Dear Greenwich Round Up
I had no intention of responding to the post regarding Harborfest, however, now that my name has been brought into the equation I felt I had no choice.
I will not attack Bob Mcintyre. Bob put his whole heart and soul into this event. His intentions were in all the right places and his goals were not just about money.
As Bob stated, many times, his first goal was to bring the Ham Ave Community back together, with raising funds secondary.
Bob accomplished that first goal in a big way. It was nothing short of a miracle that he was able to assemble an army of volunteers to see Harborfest come to fruition.
Were there mistakes made, probably. The first time for any event is always more of a learning experience than anything else.
Yes, Bob Mcintyre spent a year or better planning this event. One of this magnitude warrants nothing less. I find no fault, whatsoever, with this amount of time being spent planning it, I'm actually in awe that so much was accomplished in so little time, on a VOLUNTEER basis.
The events that Bob planned, those referred to as "VIP" events, were to appeal to a broader base of Greenwich residents, those not necessarily into ferris wheels and fun houses.
Hamilton Avenue School students are not "poor". They may not be in the upper levels of income, however, they are rich in family, community and commitment, as evidenced by the first goal of Harborfest.
At the May 19th PTA Meeting, it was shared that Harborfest brought in $53,000, not $59,000 and that after expenses submitted to that date, the bottom line was $0.
Is it disappointing that this wasn't the big fundraiser we all hoped it would be?
Of course, it would have been wonderful had it been, but it wasn't, so what has been learned?
Do I believe that some things could have been accomplished on a lesser scale?
Yes, but as I said before this was a huge learning experience for our community. Should changes occur for next year? Absolutely, as they do with any major event.
My biggest concern for next year, is that there be more oversight, fiscally.
There needs to be a bigger committee with more input from the community on better ways of spending the funds to produce such an amazing venue. Better use of contacts would go a long way in keeping the spending under control and more manageable for this small PTA.
I believe there needs to be more reporting to the community on expenses as the planning evolves, which is where I believe this discontent stems from.
I would hope that all the figures have been forwarded to the PTA Leadership.
Harborfest 2010 has been over for a while now, a report of expenses and income should have been shared with the community by this point. By not doing so, it makes people question and wonder exactly what took place and further promotes this sense of distrust and lack of transparency.
I believe that the PTA Leadership is responsible for sharing the final financial report of this event, not the VP or Treasurer.
As to where Mina Bibeault is, her children no longer attend Ham Ave.
As for Steve Anderson, I do not believe, although I may be wrong, that he was even in town during Harborfest.
That being said, Harborfest 2010, was solely the child of the Ham Ave PTA and as far as I understand it, the BOE has nothing to do with school fundraising on an individual PTA basis.
Again, this being a PTA event, I am not sure what Mrs. Riccio or Dr. Cline have to do with the community not knowing everything there is to know about Harorfest 2010.
As to parents contacting Attorney General Blumenthal, it seems that a number of steps have been skipped.
Shouldn't the first questions be publicly asked of the Ham Ave PTA Leadership?
Then, if no response, Greenwich PTA Council, State PTA then National PTA?
The proper process should be followed and I am not sure what could be accomplished by jumping so far up the chain.
Laura DiBella
COMMENT:
Dear Ms, DiBella,
All of your points are well taken, but it doesn't address the problem of transparency.
Why wont the Ham Avenue PTA Release a list of who got paid how much?
Many parents say they have been treated rudely or ostracized for asking simple questions.
Some parents have even said that the Ham Ave PTA lost money on this Fancy Nancy Harborfest and that parents are going to have to make up the difference next year.
Greenwich Board Of Education Chairman Steve Anderson should step in if the Hamilton Avenue PTA continues to refuse to give a detailed accounting of the $59,000 to the affected parents.
Hamilton Avenue School principal Barbara Riccio needs to tell the PTA leaders that they must be transparent and not ostrisize families who have honest questions about their child's school.
Dr. Deborah Cline, is the teacher leader has an obligation to tell the Ham Ave President, Vice President and Tresurer that The T in PTA stands for teachers who want transparency and accountability for Hamilton Avenue School families.
Lastly, parents are entitled to go to CT State Authorities or the media anytime that the Hamilton Avenue President, Vice President and Treasurer are not being transparent in an organization that they are dues paying members.
If you are right and Bob Macintyre's hands are 100% clean in this, then he should just release a list of who got paid what?
Mr. Macintyre can put and end to the rumor mill today, by sending a detailed report of who got paid what to GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com
There is nothing to be gained by denying parents access to public information.
The parents are going to eventually find out the truth anyway.
Aixa (Alex) Capozza, Terry Moore and Tracy Caruso are causing all of the rumors and possible state investigations by not running a transparent PTA organization.
Let's see if the Hamilton Avenue PTA Leadership releases a detailed report of who got paid what or if they try and pass off a generalized report that gives no details.
Lastly, parents tell Greenwich Roundup that they can't even get on the PTA governing board and bring transparency, because only board members can nominate their replacements.
Why can't one parent at the annual PTA organization meeting say I would like to nominate Mr. So And So.
Then see if a second parent seconds the motion.
The PTA Board can still put up an insider, but they should also accept nominations from the floor.
This works very well for almost every non-profit and political organization in Greenwich, why can't it work at the Ham Ave PTA.
Greenwich Roundup Finds It Hard To Believe That The Ham Ave PTA Is Not Required To Accept Nominations From The Floor And Is Taking Advantage Of Parents Who Are Not Aware Of The Process
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