Pleasant Valley School District received a gift at the Dec. 19 school board meeting.

The Pleasant Valley Education Support Professionals Association president, Lorraine McCutchan, presented the district with donations equivalent to nearly $9,500.PVESPA is the support staff portion of the Pennsylvania State Education Association local union."When I became president of the association several years ago, I wanted to change the attitude within and surrounding the group. I wanted it to be more positive. With the help of a willing executive committee we were able to accomplish that, beginning with establishing a mission statement to coincide with that of the district. The district mission statement is 'Excellence in Education: A Community Commitment.' Ours is 'Supporting the Commitment to Excellence in Education,'" explains McCutchan, secretary to Kenneth Newman, assistant to the superintendent, in the Office of Curriculum and Instruction.For many years the association held its annual Santa Luncheon in December. The purpose of the event is to provide families and children with an affordable opportunity to celebrate the joy of the holiday season, meet Santa, and have fun. The proceeds from the event are used to provide scholarships to graduating seniors who are selected through an application process.McCutchan and the executive committee, which includes Monica Tramontina, vice president; Lorrie Anderson, secretary; Desiree Murray, treasurer; and Jim Serfass, parliamentarian wanted to do more."We realized that we had saved a lot of association money (which comes from membership dues) by having discussions with administration and resolving issues in-house, thereby avoiding the full grievance and arbitration process, which can get expensive. We decided to use the savings to demonstrate our mission. Learning that the budgets of the library, art, and music departments were the hardest hit in state cuts, we discussed at a general membership meeting the possibility of donating to these departments. A motion was made, a vote was taken, and the result was a unanimous decision to solicit 'Wish Lists' from the library, art, and music departments of each building, and to donate an amount not to exceed $10,000 to grant these 'wishes' to benefit the students of PVSD," says McCutchan.It is PVESPA's first attempt at fulfilling "Wish Lists."The list of "gifts" the district has received are:• PVHS received two Nikon D3000 cameras, batteries and DS cards; locking cabinet; three Kindles and warranties; electronic drum set; three guitars• PVMS received books for the library; an African drum; a talking African drum• PVI received books for the library; fourth-grade books; a tenor sax• PVE is getting art supplies; books for the library; a Remo drum; bean bags; two iPod Touch; two docking stations• PVMS will be getting chorus T-shirts which have been ordered.The total for all these items is $9,479.71."I hope we will be able to do it again, maybe in a similar, if not the same, way. I have some ideas, but I need to gather more information before I bring them to the executive committee and the general membership. I will solicit ideas from others as well," says McCutchan.