PTO Today

From time to time someone brings up the subject of the PTO paying for teacher lounge renovations, in particular, purchasing a new refrigerator. I would like to hear what you think about this, or if you have any similar experiences to share. Thank you.

I would only consider agreeing to this if there were an ample amount of funds.And maybe this could be like a teacher appreciation gift only. PTO funds should be used strictly for the children, something like a refrigerator doesn't benefit them in anyway. The teachers could pool their own money together and buy their own refrigerator.

Our PTO purchased a refrigerator for the teacher's lounge a few years ago. It probably wouldn't have been a priority in a year that funds were tight, but this was a time when we had ample funds. No doubt the teachers got the primary benefit but it also went beyond that. We thought it was a fair bit of staff appreciation, plus the refrigerator was also used to store food for class parties and school events.

I recall we did have a discussion about the purchase. It wasn't as "automatic" as some purchases, but no one had any objections.