Sparkleberry,
If the PTO funds are run through the school then I'm assuming (hoping) that all insurance and taxes and everything else is under the school's name too?
Wether or not the principal has final say, if you have by-laws then they need to be followed. Get yourself a following and demand that there be a special meeting (specifically for the president and treasurer) to discuss the by-laws. Let them know that not only will you let every parent you meet that they are breaking the rules, but that you will discourage them to participate in any more fundraisers until the spending is under control. Do you have a budget? Our by-laws also state that there is a $100 limit on spending unless budgeted.
Stick to your guns on this one. I wouldn't want to be part of a group that may get in big trouble one day. Good Luck!
OK, the treasurer is new this year and does whatever the president tells her to do. That's another story in and of itself - we have asked to be given a detailed list of expenses, but it's March and we've never gotten one. The principal insists that the PTO funds be run through the school - we have the option in our district to have our own account or run it through the school. The principal said the decision lies with him, and he says it's going to run through the school. We all hate it, but what can we do???
Where's the treasurer & why is the tres. giving her checks? Talk to the treasurer. Talk to the principal. What's the money spent on? If you have to, go to the superintendent. I'd request an audit. As a board, tell the Pres. to either follow the by-laws or resign. Good luck.
Critter, I could tell you some stories! We have called her on it more than once. Her response is "well it's spent - we can't return it"!!! I am not joking at all. So, I think we've given her more than enough opportunity to change her ways, but she hasn't. We just found out about the $8k expenditure earlier this week. I guess my question is, what is the next step, since calling her on it does not seem to phase her? Do we get a lawyer, call for an audit, what? I've never come up against this before.
Has anyone questioned her on this practice? If no one is enforcing the bylaw, she's probably thinking she's doing what's best for the PTO. If she's purposefully snubbing her nose at the bylaws - and in turn, the members -- call her out on it.
$1000 is a pretty high threshhold for exec board spending. Has your group considered lowering that number? We can spend up to $100 on unbudgeted expenditures without a general PTO vote, but then we budget every penny we plan to earn. Maybe $1000 is the appropriate number if you don't have a pre-planned master budget. Just a thought.
Hello! I have been reading LOTS of posts about how PTO funds are to be spent. Our bylaws state that any expenditure over $1000 must be brought before the general membership for approval. Our current PTO president has authorized AT LEAST 3 expenditures over this amount without a general membership vote! I fully understand that this is not acceptable. My question is - what do you do about it? The money is already spent. What is the next step? Let me add - we are talking about HUGE amounts of money - $8k for one item, $4k for another, and $1200 for another. We need help!
