PTO Today

Alicai,

I would love a copy of your, please! Any help I can get!

Plus, if anyone out there has anything specific for Nevada, we are a Brand New Charter School K - 12th Grade. The school just opened in August, we are very new to this whole endevour, any help would be appreciated!

Thank you!

Opps, sorry Alicia. Spelling was terrible!

Hi Nikole. I see that you're very new and that you mentioned on another post that you're a new president of a new group. It's fantastic that you're working on bylaws. And that you've come here to do some research. You'll find that many members here are very helpful!

I don't want to see you get frustrated so I thought I'd share a handy tip with you. Pay particular attention to the posts' dates. It's highly unlikely that someone who made an offer a year ago is still checking this thread and sharing documents. Rather, click on some of the links listed in the posts. Check out the Bonus Tools section of PTO Today. There are a lot of bylaws samples to look at there too.

Take lots of time to read through some threads specific to your questions (Search Message Boards), chime in on current threads and start new posts if you have a question you haven't seen answered recently. There's a lot of back and forth here and plenty of smart folks willing to share their experiences so be sure to ask questions and participate in the 'discussions'.

I'm glad you're here and I look forward to watching your team grow!

I am the President of a newly formed PTO at a Catholic School. We are being told that the PTO is not directly involved in collecting or spending its own money. All the money we raise goes into a bank account controled by the Proncipla and the Priest. We are having a very difficult time controling anything we do since every meeting we have has a new guide line or rule set down by the priest. They are now coming to us to donate money to the school and to make the PTO the driving force for school fundraisers. Is this really the way a pto works. We had plans of a new playground but are now being told the money has to be used to help out the school with it's own costs. Help!
Eric.chaney@verizon.net

Hi Eric. Welcome to the boards!

Unfortunately, it does seem that many groups that are a service brance of the school find that their funds are completely controlled by the school admin/board of education.

I've never been involved with private schools so I don't know what is typical.

As education funding is being cut all across the board, it seems that parent groups are being asked to pick more operational costs than ever. If your group can assist the school in this way and you think it's a responsible use of your time and funds then great! If, however, you think the school needs to focus on benefitting from other resources so that your team can focus on the 'extras' like a playground, then perhaps a meeting with your officers, the principal and the priest are in order. Clear lines of communication are key. If your team goes in with a coopertative attitude, an open mind and a clear plan for your own goals then hopefully you all can figure out a way to balance things out.

ericchaney - the role of PTOs can vary greatly, although most of us have some fairly common views about about what a parent group should/should not fund or how independent they should be. (Even so, there are still no absolutes.)

But from from close friends in your situation I've found that church-related parent groups are often a whole different world. Often the fundraising done by a parent group is totally controlled by the church officials for keep-the-lights-on purposes that many of us would see outside the scope of a traditional PTO.

That's not to say the are ALL that way or that you can't negotiate differently. Your maximum leverage is before you agree to take on a task. Really think about the needs and expectations of both sides and see what compromise can be made.

Something like, We understand the need for parent volunteers to take on this fundraising, and we're willing to do so. But we want assurance that we get decide how X% of it is used... (or that a specific project is funded, whatever it is you want accomplished.)

[ 12-14-2006, 02:54 PM: Message edited by: JHB ]