Although there are several points to our guidelines handed down by the school district here is part:

2. Financial accountability assurances that the organization:

a. Utilizes a proper bookkeeping procedure.

b. Has identified persons who have financial responsibilities.

c. Will not commingle funds with student activities accounts.

d. Will use funds within the framework of the purpose of the organizations and will not consider funds as public moneys

e. Will guarantee that at least 70 percent of the net funds collected will be spent on student activities.

To see the entire policy go to: www.myschoolonline.com/page/0,1871,0-163653-41-38663,00.html

All of our units are PTA's but there are plenty of other booster groups that fall under this rule. It is tough for PTA's to follow this criteria because we spend money on training, conventions and legislative, activities, workshops and programs for parents, but we do alright. We would be sunk at 90% though.

Ours has tried to do the same thing....not to that extreme but...are you a registered non-profit organization with your own tax id number that is seperate from the districts? If you are they cannot tell your group how to spend the money, it is only by the vote of the membership that the funds can be spent. Who controls your bank accounts? You really need to have all your facts straight then present them with the information. Your group needs to be informed...strength in numbers always helps!! Be firm and dig your heels in on this issue, the parents who do the fundraising do it with the notion that the funds are used for what the parents feel that the school needs and they pay taxes to pay for what the district thinks the school needs. Our superintendant has recently demanded that all of the PTO's give her $250.00 each toward advertising a new override amendment that she wants passed in November, our PTO voted not to contribute and once ours didn't the others quickly followed suit. Sure our "super" was VERY angry, but she needs our groups. If each school in Michigan does not have an ACTIVE parent group they will lose their accredidation from the state. She has tried to bully us since she came a few years ago but she does realize that she is not only dealing with parents but we are voters too!! Good Luck and stay united:)

Warning: IANAL.

A lot will probably depend on how your organization is set up. If you are a separately incorporated organization, I would think it would be very difficult for the district to claim that money. I suppose one could imagine a scenario in which the PTO is "owned" by the district, in which case they would have a legal (if not ethical) right to the money.

Before handing over a cent, I would demand documentation of their claim. Then I would talk to a lawyer, perhaps asking the district attorney's office to look at it. Are any of the parents in your school lawyers?

It might also be worth your time to make sure the local newspapers are aware of this. If you read my posts you might find that I've recommended getting legal advice more than once -- as much as I think America has too many lawyers and not enough engineers, if you are dealing with someone who is abusing their power don't be afraid to seek legal advice.

Our school district recently laid down new rules on how we could spend our money. My question is, can they do this? We can now only spend 10% of what we collect on holiday parties, staff & student appreciation, teacher luncheons, etc. With a school of over 1000 students, we made about $10,000.00 on our catalog sale this fall. 10% doesn't stretch very far. We are also being limited to one fundraiser per year. The other 90% basically has to be turned over to the principal for the campus improvement plan, a commitee that I am on but have received no information about.
Any answers on the legality of this?