Question: Simplest Reorganization Strategy re: low overhead?

We are trying to convert from PTA to PTO but want to minimize as much of the unnecessary work as possible. Our group raises less than $5-10K per year, and we only have a handful of leadership volunteers. The school's administrators/bookkeeper have agreed that we can just have separate line items for PTO money within their general fund. This would eliminate a lot of paperwork, along with the need for a separate treasurer. If we structure our new PTO bylaws to determine how those particular funds are spent, are there other big issues related to this that we are missing that might be problematic? The PTA-loyalists have indicated that they believe we are making a HUGE mistake by considering doing this, and that we will never be able to direct those funds going forward. Thoughts?

Asked by PTOfan1

Answers:

Advice from PTO Today

Craig writes:
Yes, this system can work. As long as there's trust between the principal and the PTO leaders and you have a good working relationship, you will be OK. It's not the most common system, but there certainly are many PTOs that operate this way, as essentially an arm of the school. The risk is that if things break down and there's a dispute, particularly over how money is spent, you will have little leverage. Of course, at that point you can decide to become independent of the school, open your own bank account, etc. By the way, you may find that you still need a treasurer to track expenditures against budget, prepare a monthly financial report, etc.