Prachi Mohanty, at programs@allenisdcouncilpta.org

Arts In Education: Reflections Update

The advancing entries were on display at our Stephen G. Terrell Recreation Center this past month. A digital version of the advancing entries was to Texas PTA for state judging. Best of luck to these students. The theme for 2025-2026 has been released: "I Belong!" Also, I will be distributing coloring books to the campus representatives at the next Leadership Academy meeting. If you will not have campus representation there, we will get them to you.

Contact artsineducation@allenisdcouncilpta.org with any questions.

The Allen ISD Council of PTAs Used Book Fair is Coming!

Get ready for the 4th Annual Community Used Book Fair on April 24-26! There’s a few updates/reminders for March:

Save Boxes! Save those copy boxes to collect books in. Remember, we don’t need boxes that are too heavy for our volunteers.

Collect Donations: To prepare, local participating PTAs can collect donations now thru April 16. Donations must be collected, sorted and counted for pickup by the District on Thursday, April 17.

Promote: There are now several flyers available on our Council website for download as well as logos. If you need something different, please let us know! Yard signs will be available in April. We’ll let you know pickup times when they arrive.

Volunteer Hours: Each participating PTA agreed to contribute 6 volunteer hours during the sale and/or set-up. Here’s the sign-up for that so you can grab those hours now! (Please make sure to note which PTA it is for)

Link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C094AAEA928A2FFC61-55143195-allen

Public Donation Sites: There will be six public donation sites taking books, if you need to direct anyone to those locations. That will be from March 31-April 16. The locations are: Allen ISD Administration Building, Allen ISD Service Center, Steve Terrell Rec Center, Joe Farmer Rec Center, Allen Senior Center, and Allen City Hall.

Questions? Contact our Book Fair Chair at:

BookFair@allenisdcouncilpta.org

Here’s to a great Used Book Fair this year!

Click here to submit your PTA participation vote

Click here to submit your Used Book Fair contact information