I am wondering what types of things other PTOs spend their money? We have a lot of controversy in our organization as to why we raise money and the appropriate use of what we raise.

I am wondering what types of things other PTOs spend their money? We have a lot of controversy in our organization as to why we raise money and the appropriate use of what we raise.

That's a million dollar question! I'm sure others will chime in here...I think it mostly has to do with what your by-laws say and what your "purpose" is. Is it to promote community in your school with free family events? Is it to strictly raise money for your school? Our PTO seems to be a mixture of the two but with lots of emphasis on fundraising and support of the school. We spent almost $100,000 last year on needs of our school and it hit a wide variety of things--from giving each of our teachers $200 on classroom needs to buying new chairs for an entire grade, new computers, refurbishing the library, a new school sign, etc. When we had money to "spend" last year, we asked the faculty for input. These suggestions were screened by the principal and then presented to us without any controversy.

Just throwing in my .02
SHC

I agree with SHC but you should also consider that most groups have a budget planning meeting for their board and a budget approval meeting for the general public, in the least. If there is ever any doubt about how money is raised, budgeted, or spent, these events are the best time to ask. Even parents who aren't involved, know to come to the first meeting of the year with their problems, questions, or concerns. If you are asking for a breakdown of what most groups spend their money on, I believe you can use the search tool at the top of this screen to find a discussion from a few months back regarding budget breakdowns to compare to your group. You would be surprised how varied the responses were.

We have a budget that our money is used for and anything additional goes to purchasing things for the school itself ...i.e.last year, we purchased a riding lawn mower for our custodian and the accelerated math program for our students in addition to everything that is budgeted. . ..

If we didn't have a PTO and didn't fundraise, the teachers and principals would not have start up money, many events would not be held, the students would not get rewards for their achievements (perfect attendance, honor roll, good citizen ship) ...

There is SO much that the PTO pays for that each year, I send a copy of the budget along with the first school newsletter so parents can see WHY we fundraise throughout the school year . . .it really has helped as parents are clueless if they are not active in the PTO and we get a higher participation in our fundraisers because of it.

This year we are purchasing air conditioning units for each classroom and 27" tv/dvds with wall mounts for all of the classrooms too. WE will be sending out a teacher request form..i cant wait to see what they suggest LOL

We post ours at the beginning of the year.
Vison Clinic, Field Trips, Books & Beyond Reading Program, Enrichment Classes, School Store, Teacher Grants, SockHop, Back 2 School BBQ, Homework Club.

We have our 1st mtg of the year as the "where does the $$$ go and where would you like the $$$ to go," and will have it soon posted on our website on an excel spreadsheet.

[ 10-22-2005, 04:26 AM: Message edited by: Shawn ]