Thanks for all your help. I am not sure what we will do. We do have a budget and there are several more things we have that have to come out of this year and we need a starting balance for next year. Right now, I don't see how we can do it....
Of course eveyone wants to say yes, but the question really is do you have the money for these items and any other expenses you expect for the rest of the year. Do you have an operating budget? I always refer to the budget just like people always say refer to your bylaws.
The irony of commitment is that it’s deeply liberating-in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life. --Anne Morris
How your PTO spends its funds is its own decision and any of those things might be considered reasonable - IF your group agrees.
You are asking the right questions. Can a PTO purchase a printer? Yes. Should your PTO agree to THIS purchase? It depends.
Whoever is responsible for maintaining technology for the school would need to approve that purchase. It's probably going to need to be networked. And once a printer is purchased, the cost of supplies (mostly ink) quickly outgrow the orginal purchase price of the printer. Who will pay for those costs?
Is the printer just for one teacher/class? If your funds are limited, are you willing to spend them on something that only benefits a small percentage of your students?
A laminator - if you can afford it - would certainly be well used and a general benefit. But-again-who will maintain it? Has the principal budgeted for ongoing supplies.
Another issue to beware is to try to make sure any equipment the PTO buys is durable. Sometimes one of the cheaper models (of any equipment) gets selected to keep expenses down. But with the constant, high volume use of a school - it's often better to pay more for a more durable model. That may not be the case with anything you've mentioned - just something to watch for.
Hi everyone.
We had our PTO meeting last night and there were a couple of requests from teachers and the principal. The first one was from our PE teacher for stacking cups. The next one was from another teacher for a printer and the last one was from the principal asking for a laminator for the school. The cups were a bit over $400, the printer $200 and the laminator was a bit over $800. My questions are.... should we be able to buy the printer for the one teacher. We don't feel that it should cost that much. And the laminator, is that something the PTO would normally purchase? Our money is pretty low and I am just not sure what to do. The parental involvement is also very low. And it seems that everyone is always gung ho about approving everything.... ANY suggestions or info would be of great help!!! And to make matters even worse... our school playground didn't pass a saftey check, so we need to update it also.
