Budget Process Update for March 12th, 2024

As we embark on another year of community support, our budget committee is excited to share an update on our budgeting process for the 2024-2025 school year. Our budget was approximately $80,000 last year, and we're aiming for a similarly sized budget for the upcoming year. 

Key Budget Changes for 2024-2025

One key change is removing 4th-grade instrumental music from our budget. This $17,000 line item has only benefited a small number of our students over the last several years, and we believe reallocating these funds will allow us to serve our community more equitably.

Additionally, for the upcoming year, we've decided to allocate $25,000 from our surplus funds to reduce our fundraising requirements. In previous years, we relied solely on in-year fundraising and the prior year's carryover. This year, we're choosing to invest surplus funds generated more than a year ago back into our community rather than allowing them to accumulate.

Current Expenditures We’re Considering Funding in 2024-2025

Each year, part of our process is considering whether we should maintain/increase/decrease current line items. The biggest three areas of spending this year are as follows (see the next page for more details).

• Staffing: $24,000 annually, covering hourly staffing, tutors, volunteer coordination, and family support.

• Staff and Community Support: $23,500 annually for staff support, including teacher stipends, art and library funds, teacher appreciation, and family support.

• Events: $5,100 annually for events, including the Spring Arts Festival, Equity Team events, back-to-school/year-of-year parties, and more.

Proposals for New Expenditures in 2024-2025

This year, the committee is discussing several proposals from our membership for new expenditures in the upcoming year. We have eight proposals that have been submitted by our community so far, including from teachers, staff, and PTA members. Please see the next page for more information on the eight proposals.

Our PTA Budgeting Process

Our budgeting process works through a series of committee meetings, board deliberations, and board/membership votes.

Committee members: Jessi Friedrichs, Heather Platisha, Karen Murphy, Julie Letchner, Seth Bridges, Katie Klumpp, Megan Callow, Justin Pritchett, Tiffany Elliott, and Liz Riggs Meder

• In March, the budget committee presents a working draft at the PTA board meeting and refines it throughout the month.

• April sees the completion of the draft, with a presentation of the proposed budget to the board for review and feedback.

• By May’s board meeting, the board votes to approve the proposed budget, which then goes to the membership for approval at the June PTA meeting.

Current Year Budget Summary

For the current (2023-2024) school year, the PTA has a budget of approximately $82,000. That budget is broken down into the following categories (the full budget is available on the SacPTA website).

Complete List of Proposals for New Expenditures

Our community submitted the following list of proposals for consideration by the budget committee. We’re currently working to review their materials and work to prioritize them in our 2024-2025 budget.

• Increasing family support (from $2,000 to $10,000 annually), providing discreet aid to families enrolled in our Packs for Kids program.

• Purchasing school supplies ($11,000) to alleviate the financial burden on families and ensure all students have access to necessary materials.

• Providing yearbooks for all staff members ($300) at the end of the year.

• Introducing recess equipment bins ($1,500, one time)  for each classroom, enhancing student playtime experiences.

• Ukelele focus for 4th-grade music  ($3350, one time with small recurring cost). This program would introduce an instrumental music focus for our 4th-grade students, giving them a soft introduction to the optional 5th-grade instrumental music program. This program could potentially extend beyond 4th grade, reaching more students and building a more consistent and competent program.

• Full funding for one field trip per student ($4,000 annually). This program would provide a $20/child budget to fund one field trip per class. This amount would stack on top of our existing $2500 field-trip bus line item.

• Jump Start for Kindergarten ($5,000 annually). Seattle Public School has stopped funding Jump Start, a crucial program for easing the transition for students and families into school. This proposal would fund a full (5-day) Jump Start experience for Sacajawea.

• Providing for mid-year teacher/community grants (Variable amount each year. First year suggested amount $10,000). This proposal suggests creating a fund and new rules/processes formalizing how community members (including teachers/staff) could make mid-year requests for money from the PTA.

Budget Funding Proposals Open for 2024-2025 Budget

The mission of the Sacajawea PTA is to promote and support the education, community, and health of the students and families of Sacajawea Elementary. Our membership of over 150 parents and teachers volunteer their time and energy to support student enrichment programs, fundraising events, and in-class support.

As a Sacajawea Elementary School community member, you can help us shape how our PTA contributes to the school! If you have a new program, event, or idea you believe supports the PTA’s mission, we want to hear from you. Also, please let us know if you want us to expand an existing program or event. Your voice is important.

This year, the PTA is launching a new budget development process. To help us anticipate new funding items in the upcoming school year, we ask that you submit a budget request during this process so the PTA can work to understand the need and work to include it in our budget for the next academic year.

To make a funding proposal to the PTA for consideration in our 2024-2025 budget process, please complete our Funding Proposal form and submit it to our treasurer. You can email your submission to treasurer@sacpta.org or deliver a printed copy to the Treasurer’s mailbox in the front office of Sacajawea.

Proposals must be submitted before March 5, 2024, to be considered for the next year's budget.

You can access the Funding Proposal form as a Google Doc (copy the template), Word Doc, or PDF.

Open Letter to SPS Regarding Icy Conditions at Sacajawea, Jan 17th, 2024

Dr. Campbell and School Board Members:

I am writing on behalf of Sacajawea Elementary PTA concerning the unsafe conditions that we had to endure this morning (and afternoon) to get our children to (and from) school.

Sacajawea Elementary School is located at 9501 20th Ave NE. This is a little over a block off Lake City Way, set on a wooded hill in the Maple Leaf neighborhood. To get to the school, you have to either come down the steep hill from 15th Ave NE, come up the hill from Lake City Way, or come up the hill on 20th Ave. It is hills in all directions.

In wet weather, it can be slippery and dangerous. In slushy, icy weather conditions, it becomes very dangerous. None of the streets around the school are regularly plowed. At times, with lots of advocacy and effort by our principal, 20th Ave NE might get plowed, though this isn’t even something we can count on.

On Wednesday, January 17th, the roads and sidewalks surrounding Sacajawea Elementary School were slushy, icy, and unsafe for drivers or pedestrians—not at drop-off or pick-up. Our unique geographical conditions (very hilly, more wooded) make it so that icy conditions persist longer. We also tend to get more snow than other neighborhoods due to our elevation, again with it sticking around longer than other parts of Seattle, even just directly down the hill.

Today, families attempted to get their children to school on nearly impassable roads. Some made it, but not without issues. Some turned around due to safety concerns. Some walked and slid their way down, and many fell or nearly fell.

We hope to highlight these safety concerns and ask that our unique geographic area be considered when planning for inclement weather. Our immediate area is not comparable to Olympic View or Wedgwood Elementary School areas. We ask that you include the Sacajawea school area in your safety assessment. If the district decides to send our students to school, we need to be assured of their safety, along with the safety of our families, staff, and neighbors.

Below, I’ve included a number of quotes from parents who experienced dangerous conditions during their travels to and from school today.

Our community appreciates your attention to improving the safety of our students.

Karen Murphy

Sacajawea PTA

Parent Feedback

Bus family- my daughter said the bus was scary- they slid around.

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This morning I made three attempts each an hour apart to take my child to school. On 20th in between 88th and 90th. It was too slick for me to drive. So we got out to walk and we both almost fell. To be honest with all the hills around the school is really hard to believe that wasn’t a delayed start or having snow plows going through dropping down sand or salt.

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Because I live facing Sacajawea Play Field on NE 94th St, my family did not have trouble getting to school—but we did get a front-row seat for all the trouble drivers were having when trying to get out of the neighborhood after drop-off. We watched at least five vehicles try and fail to go up the 94th St hill just between 20th and 17th avenues—which is not even the steepest section of that hill! Each one got stalled out at the new stop sign at 94th/17th, lost traction, and had to slide or back down the hill backwards, creating a hazard for both other drivers and pedestrians behind them. Finally another neighbor pulled one of the “traffic revision” signs out to the middle of the street to discourage drivers from even attempting that stretch.

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On the hills I slid in my car many times, even going a less dangerous way I had struggles, it was quite scary. I made it safely but had a few scares.

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We live just outside Sacajawea's boundaries so walking is not an option for us. I attempted to take 94th (from 15th) down to the park. My anti lock breaks started as soon as I turned. I gave up and turned immediately into the church parking lot where I slid to a stop. I went back out to 15th and drove home. Having slid down that hill in previous winter weather I did not want to chance it. (There is no way for me to drive down to Lake City Way that doesn’t involve a hill!)

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We were unwilling to risk the 98th st slope with the extent of the ice so decided to keep our son home for the day, especially since it was an early release day.

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We live three blocks away from one of the main paths to the school yard. Our walk to school is through a hilly residential neighborhood. The roads and sidewalks on the morning of January 17th were exceptionally icy. The larger through roads-17th Ave NE. and 20th Ave NE., as well as the smaller side streets were barely (or not) walkable. Families were navigating on fallen leaves and gravel for stability. Cars braving the streets were sliding through intersections or weaving through the neighborhood looking for a safe enough road to get to the school.

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I was driving east on 90th St. NE at 7:20am on Jan 17. On a hilly section, about 500 feet west of the intersection of 20th Ave NE, my car started to slip and slide off the road. Fortunately it stopped before hitting anything or anyone. When I parked in the parking lot at Sacajawea I had to walk extremely slowly as the lot was iced over. While on bus duty in front of the school I had to walk extremely slowly and counsel all the students to do the same as the sidewalk was very icy, even though two layers of de-icer had been applied. At the minimum, there should have been a 2 hour late start today at Sacajawea.

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I can't speak about drop-off, but pick-up was still pretty precarious. There was black ice on parts of my route to the school since the side streets don't get treated. And this was in the afternoon. Walking up 20th was an accident waiting to happen since there was still black ice on the sidewalk. I walked on the asphalt instead, which felt dicey with cars going up and down the street, but it was either that or sliding down on our bottoms.

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My family struggled to get to school on the morning of the 17th. We live on 20th Ave. just about one block uphill from Sac. We slid most of the way down the hill, and two of my three children fell along the way. Even when we got to the school, right in front of where the buses let off, the sidewalk was not sufficiently deiced, though staff were in the process of trying to rectify that. I also needed to help one of the Sac staff walk from the stairs by the bus stop to school, because the walk was too treacherous for her to make it without assistance. As I was deicing our block, multiple cars spun out, trying to drive southbound on 20th Ave., and needed to turn around to escape the neighborhood. There is no way that we should have been trying to access the school in those conditions this morning

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We slipped our way to school on 17th. Side streets were really not walkable, but we found some leafy/gravelly patches to walk on. Very scary on foot or by car.

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We took 95th and it was very slippery.

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My kid and husband went down 95th, sticking mostly to lawns and other non-asphalt or non-concrete surfaces. And then down the path and into Sacajawea park. I did notice the middle school kids waiting for then bus slipping in the parking lot.

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We made it via car by going LCW & 98th. But we do have AWD and needed it a couple of times. The sidewalks looked treacherous. Based on my driving in the general vicinity, it seems that the roads/sidewalks around Sac were the worst in the area.

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We “walked” down 96th. My kiddo fell once and we debated turning around and going home but instead walked along the perimeter of someone’s driveway and garage and then through the gardens (sorry) of those new houses. Very treacherous!

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Made it to bottom of 20th via Lake City. Started walking up hill armed with sidewalk salt based on previous experience but ran out just to get across 97th. Son had better traction, so wished him good luck in getting the rest of the way solo.

We are set up to flex to virtual, and this seems like it was a perfect opportunity that was missed.

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I am west of Roosevelt and all the cross streets were bad (96th, 97th, 98th) so I went up to Northgate Way, to 24th Ave to Lake City to 98th to 20th. I think this is a bus route. Even that well traveled little part of 98th to 20th was sketchy, and 20th south of the school was sketchy.

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To the city: IMHO the “one lane road” obstacles on 98th make it worse, as traffic which goes both directions, is skidding, and must share a lane. Since that is the SPS-prescribed path to the school, that part of 98th should be made more functional for 2 way traffic.

MLK Day 2024 Marching Resources for Sacajawea Families

Version en español

What’s Happening?

We will meet at the Garfield Community Center playground on Cherry Street at noon.  To take public transit, we recommend taking light rail to UW Light Rail Station (or parking at UW; free for the holiday), then taking bus route 48 (leaving from NE Pacific St & Montlake Blvd NE, across from the stadium).  Get off at 23rd Ave & E Cherry St and walk to the playground across the street.  From the playground, we will join the 12:30 pm march from Garfield High School.  If you only want to march halfway and you took public transit, you can stop at Cal Anderson Park and take the light rail back to UW.  If you march the whole way (about 2 miles) and join the rally at the end, you can take the light rail from Westlake.

 What Should You Bring?

Overdress for the weather and bring lots of snacks for kids.  Bring ORCA cards or cash for public transportation.  Bring signs, musical instruments such as drums or other fun noise-makers, and wear your Sacajawea/BLM t-shirt.  The march will be very family-friendly! 

If you are still a little nervous about bringing your small folks, check out these tips:

• http://parentstogetheraction.org/2017/01/13/10-tips-marching-safely-successfully-kids/

• https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/11-tips-for-protesting-with-kids_us_587d41dae4b0740488c3ddbf

What Will We Bring?

• We will take a group photo before the march starts; Day of contact; Mandi Grover; 206-612-3689

• We will have markers to write parent phone numbers on kids' arms (just in case!)

• We will have a few extra snacks and drinks to share

Recommended Books and Media for Preparation

• Picture books from Scholastic

• YouTube also has read-aloud books and clips such as:

  • The Story of Martin Luther King Jr. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ8Xqzb2XSU

  • Martin’s Big Words https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBKP6v3rWSI

  • My Brother, Martin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xmYleKG_HA

  • My First Biography of Martin Luther King Jr. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1artaZZrKeQ

  • My Daddy Martin Luther King Jr. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dPRLCTWceQ

  • Great for elementary age https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6Au81aHuSg

Ideas for Slogans and Signs

Choosing simple, child-friendly slogans makes it easier for your kid to relate to the purpose of the march. Here are some ideas, but feel free to create your own! You can also print designs from websites like Amplifier or the MLK March website.

• I love naps but I stay woke (for babies and toddlers)

• Black Lives Matter

• Kindness counts

• Books not bullets

• We the people

• Unity, Equality, Justice

• Racism isn’t born, it’s taught

• Future voter

Another ideas is to put a quote from MLK on your sign:

• Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

• In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.

• Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

• I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.

• Character is how you treat those that can do nothing for you.

• Those who love peace must learn to organize as effectively as those who love war.

• There comes a time when silence is betrayal.

• Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.

Chants and Songs

Making noise and singing songs can be one of the most fun aspects of marching with kids:

• (Call and repeat each line) Everywhere we go / People want to know / Who we are / So we tell them / We are the people / The mighty, mighty people / Fighting for justice / And for liberation

• (Call and repeat each line) What does marching do for me? / Build a strong community / One thing here is clear to me / people here have unity

• (Chant) Ain’t no power like the power of people cause the power of people won’t stop! Say what? (repeat)

• (Chant) The people / united / will never be divided

• (Chant) Whose streets? / Our streets!

• (Chant) Hey, Hey!  Ho, Ho! / Racism has got to GO!

• (Song) We shall not, we shall not be moved / We shall not, we shall not be moved / Just like a tree that's planted by the water / We shall not be moved.

⠀*(verse 2)* We're fighting for our rights, we shall not be moved / etc.

(verse 3) We shall all be free, we shall not be moved / etc.

https://youtu.be/Qf0vf6eV6JE

• (Song) Ain’t gonna let nobody / Turn me ‘round / Turn me ‘round / Ain’t gonna let nobody / Turn me ‘round / I’m gonna keep on walkin’ / Keep on talkin’ / Marchin’ into freedom land

⠀*(verse 2)*  Ain’t gonna let no (insert obstacle) / Turn me ‘round / etc.

https://youtu.be/27sNOouXRJU?t=60

• (Song) If you miss me at the back of the bus / If you can’t find me nowhere / Oh, come on up to the front of the bus / I'll be sittin’ up there / I'll be sittin’ up there / Oh, come on up to the front of the bus / I'll be sittin’ right there

⠀*(verse 2)* If you can’t find me in the school room / If you can’t find me in there / Oh, come on out to the picket line / I’ll be marchin’ out there / etc.

https://youtu.be/-ODLwix8DGM

About the 2024 March

The annual MLK Day March and Rally at Garfield High School celebrates the life and legacy of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. with an opportunity fair, workshops, and pre- and post-march rallies. These events are a low-barrier introduction to social justice action, and we hope everyone will consider bringing their family. 

Find more information at:  https://www.seattlemlkcoalition.org/

Treasurer's Report for January 2024

The PTA's budget for the current year is approximately $82,000, with over half of that amount allocated for staff and school support and 25% designated for arts and culture programs. With nearly two-thirds of the year's budget still remaining, the PTA remains committed to supporting the school and its students through various initiatives and events.

The PTA has received a total of $36,883 in income as of the December close, with $28,219 of that amount coming from funds raised and the remaining $8,664 coming from grants and pass-through expenses.

In terms of spending, the PTA has spent a total of $27,034 so far this year, with $7,543 of that amount being spent in December. The December spending includes $3,200 for t-shirts, $3,000 for family support, and a $1,000 contribution to CANSSPA.

You can find the detailed breakdown of income and expenses in the full report (PDF XLSX).