edd, check out this link. It explains WHY your superintendent is behaving this way. www.txpta.org/GASB_39_Accounting_Rule.pdf
It contains some really good info about new accounting practices for schools.
JBH, my concern is not about the purpose of the funding. As volunteers the funding is benefiting the children which is why we do the work we do. Being new to the whole tax procedure we are concern with following proper procedure. We obtain EIN earlier this week and we are not familiar with all of the responsiblities that go with having an EIN. We have no intention of not supporting our schools.
The fundraising at our school recently shifted more to the school's ownership instead of the PTOs - with the PTO focusing more on volunteerism and teacher appreciation and less on "buying things".
But in the past, and to a much lesser amount even now, we've routinely written checks to the school. We might be funding part of a program the school was paying for, reimbursing the school for supplies we used, or providing the funds for something they could purchase at a better price as a public entity.
My point is, it didn't really matter WHERE they check was going - it's the PURPOSE. You want it to support your established non-profit purpose, and you want good documentation.
Our PTO frequently writes checks to the school for things we have agreed to purchase. The school provides us with a copy of the purchase order or invoice and we give them a check. The school pays the bill and uses our check to offset the expense so that the net for them is zero (expenses are not inflated). The advantage to us is that we do not end up owning the computer or playground equipment. (What if the computers are defective? What if some one falls off the slide?)
It would seem to me that you need to have good documentation for how you spent your money, both for your PTO members and for the IRS. How does your Superintendent propose that you pay for things? Does he want you to pay vendors directly?
The IRS goes by what information you provide to them, not anything the school provides. I have nothing in writing from our school saying that we provide certain programs for students and faculty, and it's not a problem. But most of what we do is provide afterschool enrichment programs, fund certain field trips, and provide cultural arts programs. We pay for all those through outside vendors, so we do have receipts to back all those expenditures up. We've never really had any reason to write a check directly to the school, except maybe for an occasional expense reimbursement (like when we use school paper to copy our flyers)--and even then we have a bill from the school. You do need to make sure you have appropriate documentation for whatever it is you are paying for.
