Our most recent PTO Spending Survey, conducted this past fall, yielded some interesting results. The good news: fewer groups report feeling increased expectations to support the school financially (50 percent in 2015 versus 54 percent in 2013). The biggest hurdle? Forty-four percent of groups responding report a lack of parent support. In fact, the median number of volunteers fell from 11-20 in 2013 to 0-10 in 2015.

Overall, while much has changed since we first began conducting the survey in 2011, parent group budgets have largely stayed steady. The majority of groups surveyed worked with budgets of $15,000 or less in 2011, 2013, and 2015. Some more results:

The most common annual budget is in the range of $5,001-$15,000.

The most common complaint from parents is “too many fundraisers.”

In terms of spending in 2013 compared with 2015, groups plan to spend more on school equipment or renovations and less on technology and student enrichment.

The survey was conducted online, with more than 1,000 PTO and PTA leaders across the country responding. Take a look at the full results in Spending Survey 2015: Steady Budgets, Similar Challenges.