Leadership News: Week Ending 1/21/17

Did you miss this week's issue of Leadership News? Download the public version here. 

Key Takeaways:

• #FocusDay17 summary
• Questions about McCleary
• PTA awards due March 1
• Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) Washington Teacher of the Year
• 2017 convention hotel reservations
• IRS 1099-MISC form and sales tax remittance, each due January 31
• Question of the Week (hint: popcorn sales)

WSPTA Leadership Roundup: Week Ending 12/17

In observance of the holiday season, the WSPTA office will close at noon on Friday, December 23 and will re-open Tuesday, January 3rd.

PT Avenue will be down for major maintenance on December 27th and 28th. You will not be able to access PT Avenue during this time.

GIVE THE GIFT OF MEMBERSHIP CONTEST Contest Extended to December 20th Thank you to all who joined a PTA this past month, and thank you to the PTAs for entering their new gift memberships.  A holiday bonus: We are extending the contest entry period 'til December 20th and we will hold the drawing January 13th. Enter gift memberships here.

KNOW A GREAT PRESENTER?  December 31 The WSPTA Leadership Committee is reaching out to seek external presenters for the 104th Annual WSPTA Convention, April 28-30, 2017. If you are or know a great presenter with an applicable topic, complete the online form. Form includes tips and disclaimer.

FOCUS DAY 2017 January 16, 2017 | Capitol Building, Olympia Have you registered yet? Focus Day is fast approaching. The final agenda and plans are being accomplished and this exciting event will be published next week - stay tuned!

BEWARE OF EMAIL SCAMS!!  This week a PTA president came into the office because he was just informed that their treasurer had wire transferred over $7,000 to another bank account, based on a fraudulent email she received. The treasurer was unaware it was a fraudulent email at the time and by the time she figured it out it was too late, the money had been transferred. Since then, the police have been contacted and a police report has been filed. Here are steps recommended to avoid or prevent fraud: Make sure you have well documented procedures and processes for money disbursement. Establish clear lines of communication between your board members. Know your budget well. The best indicator of a potential fraudulent activity is a request that is made for something outside of your PTAs member-approved budget. Make sure your board of directors is well trained. If they have already wire transferred the money this is what we recommend for the next steps: File police report keep duplicate copies for your records. Close bank account. Call your PTA's insurance provider. Do a mid-year Financial Review (see the Question of the Week below). Call a special general membership meeting.

ID THEFT As we head into the home stretch of the holiday shopping season, how worried are you about having your identity stolen? PEMCO Insurance, one of our trusted partners, recently asked Northwest people and you might be surprised by the results. For more information on the poll and tips on how to protect your identity, click here.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Question

Is it necessary for our PTA to conduct a mid-year financial review, even if we have never had a problem with financial reviews in the past?

Answer 

While a financial review is required immediately following the end of the fiscal year (June 30), when another PTA member assumes the treasurer position, or whenever there is a question about the financial well-being of a PTA, a mid-year financial review is strongly recommended for all PTAs. A mid-year review helps to assure that the funds of the PTA are being administered properly and that good financial practices are being followed.

The mid-year financial review should be conducted in the same manner as the review held at the end of the fiscal year. The financial review committee must consist of no less than three members of the PTA. Members of the review committee must not have signature privileges on PTA documents during the period being reviewed. The treasurer is not to be physically present when the committee meets, but should be available by phone to answer questions.

The treasurer should gather all the financial records for delivery to the financial review committee. A list of financial records for the review can be found in Treasurer's Handbook. For additional resources, visit the Finance Resources page, on the WSPTA website.

After the financial review committee examines the records, the committee is to present a written report of their conclusions to the board of directors. As always, the WSPTA staff is here to help. If you have questions about the review, contact Tatia, Local PTA Support: tvasbinder@wastatepta.org.

Thank you for making sure your officers and members

have what they need; it is appreciated!

Kathryn Hobbs

Executive Director

Email your questions here.

WSPTA Leadership Roundup: Week Ending 12/10

PT Avenue will be down for major maintenance on December 27^th and 28^th.

You will not be able to access PT Avenue during this time.

---

INVOICES & MEMBERSHIP ROSTERS

December 9

Membership invoices are sent the 2^nd Friday each month to presidents, treasurers, and secretaries. Please take time between now and when the invoices are generated by the system to check your membership roster for duplicates and erroneous entries. Once a member has been included on an invoice, staff is unable to delete them from the database. As a result, your PTA will owe payment for that person, regardless whether that person is an active paid member or an erroneous entry.

Interested in saving volunteer hours? 

Consider offering potential and returning members the option to join your PTA online via PT Avenue. PTAs can also save time processing memberships you enter by opting in for monthly direct debit of dues payments to WSPTA.

---

GIVE THE GIFT OF MEMBERSHIP CONTEST

December 15

Only one week left of the Give the Gift of Membership Contest - how is your PTA doing? To help promote the contest and your members, use the following promotional materials (also listed on the Membership webpage). Items include:

Flier to send home to parents/guardians: color | b & w
Social media posts: content | .png
Gift tags for bulletin board: color | b & w

---

REFLECTIONS ENTRY FORM CLARIFICATION

It has been brought to our attention that there is need of clarification on the student entry form, in regard to the portion about the gender of the student submitter, where only M/F is offered. This question is considered optional and is not a requirement in order for a student's work to be qualified.

From National PTA:

"This year, we’ve advised PTA leaders, in our trainings and support, to use the open space to mark 'not indicated' or write in how the student identifies or simply leave the question blank. By no means should a student be disqualified for writing “other” in this space on the form as Male/Female isn’t a requirement to participate."

---

Applications due 12/31

---

GREAT WOLF LODGE RESERVATION CLARIFICATION

When making a reservation with Great Wolf Lodge, via telephone, please be sure to state the promotional code, rather than stating you are with PTA. By stating the code (or reserving online), it is the most foolproof way to avoid any issues.

Additionally, the offer may not be valid during holiday and blackout periods or combined with any other discount or offers. Additional charges may apply for themed and premium suites, weekends, and/or holidays.

Ask your PTA's leadership for promotion code - please do not share code with non-members or on social media.

---

Click here for more information about the program.

---

WSPTA CONTESTS, AWARDS, AND SCHOLARSHIPS

March 1

Local PTA and Council Awards of Excellence

Does your PTA/council follow best practices? Does your PTA/council have a website or newsletter that you are proud of? Does your PTA/council have a program or event that is absolutely awesome? 

If the answer is yes, to any of the above, your PTA/council is encouraged to apply for all applicable Local PTA and Council Awards of Excellence. Learn more here.

Men's Essay Contest - Men Making a Difference 

This statewide essay contest explores the important contributions men make in the lives and education of children - from a children's perspective. Learn more here.

---

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Question

One of our PTA members did not receive their membership card after we manually entered them into PT Avenue database. Can I resend their card?

Answer                                                                    

Thank you for your question! Thank you for making sure that your members are able to take advantage of all the benefits WSPTA has to offer. Yes, whomever is assigned to manage your PT Avenue account (typically membership chairs and presidents) are able to re-send a membership card.

Note: Before re-sending a membership card, please verify that the correct email address of the member is listed in PT Avenue. Also have the member check their spam or junk folders.

From the PT Avenue Guide (page 31): 

Want to save time from manual entering membership data? Set up the Online Join feature within PT Avenue (page 21 of the PT Avenue Guide).

Thank you for making sure your officers and members

have what they need; it is appreciated!

Kathryn Hobbs

Executive Director

Email your questions here.

WSPTA Leadership Roundup: Week Ending 12/3

WSPTA BOARD OF DIRECTORS NOMINATION RECOMMENDATIONS

December 2 - Deadline Extension

To nominate a qualified individual or to self-nominate, download the nomination form or to learn more about the positions, download the job description booklet.

---

CALL FOR CONVENTION PRESENTERS

December 31

The WSPTA Leadership Committee is seeking presenters for the 104th WSPTA Annual Convention. If you are or know a great presenter with an applicable topic, complete the online form here.

Note: The primary audience for this presentation will be parents with children in Washington’s public education system. Presenters will not be compensated for classes or hotel parking. 

---

WSPTA//GAME DEVELOPMENT COMPETITION

January 9 (Intent to Submit form due)

The WSPTA//Game Development Competition is a WSPTA STEM-based program that supports student success for students in grades 9-12. The purpose is to provide an opportunity for students to use their creative talents by expressing themselves, either individually or in teams, by creating a computer game. Learn more here.

---

REFLECTIONS UPDATE

Thank you to everyone that sent in Reflections theme entries. There were so many creative theme this year, it was hard to pick just five to send to National PTA!

Reflections entry deadlines are right around the corner. Many PTA/PTSAs have already submitted entries to their council and councils are hard at work prepping the winners to send to state. All entries must be received to the state office by January 20. Check with your council for deadline to submit to council-level. For PTAs not in a council, contact your region director.

---

FOCUS DAY 2017

January 16 | Capitol Building | Olympia | Registration 

"Advocacy is not a one day event," 

Duncan Taylor, WSPTA Legislative Director

Everyday Advocacy

1. Make an appointment with your legislators.

2. Know WSPTA's legislative priorities.

3. Connect with other parents, teachers, and education advocates.

4. Make sure to leave it in writing.

Learn more about Focus Day 2017 here.

---

ESSA DRAFT PLAN OUTREACH

February 13 - Deadline Extended

Shape your public education system for years to come by providing feedback on Washington’s ESSA draft Consolidated Plan, through the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). WSPTA was involved in the draft process, and OSPI was one of hundreds of groups to contribute to the ESSA draft Consolidated Plan, alongside districts, legislators, education organizations, tribal leaders, and higher education institutions. Provide feedback here.

---

WSPTA AS YOUR PTA'S REGISTERED AGENT

All nonprofit corporations have to interact with government agencies, most commonly the Washington Secretary of State's office and the Federal Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

By designating WSPTA as your agent, your PTA gives those agencies one single point of contact when they need to get information to or from your PTA. It is not a requirement that WSPTA be your registered agent, but it is recommended. You may choose to have an individual named as your registered agent; however, by choosing WSPTA as your PTA's agent, your PTA won't have to worry about that person moving, taking a long vacation, or otherwise being unavailable to respond to a notice from one of the agencies.

For additional questions or clarification, please contact Tatia, Local PTA Support, in the state office.

If your PTA prefers to be its own registered agent, please verify the WSPTA office address is correct on all submission forms:

Washington State PTA

1304 South Fawcett Avenue | Suite 300

Tacoma, WA 98402

---

PTA STORE 2017 PRODUCT IDEAS

Late January is when ShopPTA.com usually adds new merchandise, as well as discontinue a few items. If you have suggestions for a new product or something you feel would be useful to local PTAs, please share! Many of the best-selling items came to the PTA store as a simple suggestion. Share your idea and ShopPTA.com will research the feasibility of adding to the store.

---

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Question

This is my first time as a treasurer and am curious if there is anything I need to be doing in the next two months – besides monthly maintenance – now that the 990 form has been submitted and the holidays are here?

Answer 

Thank you for your question and great job making sure your PTA’s 990 form was submitted by the 11/15 deadline. This is the time of year when it is strongly recommended to conduct a mid-year financial review (December-January). The review involves an examination of the financial transactions of the PTA, and the procedures used to conduct those transactions.

To conduct a seamless mid-year financial review, be sure to have the following materials available:

• Financial Review Checklist
• Financial Review Committee (the treasurer, although not a member of the review committee, is merely a resource for the review)
• All treasurer's reports for current fiscal year
• All bank statements for current fiscal year (should be signed monthly by non-signer on the account)
• All checks, deposit slips, receipts, invoices and all other record-keeping materials (checks may be accessed on bank website)
• Register listing all checks written and all deposits made
• Minutes of all board and membership meetings for current fiscal year
• Copies of all contracts and grants made or received

Source: Treasurer’s Handbook