DECEMBER 10 MEETING

Attended by Peggy Daley, Cindy Philapil, LaChon Richardson (and Shayla), Linda Taschek, Elizabeth Ristaino, Lisa Twaronite Sone, Annette Caneda

LaChon: Tom couldn't make it tonight, but he gave me a few things to report on. Right now, we have 216 students. There are 36 KINDERGARTEN APPLICATIONS on file now, and there are some siblings that haven't turned in applications yet, so it should be a full class. Kindergarten testing is this weekend.

The WASC team did a pre-visit today, and toured the school and met the teachers. Tom and the teachers have been working on the booklet -- the 'big binder,' which they did a really good job on. The team will be back in January.

The WINE TASTING was a success, and made about $1,000.. Annette is coming from Alameda but will talk about it when she gets here. [Annette's report attached at the bottom of the minutes.]

The CHRISTMAS FAIRE was also a success. Albertina said she cleared $10,000, net.

Cindy and LaChon: CENTERPLATE this year so far has been far below last year's rate, and maybe earned about $6,000. We cancelled one game on them, and they cancelled one on us. One time we had 36 people signed up, and they said they were going to give us a portable stand for only 7 people, so we called it off. There's a new coordinator this year, and more organizations are participating. Last year our effort paid off, but this year it's not, so far. It will be up to the board next year to determine if we want to continue.

Peggy: The TREASURER'S REPORT has been emailed to board members and will be linked on the Web site. I still haven't seen a school financial statement since last December. LaChon: Is there a way you can show last year next to this year? Peggy: Yes. [Note: PDF files do not reproduce well in blog format, but the full report will be posted on the main school Web site.]

[Annette arrives.] WINE GLASSES: Sixteen leftover wine glasses were sold at the Christmas Faire for $4 apiece, though that really should have been $5. Glasses will be available year-round at $5 apiece, and this will be put on the Web site.
Overall, there was about a 60% drop in wine sales, but silent auction sales were sharply up, cutting out the middle man.

SALES IDEAS: Custom canvas bags, for groceries? School calendar?

Linda: SCRIP has made about $4,600 so far. We are working down our inventory, but I bought some to have for the Christmas Faire.

LaChon: Because we came in short on Centerplate, we might not reach our FUNDRAISING GOAL of $55,000. Peggy: We had budgeted to give only $40,000 to the school, so we will meet that, especially if we include the fundraising 'seed money' that was attached to tuition payments and not handed to the board yet.

The TEACHERS' LUNCH, catered by Alice Guidry, was a huge success, with ham, mashed potatoes, carrots, macaroni and cheese and peach cobbler.

LaChon and Cindy: Instead of required parent hours for fundraisers, should we consider moving to a FLAT PLEDGE?

[Official minutes end here, as official minute-taker left to pick up her kids, but discussion afterward reportedly centered on the number of fundraisers, and the call for more information about finances from the Sports Program, which is now run by the parish.]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ADDENDUM -- WINETASTING REPORT FROM ANNETTE

Here are the results of the wine tasting fundraiser. Thank you all for making this happen. We made a net profit of $1159!
We had a 25% increase in attendance, even with the general admission fee.The wine sales dropped by 30%, but notice that the auction increased by 36%. Alan’s Wine Cellar attributes the poor wine sales to the economy; I would add that it’s the same selection offered as last year. Also, more people attending meant opening more bottles of wine, which is expensed to us. Overall, buying moved from the wine bottles to the auction, trinkets, and wine bar. On a marketing note, we also saw new faces in the community, which is important for all our fundraising events -- this is what lets people know who we are and why they might want to be a part of it.

INCOME
Total gross cash sales=$1561
Silent auction $607 (a 36% increase from the last auction)
Admission $420
Trinkets $20
Wine Bar $75
Cash donations $92
Wine sales $347 (net)

EXPENSES
Total expenses=$402
Liquor license, table linen, veggie purchase, wine bar=$192 approximately
84 wine glasses=$210 approximately