A budget is a guideline to give you a basic idea of how much money you need to raise and how it will be spent, but you can't possibly cover everything. We always try to leave ourselves a little cushion for things that come up throughout the year. If a need like this comes up it is brought up at a meeting and voted on. Perhaps you could have an area in your budget for "playground needs" then put some money in there for things like the helmets or some extra balls.
We buy many small things throughout the year such as supplies for special classroom projects that fall outside the funds we allot the teachers for their classrooms, and we have purchased head sets for the media center, DVD players, and I remember one time a few years ago buying the pull off flags so the kids could play flag football instead of tackle.
I think the things that have the most impact on our schools are the "small" purchases.
We have bought new audio equipment for our music department to be used during music events, meetings, etc..
We have purchased new die cuts for our teachers workroom.
We have purchased walkie-talkies for our office staff and behavioral unit to use.
OK, being new to this site, I admit that I haven't read every single post. So, if this has been covered or if it is in the wrong section, I apologize.
I became treasurer for our PTO in November. We have a budgeting meeting planned for this month so that we know what we want to raise and spend next year. Most of what I have read on here mentions big purchases (playgrounds, new maps and globes, new car for the treasurer, etc). However, I was talking with a friend who has a kid in the same school. She mentioned that a kid had to be taken to the hospital the other day because he was accidentally hit in the head with a bat while playing softball. The school does not have batting helmets. The school district does not provide them. I can understand that due to limited funding.
But, my question is this: Purchasing some batting helmets is a small purchase and it won't ever make the headlines. But, it makes a lot of sense. As I go to our budget meeting, what other "small" purchases have you found that your school needs but often go overlooked?
