How much direct involvement do Proncipals have in how a PTO spends it's money?

Most of our meetings consist of our principal presenting a laundry list (mostly wish-list, luxury type items) and us handing over the money. Many memebers feel unconfortable nay-saying her requests or asking to table a request long enough for discussion or thought.

Is this the way PTO's go or are we unusual. If not how have other PTO's handled this?

I think it is important for the principal to suggest things that the teachers and students need. You should not be afraid to vote how you feel. The money that is raised should directly benifit the education of our children.

Maybe your principal could write this wish list down before the meeting so that way the board at least knows what she is looking for. We usually ask our principal to submit any requests in writting or at the very least verbally to us before our working meeting which is one week prior to the general meeting. That way we know if we have enough money and if it is actually what we wanted to spend the money on anyway. A standard line we always use with the Principal is we will have to take a vote and if it is really something that we feel is not necessary or too expensive we say well that just isnt in our budget for this year.

Thank you for the replys to our question. I will bring up the idea of the principal making a written wish list. (What a great way to ear mark funds as we raise them!)

I have a feeling that this forum will prove to be an invaluable resource for us!

In our PTO, the Principal is a key member and very complimentary of the PTO efforts. He REQUESTS money from the PTO to cover specific items, usually with a good explanation of what's needed and why. We rarely turn him down, but would be comfortable doing so if necessary. Sometimes we need to modify (reduce) the amount he requests as we are reserving funds for other events.

Although most of the requests for funds come directly from the principal, we did decide to get more teacher input this year. We have two teacher reps on our Board, but we also held meetings with key Board members and each set of grade level teachers to discuss specifically what their needs are and how the PTO can help them. This brought some new ideas to mind (for both funding and volunteer efforts), and we may budget some funds a bit differently to support them directly.

We have a pretty cooperative bunch, so we are lucky that way. I do think a budget is the way to go. Then you can be sure to earmark funds appropriately and more easily justify turning down a request outside of what you want to spend in that area.

Good Luck!

Every January our Principal gives us the schools wish list and we go over this as a PTO group including the principal. We decide whether we can fund or not, we too have a good group and usually do accommodate but not always everything. It's very important to know your limits and not be intimidated by the principal.