PTO Today

One of the most common and one of the least understood questions we receive every year is this: Does a PTO or PTA have to spend its entire budget every year?

The short, simple answer is no. It’s perfectly OK for a nonprofit to carry a balance from one year to the next. No two ways about it. In fact, it can be considered solid financial management because you’re not putting yourself back at square one each August.

Now, there is some debate about whether a PTO or PTA should carry over funds and — if so — how much to carry over. We’ve talked about carrying over funds in the Q&A section. And both sides of that debate have been argued in the message boards by parent group leaders.

My personal opinion: Groups should carry over enough funds so that their entire first month doesn’t have to be all about fundraising. I think that’s one of the biggest causes of parent groups being considered just fundraising machines.

Whatever your group decides to do, just know that there is nothing illegal or technically wrong with carrying over funds. Many, many smart groups do this every year for very good reasons.

My tip for you this week is to join us on what is quickly becoming a very powerful new resource for PTO and PTA leaders — our PTO Today Facebook page. I’m loving all the idea-sharing that’s happening over there.

I was amazed to learn from a recent survey (but perhaps you won’t be) that 71 percent of our PTO and PTA leaders are active Facebook users. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised since PTOers are such active networkers offline, too.

One of our discussions this week is about your best family event this school year. Hope you’ll “fan” us, join in the discussion, and start your own PTO Facebook networking. I’ll see you there.

Always fun to hear what other parent groups are doing for events and fundraisers. Good way to pick up some ideas for your group! Here a few creative parent group-sponsored events that were in the news this week:

25th Annual Science fair

Diversity Night

Earn n’ Burn Fundraiser

The circus comes to town

To kick off the New Year, I have some questions for you: Is your PTO fun? Do parents think of your group as fun? Do volunteers have fun staying involved?

If your answer is no to any of those, then you have a major involvement challenge. Light and fun work. Heavy and too serious do not. (Chime in on our message boards to add your best fun PTO ideas and read what other groups are doing to keep things more light.)

In many ways, you’re selling involvement — you’re hoping parents will choose your group and your school as the place to give their time. If that involvement is boring, or worse yet, painful or stress-inducing, most parents will choose a different option. You’re not only competing with other volunteer options; you’re also competing with American Idol, Survivor, and Dancing With the Stars.

I’m looking forward to hearing about all the ways you’re making volunteering more fun. Your efforts on that front may be your best investment for increasing involvement at your school.

Ran across this article about membership in Iowa’s PTA groups and  the interesting discussion that follows. Good look at trends in Iowa state PTA membership (down to 13,000 members from 24,000 15 years ago).

Author, though, makes the classic mistake of equating lower PTA membership with less parent involvement in Iowa, when lower PTA membership really just means lower PTA membership. Odds are that a huge chunk of that decline is groups leaving the PTA to form independent PTOs. When that happens, involvement isn’t less; it just has a different name.

Also worth taking a read of the comments section. Good insight there as to what you’re up against (and how groups are often perceived) in trying to engage more parents. Is your group viewed as a clique? The answer to that question I actually wrote a column on this clique topic a couple of years back.

On the heels of Tim’s Tip about the importance of parent involvement, I found this article about a New Jersey school’s Astronomy night. What a great example of merging academic goals with family events. Kids and their parents engaged in learning about planets and constellations, and making the connection with Mythology — what could be better?! Most events like this one are not possible without the support of parents.

“The principal … noted that the event would not have been possible without a supportive school community. Besides RVCC’s contribution of the Star Labs, the event was partially paid for by a mini grant from Readington’s Home and School Association (HSA).”

Way to go, Readington HSA!

Many of us have vivid, and happy childhood memories of their field days at school. It’s not until you are a parent, that you appreciate the thought and energy put into these events. And it’s not until you’re a parent, that you realize that field days cannot happen without the help of — you guessed it — parents! This article about a New York school’s field day brings home how important parent volunteers are to a school community. Rain didn’t dampen the spirit of this school community — they set up the field day in their gym and hallways. More happy memories in the making. Love that commitment to the kids!

Our sister site, SchoolFamily.com has launched a fun, new community! This is a great place to ask questions or share ideas about ways to help your kids succeed in school. Why not head over and join the conversation?

What do you think is the right amount of screen time, each day, for your kids over the summer?
Join the “How much time to let your kids play on computer, xbox, etc.” group.

Do you have some suggestions on how to keep your children learning over the summer?

Would you like share some ideas on how to keep your middle school kids busy this summer?

These are just a few highlights to get you started. You’ll find LOTS more groups, discussions, and Questions and Answers once you jump in. Most importantly, you’ll connect with parents with similar situations. Once you’re in our community be sure to look for me, Lisa Gundlach, and add me as your “friend”. Look forward to seeing you online at the SchoolFamily.com community!

Last week we posted about a couple who stole from their parent group. Today I came across yet another embezzlement story. Why post another story about this you ask? Because this article is also about a dedicated PTA group in FL that pulled together to recoup more than $43,000 stolen from the PTA.

Kudos to this school community for not letting one person’s indiscretion get in the way of working together for the benefit of their children.

It’s a tough time for many private schools, given the state of the economy. We’ve heard from many parent groups that they are jumping in to help market their schools — with great results.

Just came across this article about a school in Dallas, Texas whose PTG formed a subcommittee charged with marketing their school. With several successful programs under their belt and a great attitude, the Gate of Heaven Roman Catholic School has increased enrollment. The group has more great ideas about to keep their school thriving. It just goes to show that hard work and a positive attitude can make all the difference in the world.