Gunn High School Parent Teacher Student Association
780
Arastradero Road
Palo
Alto,
CA 94306
Welcome to the 2008-09 school year!
I hope you had a restful summer vacation and are excited for the new school year. We hope you’ll join us this year and participate as much as you can by volunteering. There will be many opportunities for you to volunteer and we hope to see you at many of them.
Please review all the contents of this packet. Enclosed are many important items for you to read, complete, and turn in. The forms can be mailed in or turned in when schedules are picked up.
Gunn PTSA is online with a new look coming soon. With a visit to http://gunn.paloaltopta.org/ you will see information and forms that you might need, also The Spotlight, our newsletter. All the issues will be on our website; just follow the links. The Spotlight is not mailed home, but if you would like to receive a paper copy in the mail, we are asking for a donation to defray the costs. We are suggesting a $15 donation to cover the costs. You can indicate you request on the membership form in this packet.
In 2007-08 Gunn PTSA received $148,957 from membership dues, direct appeal contributions, miscellaneous contributions, and interest. The primary source of income for the PTSA was the direct appeal. It constituted 95% of our total receipts. Our total spending for the year was $159,201 with $132,000 (83%) given directly as a grant to Gunn to supplement its budget. A little more than half was spent on student-use computers, the remainder was spent on software for the new World Languages Lab, and ceiling mounted projectors for the remaining classrooms that didn’t get them yet. The balance of the expenses included program expenses (10%), support of the work of Adolescent Counseling Services on campus (3%), printing and postage (3%) and PTSA operations and council assessments (1%). Additional information is listed on the membership and donation form.
Without your enthusiastic participation, we could not have supported Gunn and its students at the level that we had last year. This year, the PTSA is again making a direct appeal to Gunn families for support. The suggested amount is $350 per student. We recognize that each family has its own financial priorities and may be more comfortable participating at a different level. Every donation is valuable and enables your PTSA to better support our school and its students. Please give this appeal your most serious consideration; your financial support makes a difference. Also, please don’t forget to check if your employer has a matching gift program. This is an easy way to increase your contribution. Include your company’s matching gift request form with your contribution and we will process it for you.
Your tax deductible donation not only will supplement the school’s budget, it will help maintain valuable PTSA programs such as Parent Education, Homecoming Festivities, Health Fair, Traffic Safety, the Gunn Spotlight, Drug and Alcohol Education, Gunn Beautification, the Reflections Art program and Staff Appreciation events. Your generosity makes these programs possible and they enrich the lives of your students and the Gunn community. Your support will ensure that we can continue these important and innovative programs. On behalf of Gunn students and the PTSA, thank you for your generosity and caring.
Regards,
Darice
Koo
Gunn
PTSA President
493-4777
or dkoo4@comcast.net