:confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: Witch hunt? A word I just read used rather flipantly.

Wanting serious financial questions answered in no way constitutes a witch hunt.

Trust me, I'm the new president of our PTO after a rather scandalous year. Somehow $6000+ disappeared and too many people were to intimidated and "nice" to ask questions. If the school weren't too poor and strapped to try to find a paper trail, someone would be in jail right now! Believe me, you don't want to be in the position of trying to restore faith during a reorg.

Volunteering does not equal free reign. Not asking questions when you think something is fishy? How is that excusable?

I would agree with JHB and Critter, tell them you didn't get what you were looking for and ask again. Sometimes it can be overwhelming being an officer and maybe they just need to be reminded. Just because it doesn't seem right without proof you can't go on a hunt! As far as the superintendent, I don't think ours would get involved unless there was a huge issue or school reputation on line. I would start by asking what is that supply line about?

[ 10-21-2006, 04:20 PM: Message edited by: pals ]

The unique things about PTOs are that they are unique. While we can each probably write a general definition of a PTO, the details will vary from school to school. In our district, the superintendent would have NO idea of our tax status. We don't report anything to him and he and his office have no controlling or even superficial interest in our operations. Our principal does not run our PTO. He is a voting member of the Exec Board, but he doesn't get involved in any of the inner workings, especially our relationship with the IRS.

We are an independent 501c3, but that came only after we completed the proper application process. Before we got smart about 501c3 (from reading this message board), everyone thought we were tax exempt simply by virtue of thinking we were. In my 10+ years doing PTO stuff, I've seen alot of misinformation held up as gospel, not because of any malicious behavior or intent to deceive, but because of good old-fashioned ignorance or laziness.

I second JHB. Go back to the officers. Explain that you didn't get all the info you needed from the email and you'd like more details on the finances.

It is not a witch hunt to talk to the supt. They are there to answer to parents, thats part of their job. Plus they happen to know all the business angles of the schools and the school orgs. It is THE place to go, ONCE the princiapal says I DONT KNOW, on all matters.

This doesnt address the issue above, but I think all PTOs need to make their tax status known to their parents, becuase the IRS doesnt care about good intentions......if a parent has taken deductions for contributions made to the PTO, and they are not deductible based on the PTOs tax status, the IRS finds fault with the private person taking the unlawful deduction, and not fault with the PTO.

Finding out tax status of your PTO is public info, and the principal should konw the stats and I am surprised she doesnt, and I would say that its fine the well-intentioned volunteers might not all be aware of the tax status, BUT the principal has no excuse, IMO.

my 02. anyway, good luck getting your answers.

I'd approach the officers again first before going on a witch hunt.

Remember - these are volunteers. People get busy, they forget. It's entirely possible someone simply forgot to respond or didn't know the answer and expected person A to respond and A thought B would answer.

Many PTO's have gone to only a few general meetings a year. But there should still be board/business meetings and those should be open to visitors.

As far as the $4000, you need more information. They may simply be too broad in what they call things. "Supplies" doesn't necessarily mean administrative overhead. If you gave a $50 stipend to 80 teachers for classroom supplies - that would equal $4000. Part of it might be a large commitment for science, art, or classroom "supplies".

As far as taxes - I wouldn't expect a large chunk to go there, but yes - PTO's do sometimes pay taxes. Usually sales tax. It varies from state to state. In Texas our tax exemption means we get to hold 2 tax exempt fundraisers per year. So naturally we designated the largest. But that means we still need to file and pay state sales tax on T-shirt sales, school supply sales, etc.

Corner one of the officers and find a positive way to ask for the information.

While certainly there's the possibility of mismanagement, it's more likely you have well-meaning, but not business-savy volunteers running the show. And frankly, that's what most of us were when we started.

A PTO is a non-profit business, which is a very unique enterprise. Very few of us come in with that type of experience. Many PTOs run for decades based on good intentions rather than good business practices.

I would definitely go to the superintendent with this one! Our PTO can't do anything unless it is cleared with our principal. All schools should operate that way.

It's a shame that some people take advantage like that.