Question: Splitting Money With School

We are a first year PTO at our middle school; our principal came to us at our end of year meeting and asked if we could split all of our profit from our one fundraiser with them. Can a PTO do that? Just hand over a check with out any documents on where is was spent?

Answers:

Advice from PTO Today

Liz L writes:
Hi bbisptotreasurer,
Many PTOs budget a certain amount of money for the principal to spend on items or needs as they come up. However, the principal should be required to make a formal written request to the PTO board before he has access to these funds; the request should indicate how the money will be used and how it will benefit the students. The principal may come to the board with additional requests, and your board can handle those requests at its discretion. If your bylaws don’t specify to allocate funds through mutual discussion (with the final decision in the hands of the PTO board), then an amendment would be in order. You do want your budget to support the school’s goals, but you don’t want the school—or the principal—in control of your budget.
Good luck.
Liz from PTO Today