Sometimes, one project can really bring a group together and push it to new accomplishments. For the South Jacksonville (Ill.) Elementary School PTO, this year’s PTO Today national Parent Group of the Year, that project was to repaint the school gym. At least, that’s how it started.

The school, built in 1949, shows its age, and the district has been unable to help. A referendum to fund school improvements failed, and no alternative plan is in place. So the PTO formed a beautification committee with a simple goal: perform one significant beautification project inside or outside the school each year. The initial project: a new coat of paint for the increasingly dilapidated gym.

“The original idea was to paint the gym in three school colors, white and blue featuring a red stripe for a more eye-pleasing effect,” recalls PTO President Paula Stewart. A local painter supplied a bid for the paint job. Then the discussions really began. What about the other aspects of the gym; when would we fix those? What was the proper timetable for the work? Should we do one part of the job before another?”

The original dropped ceiling in the gym was in terrible shape. Some tiles were missing, others showed water damage, and several were chipped and peeling. Lighting fixtures were poorly suspended. The wiring was makeshift at best and was hanging on top of the ceiling tiles. The room was cooled only by an undersized exhaust fan.

The beautification committee examined the problem and gave its report. The once simple paint job had become a major facelift with a major price tag: $21,000.

“Our PTO struggled with what to do,” says Stewart. The question of whether parent groups should fund items such as capital improvements that clearly ought to be part of the school budget resonates across the country. The South Jacksonville PTO came up with a winning solution: They attacked the problem with volunteer hours and community donations rather than dollars.

“We found a lighting company that gives discounts to schools for just this purpose, we reached out to a local painting contractor who donated much of his labor costs, and we took advantage of the parent expertise we had in our own building,” says Stewart. That expertise included the owners of an electrical company, who oversaw the project, and a waste-management company, who donated a large Dumpster. A parent artist painted the school mascot on the wall. In all, 50 parents donated their time and talent over Christmas break to make the project a reality. The final cost was just one-third of the original estimate: $7,000.

The next step, planned for this summer, is to refinish the gym and stage floor. In the fall, students will be asked to suggest items for the gym. A third-grade class has already mentioned a climbing wall. When all the suggestions have been made, the students will vote for their favorite, to be purchased by the PTO.

Building Blocks

The gym project was only possible because PTO leaders took strong steps to build parent involvement.

First, the membership fee was dropped. “It was decided that all parents were members already because their children were a part of the school,” says Stewart. “No fee was necessary.”

The group had a hard time finding parents willing to commit to becoming board members, because the jobs were viewed as difficult and time-consuming. So job-shadowing was introduced. Each board member now has a partner, so that when a board member leaves, someone is already trained and ready to take over.

Committees were expanded to include more people. Large jobs were broken into segments. This way, tasks did not seem so overwhelming to newly involved parents.

To make it easier for parents to attend, meetings were moved from the school cafeteria to the local roller rink and were held on Skate Night, a popular family event. The meetings were also limited to one hour. As a result of these changes, attendance at the monthly meetings increased from five people to 50.

School Work

The group tries to work closely with teachers and staff members. Every teacher, aide, secretary, and custodian receives a cash stipend to fund needed items of their choice. In addition, teachers participate in an equipment replacement program. Teachers notify the PTO’s teacher representative when a classroom’s audio/visual equipment needs to be replaced. That way, the group is able to manage purchases and avoid surprises.

The PTO serves a luncheon for the faculty and staff of 36 during Teacher Appreciation Week and American Education Week. Secretary’s Day and Custodian’s Day are celebrated, as well.

Events for the kids include an annual family carnival, complete with games, prizes, and food; and field day, which features a free lunch and a show—often a juggler or musician. The PTO supplies perfect attendance awards, accelerated reader awards, and other incentives. They pay the charter fees for Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, and Brownies. Sixth-graders participate in the DARE program and are supported on the annual sixth-grade trip. To defray parents’ costs, the PTO pays for all classroom holiday parties and bus costs for class field trips.

Fundraising efforts, including penny wars, candy bar sales, and braided bread sales, earn $10,000 to $15,000 annually. Recent large purchases include the school marquee and a sound system with cordless microphone.

“At South, we believe in the power of volunteerism, the importance of the classroom teacher, the necessity of community support and, most of all, the absolute commitment to kids,” says Stewart. “This does not always mean the same thing year after year. PTOs have a choice. Evolve with the times or be left behind. We choose to be proactive and stay one step ahead.”

Group at a Glance

Location: South Jacksonville, Ill.
Population: 3,500 Rural/Suburban
School size: 325 students
Grades: K-6
Annual budget: $15-25,000
Meeting attendance: 25-35