Thank you for your information. I, too, am looking up the legalities of that. The school actually has a 501(c)3, I am unsure if the PTO does. The PTO is a separate account and is not handled by the school or the church that houses the school. Can the school get into any trouble since we are not the ones who handle the money or have access to the account? I wouldn't think so. I agree that it is something that I don't want to have to be involved in. If the IRS wants to audit our PTO they can feel free.
Originally posted by happygolucky8712: Now, they have decided to give 3,000 to our principal and 2,000 to our administrative assistant because they were not retained for the coming year.
Those are big dollar amounts.
There's some serious question whether that's legal, especially if you are an independent 501(c)(3). There's no question that you'd have to formalize that kind of money as pay and issue a 1099 tax form to those folks (for their income taxes).
I'd tread very carefully.
Most PTO teacher-support initiatives -- even if they are in the grat area IRS-wise -- are relatively small and not likely to get anyone in real trouble.
Not declaring $3,000 of income, though, is not small potatoes. Do you guys want to get into that business?
Are you a 501 (c)3? If so, all monies can only be used for the purpose of benefiting the school. You can only give gifts of food and drink, and a gift valuing no more than $20.00. I'm off to school now, but will look this up later. I don't know if I saw it here, or on thE IRS website (spent a great deal of time over the weekend on that, as I'm a new prez).
Not to mention, as a parent, I would be furious if you used the funds I either donated or worked hard to raise for the betterment of the students and school to go to someone for personal use.
Our PTO has given money to teachers over the years when they have a baby. The original intent, I believed was to help the teachers out during maternity leave. We are a small private school, and the teachers do not get a salary while on maternity leave. The PTO decided to give teachers who take that leave a gift to help them. Now, they have decided to give 3,000 to our principal and 2,000 to our administrative assistant because they were not retained for the coming year. Can they do that? Unfortunatly our PTO Executive Board seems to think that they can spend this money without the permission of the full PTO. Just curious as to what others think? I thought the money we raised was to be used for the benefit of the children. I can almost see paying maternity leave to a good teacher to convince her to return as a benefit to the students. But what is the benefitto the students is there for paying the principal and administrative assistant? Again, is this legal? Can they do that?
