A quick glance at your question made me think of it more of a principal controlling over teachers not your PTO money. (and I don't mean it in a negative sense.)
Our PTO does as you have in the past; however, there are plenty who run it as your principal wants it to be done.
He may have had this process at a previous school and he liked it or maybe at sometime in the past there was an issue elsewhere with what teachers were requesting/receiving.
He may have heard staff loungue conversations which concern him (at previous school or at yours) and this is an area he can control what he deems a negative situation in the making.
I can think of items which the PTO may deem as allowable on a request, but maybe the principal doesn't really want that happening in the school. You know, where one teacher has a great idea and uses PTO funds to have a great program/project and then the parents of students in other teachers in that grade are having a fit because their son/daughter isn't getting the same thing.
Unless you find that he doesn't want to allow you to spend any of your money on teacher requests, I don't see a problem with this type of process.
OTOH: maybe he's got an ulterior motive and wants to stop the teacher requests to leave money for something he wants.
[ 11-09-2006, 11:46 AM: Message edited by: PerusingwithCoffee ]