Keep in mind that if both sides happily operated under concept where the PTO raised funds but the principal had liberal discretion on expenditures, that wasn't abusing the system - that was the process in place.
It might well be time to change things or implement different controls.
But if things have traditionally been handled one way and you want to change things, make sure communication is wide open and employ some diplomacy.
In my first brush with the PTO (not a formal, 501(c)3 org), the situation was much like this. In the principal's mind, the PTO was a partner or perhaps a volunteer committee. The principal didn't control all the money rasied by the PTO, but the money was raised "for the school" with him being very much a partner in deciding how funds were spent.
Over time, things were formalized and ultimately the school came to "own" one of the two sales fundraisers. They were run exactly the same way. The same parent volunteers organized it. The only difference was where the final funds got deposited (School account or PTO account).
The point is, if the Principal is counting on a certain amount of discretionary income from fundraisers, he's either going to need to re-work his budget or do his own fundraisers.
If he's been operating in good faith, be careful not to suddenly approach it that everyone involved before was wrong and you're suddenly going to fix it.
Not that change isn't good, but just be careful about implementation.
Interesting. We only found out what we'd payed for after our next treasurers report. The principals would spend and then just turn their reciepts in. This is not going to be a fun transition, as they are used to and expect this money as an extension of their budgets.
All of this kind of stuff is basically summed up in our budget that is presented at the beginning of the year..This should be a guidline of what you anticipate you will spend and then what fundraising you need to accomplish your goals.
Now certainly things come up throughout the year that have not been budgeted for, including requests from teachers & the principal. If it is not an astronomical amount of money our board members will vote on wheter or not to fund it. If it is something that is a substantial amount of money then we bring it to a vote for the entire membership.
Our principal has no input or control over how and on what we spend our money on. If he wants something he asks us for it and we do our best to accomodate him.
What process do you use to determine what you fund/how your funds are dispersed? What is the principal's role in this process? Any help would be appreciated! Our past PTO ghosts just passed the whole issue over to the administration with a 'Wish List' style of spending. Where's the teamwork in that? There has been too much room for error, and I'd like to get a process in place. Our bylaws are very basic and don't cover any specifics on financial policies (but we're working on it). Thanks!
