This group has NEVER had a budget.....we generally make a large sum from our spring fundraiser and then throughout the year various funding requests are brought to us. It used to be teachers would come straight to us for funding requests but the new principal has asked them to all come to her. But we still have that occasional problem of these funding requests (not often) that just "pop up" during a meeting and that drives me nuts.
I like the idea of some written policies and procedures. I just want some WRITTEN guidelines about how funding requests are handled.
My friend who has a child in a public high school here and who is on their board says their principal reads out every funding request she has received and then states whether or not she has approved them and then they go before the PTA board.
Oh well, I'm rambling, thanks for the feedback!
Shelly
We have an executive board that has 10 members. We meet for an hour before every general meeting and discuss topics that will be presented during the general meeting(we use an agenda). We also discuss any miscellaneous things that may come up. If something seems reasonable to the board we will present the topic for discussion at the general meeting. For us it seems that most request for funds come to us through a board member. They are the people who the teachers and parents seek out with suggestions/requests.
I guess we aren't really safe from a group who may come in with a hidden agenda, but it hasn't occurred so far. We do have plenty of parents who aren't afraid to stand up and speak their mind, and we have a president and board who make a point of looking at ideas from all perspectives. One thing that may save us from a situation where someone wants something a little outrageous is that our mission statement says that we exist to improve educational opportunities for our students. That way if someone comes forward with a "water fountain" we can always use the argument that it's not an educational tool. Not that we don't make purchases like that. We also look at things from the standpoint of how many students will benefit from the item. We try to spend our money in a fashion that benefits a large segment of our student population. Our biggest protection from someone pushing a large purchase on us, is our budget. We establish and approve a budget at the beginning of our school year and we try not to leave a big surplus that is not earmarked for something specific. That way if someone presents that proverbial water fountain, we can say that it is simply not in the budget for the current year.
Is this problem common for your group? Do you have a formal budget?
Your ideas are about right but rather than having them in the bylaws, you should develop a policies and procedures manual. Your executive board would vote on it and then you could bring it to a vote at a general meeting.
To clarify and expand on your above thoughts...
Large ticket items should be requested from the school fund first. If the fund cannot cover the cost then the request can be brought before the executive board. If it is not in the currently approved budget, it is then up to the executive board to see if the money is available and the budget can be ammended accordingly.
Anything above $$??$$ must be approved by the executive board before being brought to a vote at a general membership meeting... or something like that.
This is my first (and only) year to be the PTO president. I think the way our money decisions are made are REALLY screwy..and most agree with me. For example, if some topic comes up at a meeting (let's say for example someone brings up the fact that we need a cold water fountain on the playground) and a few people are passionate that we need a cold water fountain. And someone says "I'd like to make a motion that we approve $5,000 for a cold water fountain" and before you know it $5,000 is spent because people are afraid to cause trouble and disagree.
My idea is to have all teacher funding requests continue to come to the principal. If parents have some idea for a funding request they may bring it to our executive board (which needs to be increased in size, I think). Therefore all funding requests would come before our executive board and approved before it even came to a meeting and no one could just make a wild motion for something before it has been heard by our board.
Is this the way most of you run or is this a faulty way of doing? I have got to fix this system...
Thanks for your input.
Shelly
