PTO Meeting Notes 8/18/2026

BES PTO Meeting Notes

August 18, 2026


In-Person Attendees: 

  • Lacey Hatfield

  • Ashley Hull

  • Glenis Moon

  • Christina Clark

  • Lynette Tarducci

  • Victoria Clampitt

  • Angie Lofaro

  • Molly Holcomb

  • Ashley Cockerham

  • Jen Messier

  • Kimbra Johnston, Teacher Representative

  • Karen Caldwell, Principal


Google Meet Attendees: none 


Minutes 

  • Welcome and Introductions

  • Teacher Update – Kimbra Johnston

    • Make sure you do not use WCS email for receipts for teacher reimbursement

      • Email will be sent to teachers to troubleshoot

    • AimsWeb testing is this week and going well

    • Everyone is off and running for new school year

  • Admin Update – Karen Caldwell

    • New playground equipment and work done over the summer is amazing 

    • New basketball hoops and volleyball net are approved and will also be replaced

    • Mrs. Caldwell got an estimate for upgrading the audio system in the gym: $11,350

    • Mrs. Caldwell also got an estimate for expanding the fenced in area of the little playground so there is space to run, play soccer, etc.: $14,926

      • If anyone has contacts in these industries and perhaps knows someone who would donate materials or labor please contact Lacey or a member of the PTO. For any donations, we always offer sponsorship in exchange with call outs on our website, social media, front marquee, banners on playground fence, and anywhere else we can!

    • New cabinets throughout the school are great. The installation was rocky and came down to the last weekend before school started. Some rooms still have temporary countertops but permanent ones will be installed when they arrive. 

    • Faculty and staff kickball event is September 2nd. Interim Superintendent Webb will be stopping by. Not sure if the announcer we had last year is available but will check. 

  • Treasurer Report – Glenis Moon

    • We need to vote annually on the types of payment we will accept this year for fundraisers and events. Options were cash, PayPal, Zelle, and credit card via Squar. e. Vote passed.

      • We have offered Venmo in the past. The website does not allow transferring the phone number tied to the account. It is currently tied to former member Lindsey George’s phone number and cannot be changed. Conversation occurred about logic of creating a new Venmo account every time we needed to change the number and that did not seem feasible. We will be looking into using a static number not tied to a person such as a Google Voice number. For now, Venmo is not an approved payment option this year.

    • Each year we set aside $14,000 for professional development for the teachers since this is not something on which the district allows principals to spend school funds. This year’s PD cost $14,888. PTO voted on paying the extra $888. Vote passed. 

    • A new mural was painted in the hallway near the cafeteria this summer. The paint was donated but a vote was presented to pay the artist who painted it $500. Vote passed. 

    • IMPORTANT: If anyone is asked to spend any money this year for the PTO, please always get a receipt and submit it to Glenis. 

    • With all our membership tiers we offer a credit of varying amounts to the spirit wear shop. In order to offer discounts in Square, we would have to pay fees. There are no fees to offer coupons so these credits will be given that way. Glenis will send coupon links to members in batches as they sign up. 

  • Upcoming events 

    • Kickball

      • September 2nd, 5pm, Field 1 at the baseball fields behind school 

      • Flyer has been finalized. Glenis has added the item to Square so people can purchase tickets. Lacey will post on social media. 

      • Food trucks are booked

      • Mrs. Caldwell will have teachers working check-in. A PTO member will need to be with them to accept any money for people paying at the door. 

      • Question of whether or not we need some kind of roping to help separate people paying to watch kickball from others attending baseball or other events. Not sure if we have any stations and ropes, and we decided the families are generally honest and we don’t need this. We can also make a reminder announcement in between innings that folks should pay as the event is a fundraiser. 

      • Glenis will check shed to see if we have any vertical flags from prior events we can put at the entrance. 

      • Idea suggested for a 50/50 raffle that night. We have to ask a question of those participating so that it isn’t considered gambling. Can be something as simple as “what school do you go to?” or “what grade is your child in?” PTO members rather than teachers will have to take money for raffle, as well.

    • Next Spirit Night is at Culvers on 8/31

    • Backyard BBQ 

      • Friday, October 23rd at the baseball fields behind school 

      • Theme will be “Homecoming”

        • BES is 90 years old on its current campus (originally was a K-12 school in what is now Bethesda Library at the top of the hill) and has been in existence for more like 120+ years in the community, so the Homecoming theme is meant to connect our event and current school community to the greater Bethesda area, alumni, and history. 

      • Fields are booked 

      • Silent auction list of prior donors being compiled by Lacey along with finding older donors in the PTO Google Drive documents from past years

      • Other schools sometimes do a different colored shirt by grade level. We could do this and roll it out at BBQ, and later it could double as grade-level colored shirts for Field Day. 

        • The color would stick with the class as they move up in grades. Each year the 5th grade’s color would be inherited by the next year’s incoming kindergarten class. 

      • We can have inflatables as long as they adhere to district rules where they do not totally enclose children inside (such as bounce houses). Sports-type or obstacle courses with open tops are okay. 

      • Angie has list of vendors contacted last year that she will share as starting point for getting vendors this year.  

  • Open Positions on the PTO Board – we are looking for coordinators/team leads for the following events and activities: 

    • Silent Auction (part of BBQ) 

    • Elf Shop 

    • Santa drive thru visit (in conjunction with Elf Shop week)

    • Teacher Appreciation Week 

    • Dodgeball event 

    • Spiring Nights – already planned through January, so just need February thru May 

    • Yard Signs 

    • Supply kits for next year 

    • Kinder Sneak a Peek

    • Recently fulfilled positions: 

      • Volunteer Coordinator – Angie Lofaro 

      • BBQ Chair – Molly Holcomb 

      • Alumni Coordinator – Jonathan Joyce 

  • PTO Membership 

    • Levels have been redone for this year. All of them include some kind of bundle of event tickets for the year and other bonuses so they are a cheaper deal to get as a bundle now rather than buying individually throughout the year. 

    • Lacey suggested an idea to launch a campaign to drum up parent membership. Perhaps every homeroom with 100% participation will get donuts or another breakfast bonus. 

    • A question was asked about membership, what it entails, if it’s required, etc. The answer is that parents who purchase a membership get a vote on the board. You do not have to buy a membership and have a vote to participate; anyone can help with events, volunteer, and attend meetings. 

    • Question was raised about if we want to advertise meetings more, not because we don’t want more membership which we do, but because we meet in the teacher lounge and it is not big enough to house many more attendees. Mrs. Caldwell said we can use the cafeteria if needed. PTO Board will discuss idea of having some regularly scheduled open meetings to include more parents. 

    • Idea suggested to perhaps make a video about who PTO is, what we do, etc. to help parents (especially new ones) learn about us. 

  • Spirit Wear report

    • Spirit wear items are currently on the website. The store will close on 9/4 and THAT WILL BE IT for the whole rest of the year. We currently sell clothing only in a small window at the beginning of the year so we can order in bulk. A suggestion was raised to change this to allow year-round ordering in the future. Spirit wear chairs will look into it. 

  • Other items 

    • A question was asked about getting a new street sign for back access road. Some parents like that school is not well-advertised from street on either side because people aren’t aware there is a school behind the hill and trees. It was suggested that this may be a county or township issue since street signs are public. 

    • Meeting notes will be published on PTO website moving forward. 

    • Next meeting September 2nd at 9:15am in the teachers’ lounge

Bethesda PTO