PTO Today

This is my first year as treasurer and I am also a second year teacher. When going into the position as treasurer I have been left with no reciepts or information of previous year expenditures. I have found that our PTO has been using the money for personal gifts (i.e. purses and sweaters for birthday, bereavement, baby and wedding showers, and retirement) These gifts are given to "select" teachers and other staff and also the PTO members. When figuring it out I think that a large sum of our money is spent on gifts. There is only me and two other parents that really do anything and they are not happy with me for disagreeing and not voting to get these gifts. What do I do? Is this legal or ethical?

IMO PTO money should not be used to buy baby and wedding shower gifts. Maybe a retirement gift or a small token of thanks to ALL the teachers would be ok but it sounds to me like the money isn't being used in the proper ways. As far as legal I'm not sure where it would fall, but I don't think it is ethical at all. Expecially if the largest part of your budget is going to this. This should be curbed down ALOT!

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"Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."

Check your by-laws. There should be a mission or a purpose statement. If the expenditures are nor furthing/matching this statement, the board is in violation of the by-laws. If this doesn't create a turn-around in the board's behavior, spread the word to the parents that this is how their money is being spent. With enough complaints and/or reduction in donations, those on the board who have been in favor of this massive gift-giving should capitulate.

I just don't think it is a good idea. You have to feel good that the money is going toward the kids, not the adults. Separate collections may be taken for that exact gift but shouldn't come from money raised for the children.
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How do I get a hold of these by-laws? Is this something that each individual PTO writes up or is this universal?

Actually, unless your bylaws are very specific, this is more a matter of policy - which is ideally documented but often starts out as "just the way everyone knows we do it". It's a good time to look at developing such policies as the problem becomes where to draw the line and how much is too much.

As far as bylaws go - wrong or right - it could be justified as an extension of Teacher Appreciation or "supporting the school" or community outreach. (But also be careful about boxing yourself into a tight corner. Saying you will "Never" do something can be difficult.)

Getting a copy of the bylaws for your organization is a good place to start. If nothing else, you'll want to formally have your purpose/mission to quote as you discuss your policy moving forward. Most groups discussing this in these forums tend to have a policy of NOT buying personal gifts for most such occasions. Some have a specific committee that decides when its appropriate and what to do. (Baby showers - probably not; a principal retiring - maybe). Sometimes these are called "Sunshine Committees".

Focus forward on your mission and what you want to achieve and set a policy that best supports this.

In my opinion, our school spends on gifts too often as well!

Last year, I chaired an event, and following the other chairs guidelines, I provided small ($5-$10) gift cards to the janitors and support staff because of the extra work the dance created. (Frankly, this seemed reasonable because you should see the mess that 400+ people made, and the janitorial staff didn't get any extra pay for this event, even though the mess was way beyond a normal day.) Well, turns out my gifts were denied reimbursement by the organization because "I gave too good of detail about what I was spending the money on!" I was told that the organization didn't reimburse for gifts outside of the "sunshine fund" for teacher milestones. I was pretty steamed because I'd already given the gift cards, but ate the expense knowing at least I'd done a good deed for the staff.

Well, they fed me a total lie. Now, I am the Treasurer and am looking at last year's receipts....Turns out, I'm just not one of the "in" people for spending the funds. I've seen reimbursements for Evian water, pizzas, double lattes and muffins while shopping for gift cards (no identification of what these cards are). ARGHH! I have a meeting with the President on Friday about getting last year's records audited.....I'm getting push back every step of the way....No wonder....she was on the board last year. I don't think parents have any idea of what their funds are spent on. The more I ask, the more I get a bad feeling....We're going to need some serious controls, and I'm not going to be very popular!

Bylaws are the official rules by which your group has chosen to operate. They should have been written and voted upon when your group was created. Your bylaws will be unique to your organization although you'll see a lot of common language from set to set.

A lot of times when a group has been run as loosely as yours, it's also time to look at updating the bylaws and formalizing your group in other areas.

Start with your president and other officers. Hopefully, someone can find a copy.

Your bylaws would be unique to your organization. Hopefully, you have some that will help you. If your group is a registered 501c3 non-profit organization, there are some IRS rules regarding funds being used to benefit members of the organization. Check into your standing there too.

The parents and teachers who have allowed this type of spending to occur should be ashamed of themselves. I'm sure that when your school's families participated in the fundraisers they intended that money to go to use in the school for the benefit of the children, not to buy someone a birthday gift!

Good for you for standing your ground and not giving in to letting this continue!! Remind those folks who want to continue this "program" how many books, computers, and other classroom supplies that money could buy. That sweater may keep one person warm, but the books will educate hundreds of children.

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Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat.

Well, I got delayed in my response and JHB got in there and gave you some great info!!!

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Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat.