Question: Donations to classrooms

A parent gave a donation of $200 for her child's classroom, the donation was matched by her employer to be put in the 'general". The check was made to PTO. The PTO president is refusing to give the teacher her share for her classroom.

Asked by Anonymous

Answers:

Advice from PTO Today

Craig writes:
What's the reason being cited for not giving the teacher a share? I can think of a couple, but I'm wondering what the PTO president says. One possibility is that all classrooms must be treated equally. Someone recently posted that their school has this type of setup -- the rule is that all classrooms must be treated equally -- no donations to one class or grade without a similar donation to the others. Of course, if this is the case the PTO should have communicated that before the donation was made. Another possibility is that this is a straight miscommunication. It might be worth talking to the parent and the president again to see where the problem lies. Don't be accusatory -- just go on a fact-finding mission so you can look for a compromise.