The South Pasadena Parent Teacher Association Council met to install new executive board members on Wednesday, May 31. Grace Kung, who served as Monterey Hills Elementary School PTA President during the 2016-17 term, took over as PTA Council president from Ruby Kalra.
Other elected officers for the 2017-18 term include Executive Vice President Leslie Lehman, First Vice President of Programs and Directory Laura Morales, Second Vice President of Membership Jane Washburn, Third Vice President of Leadership Chris Holmes, Treasurer Nidhi Shah, Recording Secretary Charlotte Bourke, Historian Marta Hernandez, Corresponding Secretary Lisa Rosenberg, and Auditor Lauren Schwab.
At the meeting, SPUSD Superintendent Geoff Yantz shared with the council the results of a recent city survey regarding the parcel tax that is expiring in June of 2018. The results showed community support for the tax’s renewal. The parcel tax renewal will be discussed at the next school board meeting on June 13. Superintendent Yantz also updated the council on various school improvement projects that are scheduled to get underway in the upcoming months.
One of these projects is to build a new roof and install new air conditioning units at Marengo Elementary. Set to begin on June 12, construction will be finished by the end of summer.
The next project Yantz discussed was the creation of six classrooms and four science labs at the high school in an area that currently contains tennis courts and mathematics classrooms. This project will not be completed until the end of 2018, and will begin this summer with the installation of six portable classrooms on the recreation field adjacent to the tennis courts.
The large and expensive project will be funded by the 98 million dollar Measure SP bond that was passed in 2016.
Discussions concerning how to redesign the old middle school gym have also begun. After meeting recently with the District Arts Committee to discuss plans for the new design, Superintendent Yantz announced to the PTA Council that the primary goal is to create a “functional space.”
The fourth and final project discussed was the renovation of the middle school field and hard courts.
As to why this project was chosen, the superintendent said, “We wanted to do something that the community can see and use now.” This project will begin construction this coming fall.
Before the PTA Council meeting was adjourned, six board members in addition to the elected executive board members were appointed by Ms. Kung to serve on the 2017-18 PTA Council. Karen Kano will serve as parliamentarian, Kathleen Lih as hospitality chair, Lullette Kaufman as Honorary Service Award chair, Sara Austin as SNC Chair, Adrian Gonzalez as ACTM chair, and Nina Rathbun as Legislative Chair. Ms. Kung has not yet appointed the Reflections Program chair.
