I was recently told by our region pta president that as a pta we aren't allowed to pay teacher/staff salaries as "is PTA's do not pay payroll taxes or workers compensation. And you cannot send them a 1099 because it will raise a red flag. There is a PTA unit that was sued from NYS for doing this = they now owe over 40K"
Even though your parent is not an official member of staff, paying someone that much will need you to issue tax documents and cause you lots of headaches...
THanks Rosie, Thats what I'm going to do. I spoke with someone that used to be in the PTO and they also mentioned the tax issues of it as well because we are a 501c3 it can be messy.
Hi Mike,
Trust your instincts on this one -- There are a number of things that could go wrong with this scenario and it isn't a good choice for your group.
For starters, if there is a situation in a classroom where a teacher needs this level of help and assistance, there are official channels that the administration should be pursuing and pulling in a parent (with or without pay) to help is not a good idea.
You are right for raising concerns about your group paying a salary.
Our PTO is a 501(c)3.
Our principle asked us to pay a parent who is helping a teacher who is having problems controlling her class. I heard that our principle promised to pay this parent but is unable to do it with her budget. So she has asked us to pay the parent $800. from our funds. Our board obviously doesn't want to get into the business of paying salaries as it can open a can of worms and possible IRS implications. I thought we clearly stated that we don't pay or are responsible for paying salaries but I guess it was never put in. I could put it up for a vote at our general meeting but that can backfire if I do. Anybody out there have any suggestions that can help me?
