We used to give a flat amount per teacher, but after some discussion about the equity of that method(different class sizes), we went to a per pupil amount with an average count used. This year we gave $7.50 per student with K-2 at 20 per class and 3-5 at 25. We then gave flat amounts for things like art, music, PE, and other resource and specialty teachers. It seemed to be more fair that way.

We decide year to year as to how much will go toward the fund, based on what fundraisers we are doing and our expectations for those and what other programs we are planning for the year.

[ 05-11-2006, 02:19 PM: Message edited by: LUVMYKIDS ]

The last few years we have been able to provide a $100 Teacher Allocation for each primary teacher and one of each specialist (music, art, gym, et. al.) to purchase supplies for their classroom.

Under separate budget items, we subsidize field trip busses for $250/grade, we also have a substantial Programs budget ($8000), and fund various school improvements during the year as needs are identified.

We have 3 catagories for teacher reimbursements-$100 for each (25) classroom teacher, $50 for any (27) full-time teacher or staff member (including speech, counseling, technology, etc.), and $25 for any (8) part-time staff member.
Each teacher gets $4 per student to spend on field trips or whatever.
We don't have an art program specifically in the school but our school's budget covers most art supplies, so we aren't really needed there.
We do give $1 per student to the music and P.E. departments each.
We also give $100 to the Tech Department (school has money for this) and the Library (they run the book fair, not us).
Also, the principal has a discretionary fund of $300 which she can use however she sees fit. This is for help with things that the district does not allow the school to pay for or that the PTO is not willing to pay for.
This seems like a lot at first but it's the fairest system we've been able to come up with.

Wow, your students and teachers are truly blessed. I hope they know how lucky they are to have your group working so hard for them!

For some good examples of how other groups budget their funds, check out the thread started by Serendipity: The Cost of Operating your PTO on the Day to Day PTO Management board. There is a lot of great spending info in there too.

The 'teacher project' monies are for art supplies, classroom supplies, classroom equipment... basically anything that the teacher needs to get a 'project' done. It has helped alot of teacher do projects that they would otherwise never do...one class built their own clocks (including the mechanism) from scratch last year.

The 'teacher project' funds can be combined with 'field trip' and 'art education' monies.

Our 'art ed' monies are for hiring local artists, theater groups, story tellers and the like...we also offer a line item in the budget for teachers as "art supplies" that they can access. We will be buying a whole bunch of glaze for our kiln this summer. All classrooms do at least two pottery projects a year.

We also fund 2 trips for every student to our local theater for performances. We provide the theater's an annual program and every teacher picks which two they would like their class to attend and we pick up the tab for that.

We also have a 'curriculum support' line item that is used by the staff to purchase books and materials for their classrooms.

I'm probably forgetting something!!! But I think that is most of it...hope that wasn't too confusing!

We fund similar items but a little differently:

Teacher reimbursements are $100/teacher and $50/aide for classroom needs.

Fieldtrips are an across the board $5/student (so a class size of 20 would get $100).

We fund the "Art Cabinet" and it's up to the teachers to divy it up fairly. It's usually from $250 to $500 annually as funds are available.

My opinion is that your $200 for art and $200 for fieldtrips is above average but not too generous.

What exactly does the $400 Teacher Project fund cover?

Overall, I'd say that if your voting members are comfortable with these allocations, your group can afford them and it enhances the learning environment then, hey, keep up the good work!!!!