Question: Funds Request Form for Teachers

In the years past the PTO has given money to each classroom after the Fall Festival to pay for misc. things, such as field trips, school supplies, and etc. However, after some discouraging staff meetings our PTO is very upset with the staff, and have made the decision to not hand out money for the teachers to do as they please. The staff is not helping, throwing fits about our Fall Festival changes, and have even threatened to leave the Fall Festival early and leave us without workers. The Co-President and I have discussed adding a Request Form that the teachers can fill out to explain what they need funds for; I would like to create a draft and present it to the other members for a final decision. What all should be included in this request form?

Asked by Anonymous

Answers:

Advice from PTO Today

Rose H writes:
One thought to share: What you give to the classrooms should be based on what your as a group think is appropriate to give, not based on what the teachers do (or don't do) for your group. It's ok to be peeved at them if you don't like how they behaved at your Fall Festival, but the money you give them should be used to support the classrooms and student activities, and that should be done without regard to their behavior.

Totally get that you would be annoyed with them. But it isn't about them.

Having said all that, you might want to consider doing a teacher grant program. That does make the process of supporting the teachers more straight forward and easier to manage. Here's a link to a post we have about teacher grant programs:

Create a Teacher Grant Program at Your School: https://www.ptotoday.com/pto-today-articles/article/1379-create-a-teacher-grant-program-for-your-school

Free printables for teacher grant programs: https://www.ptotoday.com/filesharing/category/234-teacher-grant-programs

Hope that helps,
Rose