The Paloma Partner

• Someone to help organize the Paloma portion of the Reflections Arts Program, a nation-wide recognition program for grades K-12 in literature, music, photography, and the visual arts;
• Someone to help organize the Holiday Boutique in November;
• Someone to help organize the Spring Carnival in March; and
• A portrait photographer to offer family portraits to Paloma families in time for the holidays.

• Help sell Paloma school supplies after school the 1^st Friday of each month;
• Attend one Kyrene School Board meeting a month and report back to the PTA what was discussed;
• Put teacher thank you gifts in their boxes near the holidays; or
• Help make dinner for the teachers during parent/teacher conference weeks.

• Join the Donations Committee to make phone calls and write letters asking for donations for our spring silent auction.
• Make sure you collect your grocery store receipts, Big G box tops, and Campbell soup labels and send them in to school regularly.
• Join the Legislative Liaison's telephone and e-mail tree to help notify Paloma parents of important issues coming before our state legislature.
• Buy a Best Deals Card Deck.
• Order some gifts and wrapping paper from our fundraising catalog.
• Register on-line with Schoolpop.com and be sure to do all your internet purchasing through this site.

All meetings are on the 3^rd Wednesday of the month. They start at 7pm in the school library, unless otherwise noted. Agendas will be published in the newsletter the week prior to each meeting. Free childcare will be offered during each meeting in the art room (across from the cafeteria) for potty-trained children age 3 and older.

Put these dates on your calendar and plan to attend:

August 30, September 20, October 18, November 15, January 17, February 21, March 21, April 18, and May 9.

The 1^st PTA meeting of the year is Wednesday, August 30 at 7:00pm in the library. Agenda items will include:

• Voting for a Treasurer
• Approving the budget
• Reviewing the calendar of events
• Recruiting volunteers

Check out the new shade structure over the Kindergarten playground! Constructed by Shade Structures with funds raised by last year's PTA, the new blue cover looks great. Our pre-k and kindergarten students will enjoy the cooler play area for many years to come.

If you have an e-mail address at home or at work, you can earn money for the PTA! Just register at website Schoolpop.com under Kyrene de la Paloma Elementary School. Paloma gets $5 for each registration. Then, shop on-line by going through Schoolpop.com to your favorite vendors and Paloma gets a percentage of everything you buy. Do you order office supplies for your company? Go through Schoolpop.com and support your PTA at the same time. Fundraising doesn't get any easier than this!

The PTA is offering a variety of Paloma school supplies for sale to students and parents, starting on Meet the Teacher Night. Sales will continue on the 1^st Friday of every month after school near the east parking lot.

Zippy pencil pouches will include 3 pencils, a 6" ruler, a pencil sharpener, and a large eraser. Additional pencils in sparkly colors will be available, along with two-pocket folders, 20-oz. squeeze bottles, and 6" magnetic grip clips for your fridge.

All items will be in school colors with the school logo and/or name. Show your Paloma spirit…buy PTA school supplies. Doves Soar!

(753.5610 or sposito@earthlink.net)

I am the PTA's Legislative Liaison. Last year, we formed a new Paloma PTA legislative group. Our goal is to monitor legislative activities related to public education by attending committee meetings, sessions, rallies, and other public events, and to educate the Paloma community about these issues.

This summer our small group of dedicated Paloma parents actively took part in rallies, wrote letters, and made phone calls to the Arizona state legislature as our elected officials debated how to increase funding for public education. During their special session, the legislature passed the Education 2000 plan, which now goes before the voters on November 7th as Proposition 301.

The Arizona Education Association reports that in 1999 Arizona ranked 50^th in the U.S. for spending per child in education, 4^th for largest class sizes, and 2^nd for highest dropout rates. Arizona teachers ranked 38^th in the nation on salary levels, yet the state fell somewhere between 7^th and 12^th on administrative costs. Proposition 301 seeks to redress these alarming statistics.

If approved, Proposition 301 will raise the statewide sales tax by 6/10^th of 1%. This amounts to only an extra 6 cents on a $10 purchase. Roughly 85% of the revenues generated are dedicated to grades K-12, including an increase in state spending of $350 per pupil.

The money raised will go directly to the classroom, with 20% dedicated to a base pay increase for teachers and another 40% slated for performance-based teacher pay increases. The remaining 40% will pay for reducing class sizes, AIMS intervention, and dropout prevention.

According to the Arizona PTA, Proposition 301 will address the needs of Arizona's children by providing funds specifically for:

• Reduced class size;
• School safety programs;
• Modernization and new construction of school facilities;
• Before and after school programs; and
• Increased teacher salaries and staff development programs.

Your Paloma PTA joins the Arizona PTA in strongly supporting Proposition 301. This could be the single most important vote on education funding in this state this decade.

We will continue to provide details about Proposition 301 and other education-related legislation in this newsletter and on our web site. In addition, I am looking to increase participation in our new PTA legislative group with volunteers willing to get involved in matters that directly affect the education of our children. Just send me your phone number and/or e-mail and I'll be in touch. Won't you join us?