So you have something to compare to for your budget meeting, here's a quick look at our budget for the year (710 students, 4 grades)

INCOME
Wrapping Paper $13,000 (net)
Winter Family Night $100
Carnival $800
Movie Night $100
Directory $1,700
Scrip $500
Miscellaneous $300
Beginning Balance $6197.16

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Total Income $22,697.16

EXPENSES
Enrichment
Art Appreciation $500
Assemblies $4,500
Building Extras $900
Educational Materials $900
Landscaping $300
Principal's $900
Publishing Center $100
Student Planners $1,600
Teacher Reimbursemnt $4,095
Theme Project $1,000
Misc Enrichment $440

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Total Enrichment $15,235

RECOGNITION
Donations $600
End of Year Celebration $600
Character Awards $500
New Students Lunch $100
Popcorn $100
Safeties $400
Camp Scholarships $500
Staff Appreciation $800
Student Council T-Shirts $450
Misc Recognition $475

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Total Recognition $4,525

PTO OPERATIONS
Carryover Required $2,000
Copier, Paper, Postage $500
Hospitality & Vol App $200
Incorporation Fee $25
Misc Operations $212.16

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Total Operations $2,937.16
Total Expenses $22,697.16
Budget Balance = $0

We plan a zero-based budget, with a $2,000 bylaw-mandated carryover built in. We always exceed budget and end up with more carryover money, despite our best efforts to make some late-year expenditures. Hope this helps you with your budget planning.

[ 06-02-2005, 11:25 PM: Message edited by: Critter ]

We create an annual budget with about 25 expense budgets, but we don't try to predict small purchases. Instead, we allocate a fixed amount to several different budget categories that have general guidelines for what they cover. For example, we budget $900 for "Educational Materials" and $900 for "Building Extras."

Throughout the year, if the principal (or staff through the principal)wants the PTO to pay for something that falls into the general description of "Educational Materials", then we'll go ahead and spend the money (within the budget balance), no additional vote required. We hold firm to these category descriptions so the principal doesn't just look at the PTO as a checkbook.

Our members approve the budget at our first meeting, and our policies dictate that we can't spend for things that don't fit the budget description, and we can't exceed budget without another vote of the membership. Therefore, we don't have to vote for every discrete expense. Even our miscellaneous budgets are under a general heading (ex: Enrichment), so we still have to abide by general guidelines when tapping into that money. Basically, by putting some parameters on the budget, the PTO members retain control, but we let the principal decide what's most important when it comes to purchases for the school.

By the way, our school doesn't allow baseball equipment on the playground - no bats, no helmets. But if they did, the principal could ask the PTO to pay for them and we would take the money from Building Extras.

We don't have equipment for baseball, I would assume because of the liability. As for other purchases, a group of teachers started an intramural program, we funded prizes for a reading program, the principal put on a fall festival and wasn't able to get donations to cover the cost as she had in the past, and we purchased materials for the music teacher to fix some of our instruments.

We have some extra money laying around in case we need it as well. However, I am trying to be proactive and "fix" things before they are broken.

Can you give me some examples of the unplanned expenses that you have used your misc budget for? Maybe you have had to buy something in the past that our school needs and we can do it before something bad happens.

For instance, I would hope that anyone that reads this post would go to their school now and find out if they have batting helmets. If not, maybe their PTO can buy some before a kid gets sent to the hospital in an ambulance.

Had we known about the lack of batting helmets last month, that child would probably just have a headache now instead of stitches/bruises and bleeding.

We have a misc. amount budgeted for each semester. When people want funds that weren't planned for, it comes out of this money. Though we never use what is there, it is nice to know if something breaks or someone comes up with a good idea(like helmets), it can be funded.

Yeah, we have purchased some of those things in the past. But, I would have never have thought of putting batting helmets on the budget. I plan to recommend it for this budget. But, in a way, it is too late. One child has already been hurt.

So, I am kind of making it my mission to find out what else is necessary but never thought about that we can also include in the budget.

I plan to talk with our principal to see if he can generate a list of necessities that get overlooked.