Legislative Update: School Construction Funding Basics
On December 5, Tyler Muench, OSPI Director of Advocacy and External Outreach, briefed members of the House Capital Budget Committee on school construction, modernization and building assistance programs. This hour-long update is a must-watch for anyone seeking to understand the complex formulas used by the state to match voter-approved bonds and what OSPI is proposing…
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Advocacy
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Legislative
December Checklist for Councils Supporting Local PTAs
Ongoing Tasks Review the 2023-24 Standards of Affiliation (SOA) Checklist. Host a training or roundtable at council membership meetings addressing timely SOA requirements. Offer support to local PTAs who may be struggling with any of the SOA requirements. At each council membership meeting, share the SOA items that your council has completed to model best…
Category:
Training
December Checklist for Running Your PTA
Ongoing Tasks Attend any board and membership meetings Read meeting minutes and offer corrections Prepare reports for board and membership meetings Get educated: take advantage of in-person and online training opportunities Be familiar with your responsibilities and fulfill them Review and ask questions about the monthly financial report Actively engage in a plan for membership…
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Leadership
Share the Public Policy Priorities of National PTA and WSPTA
By: Susan Baird-Joshi, WSPTA Federal Legislative Chair, fedleg@wastatepta.org What does PTA have to do with federal legislation? It turns out, quite a bit. 2024 is the second of the two-year legislative cycle for Congress. 2024 is also a big election year. It’s important that we engage in the federal public policy process and vote. Here…
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Advocacy
2023 WSPTA Legislative Assembly Recap
WSPTA held its 45th annual Legislative Assembly October 21-22, 2023. This virtual event was an incredible weekend of advocacy, education, networking, where delegates adopted several additions and updates to our 2023-24 Legislative Priorities and our permanent resolutions. The theme this year was school facilities, and we heard from guest presenters and panels on this important…
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Advocacy
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Legislative
Announcement from the WSPTA Special Education Committee
Hey PTA leaders, did you know there are now resources to support and include disabled students and their families in your PTA community and at your events on the Washington State PTA website? Under the focus area tab, you can find a link to the Special Education page. There are resources including how to ensure…
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Uncategorized
memberplanet Text Message Update
For those PTAs that use memberplanet’s communication tools to send text messages to members, please note memberplanet is updating how that feature will work moving forward: “Recently, all major US mobile phone carriers have created a new regulation (A2P 10DLC) that has changed the way bulk text messages are sent. Due to these changes, groups…
Category:
Membership
Whose Money is it?
Andrew Estep Dear Members, As we slowly recover from the pandemic, a few bright spots shine. One that is shining through is that many PTAs have much larger bank balances than they had in the past. For some, that seems to be a luxury and not a problem. It can, however, be a problem. Charitable…
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Uncategorized
Student Programs Submission Dates
The WSPTA student programs submission dates for 2023-2024 have been announced. The submission information for each student program is below. Reflections Due Date – Jan 18 All entries to the state Reflections contest must be submitted via the online application (located here: https://wspta.smapply.io/) by this date. These may only be submitted by council Reflections chairs…
From the Executive Director
Andrew Estep Dear Members, For me, July means Independence Day, barbecues, picnics, and vacations. It also means enjoying friends, family, and community. We get to go to baseball games, enjoy 16+ hours of daylight (in Washington), and celebrate our good fortune to be Americans. I was talking with a college-age student yesterday. Her family had…
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Uncategorized