Hope to see you there!

We look forward to seeing our returning dads and extend a big warm welcome to our new Butler dads.

We need to get going planning our Father/Son Disc Golf event coming up on September 30th. For you new dads, there are plenty of ways you can volunteer and help. We hope to see you all there.

Mr. Gallagher received overwhelming support from the parents and staff at Butler—a large number of whom packed the board room and spilled out into the hallways and filled the lobby last night. Everyone let out a large cheer when his name was announced and the PTA and Dads Club presented him with a welcome basket.

The Butler Dads Club looks forward to working alongside Mr. Gallagher as he continues the excellence Mrs Coulter has brought to this school and prepares us for the challenges that lie ahead.

His surgery was today, but the prognosis is not good. Unfortunately, Bobby was self-employed and the family does not have insurance. The school is rallying around them and helping in a number of ways:

• An account has been setup at Compass Bank at Randol Mill Rd. and Cooper St. for donations to cover the hospital bills and to help cover the mortgage. Please ask for Jennifer Asplet. If you have questions about donating, please call her at 817-975-8894.
• We will be setting up a Paypal donation button on the PTA and Dads club websites. If you would like to donate through Paypal, please look for the button in our sidebar in the next day or so. (UPDATE: Look for the big red “Donate Now” button at the top right.)
• Jennifer and Denise White are organizing food for the family. They have meals covered through Sunday. If you would like to provide something, call Jennifer at the number above or Denise at 817-233-8649.
• Ashley Wallis is keeping the Burden children and could use help with feeding them after school. If you would like to donate snack foods and other kid friendly food like frozen pizzas, please deliver to the Wallis’ at 1714 Autumn Lane in the Prestonwood neighborhood north of Shackelford Jr. High.
• A couple of fund raisers are being planned to help with ongoing expenses as the family has no savings and has now last their only source of income.
• UPDATE: There will be a car wash on Saturday, April 16th from 8-4 at St. Stephen Methodist Church on Random Mill, across the street from Random Mill Park.

For updates about Bobby’s condition, please visit his daughter’s blog.

We are open for suggestions on games and activities for the kids. If you have any ideas or feedback from past years, let us know!

We hope to see everyone there at 7:00pm in the Butler Cafeteria.

The busses will leave from the Lamar parking lot early in the morning and get to Austin in time for the 11am march and rally from 12–2. T-Shirts and Box lunches will be provided and the cost is only $25 per person.

Sponsor a Teacher!

Please spread the word and help sponsor a teacher’s trip. We already have one dad that has stepped up to the plate to sponsor 8 teachers! We need more.

Contact Information

If you plan on attending or sponsoring a teacher, please contact Leanne Rand at LeanneRand@tx.rr.com or by phone at 817-939-5023.

First of all, thanks to all of the parents that came out tonight. Secondly, please be sure to thank Trustees Jamie Sullins and Bowie Hogg for patiently speaking with us and helping dispel a lot myths floating around about the proposed AISD cuts.

I’ve included the presentation that was given at the Budget Crisis meeting tonight. Most parents found it very informative on how school funding works in the state of Texas.

The talent show will be held up at Butler on Friday, February 25th at 6:30pm. It usually runs late, but you don’t worry if you can’t work the whole time. We need the most help at the beginning of the show.

The Butler PTA, Butler Dads Club and North Arlington Education Alliance are holding a meeting to discuss the proposed budget cuts, what they mean for Butler and what you can do about it. The meeting is open to all concerned Butler parents and will be held in the Butler Cafeteria on Tuesday, February 22nd at 6:30 pm.

The goal of the meeting is to educate our parents on the crisis, what it means for Butler, and point concerned parents in the right direction to let their voices be heard in Austin.

We will have representatives from AISD, School Board member Jamie Sullins, and our Principal Sara Coulter on hand to present information and answer questions.

The tentative agenda will be:

1. Introduce AISD SOS (Save our Schools) blue ribbon campaign.
2. Inform parents on current AISD budget plans (Jamie Sullins to present)
3. Educate parents on the budget situation in Austin
4. Let parents know about the North Arlington Education Alliance Town Hall meeting at Lamar on March 9th (pending date)
5. Mention the Save Texas Schools Rally in Austin March 12th
6. List specifics of how these cuts affect Butler and our children
7. Discuss how parent volunteers can help fill the gap at Butler next year. (PTA and Dads Club to Present)

We will be talking about upcoming spring events including the Butler Dads Club BBQ and helping out on the PTAs Talent Show. In addition, we need to schedule a workday to install more bricks and handle a few landscaping maintenance items around the school.

We are also pleased to welcome North Arlington Little League to our meeting. Registration for the Spring season ends very soon. However, they will at our meeting to answer questions and register you on the spot. So if you have been thinking about signing your son or daughter up for baseball, now is your chance.